Thread: Can I tile over lamipanel?

Hi all.........I am back for more advice........
Imagine 70's brown floral lamipanel..............80's cream floral tiles........unknown brown and grey lino............over the waste outlet
The lamipanel goes 3/4 of the way to the ceiling, above that is acrylic paint................the plan so far is to tile the lamipanel..........if I scuff it up will it hold tiles? if I am generous with the glue? Can I pick out the strips holding it together and bog it up with something? or will that make it fall apart?
any alternative ideas?
cheers
Jan

Fair chance that panel is Tilux not lamipanel - a very different beast. Tilux was coated asbestos cement sheet! So do not sand drill or cut it with anything - ie: do not 'scuff it up'. However I have tiled over it successfully even with the aluminium joiners in place - using regular white thixotropic tile adhesive like the Selley's Unifix product. http://www.selleys.com.au/Selleys-Unifix/default.aspx

Main thing is to carefully clean and wash away the soap scum and other stuff from the surface - sugar soap is fine for that. The just mark mark up and tile as usual. It's a while since I did one, but I recall I tried to layout tiles so the joiner was at tile edges so the tiles kicked up a little there - I minimised by using slightly more adhesive, but it was still just visible as a ridge. Most others never noticed though only me.

Removing the joiner is not an option as it has wider flange underneath so only can be removed by wrecking the sheets and removing the lot - which is really what you should do to do a proper job, but costs more and you need to treat asbestos removal with care and according to the rules that apply. If the joiner is plastic then you could safely use a chisel or other suitable instrument and carefully lift the top flange off. You could then fill the gap and fix down the sheet edges using a polyurethane or other waterproof adhesive forced into the gap. These are the quick & dirty & cheap options - not what would be considered best practice by any means!

Is this Tilux ??



Photo 1
Has vertical strips of aluminium at joins & is used in the kitchen.


Poto 2
Shows fibrous hole left from screw

Originally Posted by chipps

Is this Tilux ??
Has vertical strips of aluminium at joins & is used in the kitchen.
Shows fibrous hole left from screw

Sure is - so it asbestos sheeting and needs the usual care in dealing with it. No need to panic as it is very stable (asbestos is encapsulated in the cement), but anything that will create dust from it has to be done with care - masks especially and wetting down and removal of the dust/ sludge. Preferred option is to leave alone so far as cutting, drilling, sanding etc goes or even better is removal altogether and replacement with suitable modern alternative.

Tilux was widely used in the '50s right through to the early 70s especially in cheaper homes such as those built by the state housing commissions and others who built subsidised housing, but also more generally in spec homes and holiday houses, renovations etc. Used in bathrooms, laundries, kitchens - wet areas and anywhere tiles would otherwise have been used.

Thanks Bloss

Another mystery solved at last

I'll throw some tape over the holes for now & leave the kitchen reno for another year

Originally Posted by chipps

Thanks Bloss

Another mystery solved at last

I'll throw some tape over the holes for now & leave the kitchen reno for another year

It can also be left in place and new sheeting placed over it - then you can tile etc on a flat surface. In that case you need to make sure you know it is there - and can tell others who come after too. Almost every house built prior to 1984 will have some asbestos in it - mostly in eaves and under wet areas, but the older the house the more places it might be. Of course many houses were entirely clad in AC sheet, shingles etc and there were corrugated AC roofs and fences and so on.

hmmmm dunno if that is what it is...........I also took a scew out to look and I cant see fibres........very clean hard edge.....
I would say this bathroom, another bathroom and the laundry were renovated in the late 70's early 80's...........the stuff must have been cheap!
It has both aluminium strips and plastic ones I would say the 'boys' renovated inexpensively for thier mum! nothing matches !

I may resort to plan b if I can work out plan b...........
cheers
Jan

Originally Posted by ricstew

hmmmm dunno if that is what it is...........I also took a scew out to look and I cant see fibres........very clean hard edge.....
I would say this bathroom, another bathroom and the laundry were renovated in the late 70's early 80's...........the stuff must have been cheap!
It has both aluminium strips and plastic ones I would say the 'boys' renovated inexpensively for thier mum! nothing matches !

I may resort to plan b if I can work out plan b...........
cheers
Jan

Tilux generally has clean hard edges and is generally a quite dark grey - you won't see fibres in a straight drilled hole - the other pics show fibre as there was damage as a screw was removed. If it has a painted floral print type pattern is around 5-6mm thick it is almost certainly Tilux so asbestos. To my knowledge they never made it in a non-asbestos fibre sheet. And it was cheap relative to almost anything other than just painting.

Plan B might be to clean up well with sugar soap, fill all gaps and holes and simply use a full gloss enamel over the lot (2 coats at least0. That'd improve the look and hide the various surfaces and will give you at least a few years breathing space top the full reno.

Hmmm plan b at this stage is to remove the bead at the top and see if we can slide the strips out and find out how its attached to the studs......or if there is anything behind it............but there's no rush...........still 2 coats of plaster to go on the lounge walls!
cheers
Jan

Originally Posted by ricstew

Hmmm plan b at this stage is to remove the bead at the top and see if we can slide the strips out and find out how its attached to the studs......or if there is anything behind it............but there's no rush...........still 2 coats of plaster to go on the lounge walls!
cheers
Jan

The strips will most likely be nailed to the studs behind and will not slide out - but worth the try I guess. The moldings generally had one wide flange and one narrow one - the narrow one slid under one sheet then was nailed in place through the wider flange that remained exposed then the next sheet slid into it and so on. Screws & washers then held the sheets in between the strips.