Do I need tanking if I'm only tiling one wall in Longton?

If that wall takes direct shower spray, yes. Outside the wet zone in a normal Longton bathroom, a sound boarded substrate is generally sufficient.

Can you tank over plasterboard?

Standard plasterboard isn't the right base for a wet zone. We replace it with a suitable tile backer board in the shower area, then tank that.

What about the joint between wall and tray?

That junction gets sealing tape bedded into the membrane before tiling, plus a silicone movement joint afterwards. Two lines of defence, not one.

How long before you can tile?

The membrane needs its full cure between coats and before tiling. On a Longton job that normally means the tanking stage occupies its own day in the schedule.

Are you fully insured for work in Longton?

Yes — we hold full public liability cover and every job in Longton comes with a written workmanship guarantee.

Do you tidy up at the end of each day?

Yes — dust sheets stay down, the room is hoovered daily and we leave your Longton home liveable while the work runs.

Bathroom & Wet-Zone Tiling · Longton

Shower Tanking & Waterproofing in Longton

Specialist wall and floor tiling — including large-format and stone.

Call 01782 901390 Request a Quote

Tiles and grout are not waterproof. They're the wearing surface. The waterproofing is the layer behind them, and it's the part nobody sees — which is exactly why it's the part most often skipped on a Longton bathroom.

We tank as a separate, deliberate stage: board the substrate, tape and seal every internal corner and junction, collar the pipe penetrations, then two coats of membrane with the second at right angles to the first.

Bathroom & Wet-Zone Tiling in Longton isn't a one-template job — every house we walk into reveals something different.

Recent bathroom & wet-zone tiling work — Longton, Staffordshire

Bathroom & Wet-Zone Tiling project in a victorian terraces property — Longton — image 2

Longton bathroom & wet-zone tiling install by Stoke on Trent Bathrooms — image 3

Waterproofing questions from {town}

Do I need tanking if I'm only tiling one wall in Longton?: If that wall takes direct shower spray, yes. Outside the wet zone in a normal Longton bathroom, a sound boarded substrate is generally sufficient.
Can you tank over plasterboard?: Standard plasterboard isn't the right base for a wet zone. We replace it with a suitable tile backer board in the shower area, then tank that.
What about the joint between wall and tray?: That junction gets sealing tape bedded into the membrane before tiling, plus a silicone movement joint afterwards. Two lines of defence, not one.
How long before you can tile?: The membrane needs its full cure between coats and before tiling. On a Longton job that normally means the tanking stage occupies its own day in the schedule.
Are you fully insured for work in Longton?: Yes — we hold full public liability cover and every job in Longton comes with a written workmanship guarantee.
Do you tidy up at the end of each day?: Yes — dust sheets stay down, the room is hoovered daily and we leave your Longton home liveable while the work runs.

Other services in Longton

Tanking shortcuts we find in {town}

Anyone tiling a wet area who wants it waterproof behind the tiles in Longton hit a recurring set of issues with shower tanking & waterproofing:

Membrane rolled over standard plasterboard in a full wet zone — flagged regularly on Longton jobs.

Internal corners painted rather than taped, so movement splits the membrane — flagged regularly on Longton jobs.

Pipe penetrations left uncollared — the one place water always finds — flagged regularly on Longton jobs.

Movement joints missing where the floor meets the wall, particularly in Longton properties of this age.

Longton: walls out of plumb meaning tiles step at corners.

Our tanking stages in {town}

What we commit to on every shower tanking & waterproofing job in Longton:

Tanking photographed at completion of both coats before tiling (standard on every Longton shower tanking & waterproofing install).
Every corner, junction and penetration taped or collared as a separate stage (standard on every Longton shower tanking & waterproofing install).
For Longton clients: tiled thousands of square metres across staffordshire.
Stone-care trained — sealing before and after grouting — proven across Longton.
Specialists in 1200x600 large-format and 1500x750 slab tile on every install we run in Longton.

Our shower tanking & waterproofing process in Longton

This is the order we'll work in once we're on site:

1Tank wet zones with liquid or sheet membrane (planned per Longton room).
2Day 2 for a Longton job — hand-cut and diamond-cut every detail — inside corners, recesses, niches.
3Stage 3 on site at Longton: notch-trowel a rapid-set adhesive matched to tile and substrate.
4Step 4 in Longton: strip existing tile, check substrate and skim where needed.

Materials & methods

Porcelain (rectified, slip-rated where needed) for Longton bathrooms.
Glass mosaic banding and feature strips for Longton bathrooms.

About Longton

Locally, Longton is part of Stoke-on-Trent City Council's area within Staffordshire, covering postcodes ST3. Longton is rows of Victorian and Edwardian terraces around the railway station, with large post-war estates at Meir, Blurton and Sandford Hill. Main routes through are A50 and A5005, which is why our vans pass close to Longton most days.

ST3A50A5005A520

Tank it properly before the tiles go on

Free Longton survey of the substrate, plus photos of the tanked walls before tiling starts so you can see what you paid for.

Free site survey before quoting in
Specialists in large-format and natural stone
Hand-cut details, not snapped edges