With plywood being excluded from British Standards as a suitable background for wall tiling, tile backing boards such as BAL Board provide the perfect solution. They can be used in wetrooms, over underfloor heating, as dry lining and insulation, and as a flat surface for tiling.
Innovative, new tile backer boards – such as BAL Board – are perfect for tiling because they can be easily fixed to timber stud work or solid walls and also various floor types.
Approved by the BBA, BAL Board represents a breakthrough in tile backer board technology. Lightweight and easy to install, it has been rated by tilers as “far superior” to equivalent leading cement-based boards.
What’s more, because it has minimal dust when cutting and is manufactured with low-carbon technology it is safer for the environment and the fixer. BAL Board is 15-35% lighter per m² than cement-based boards, yet due to its unique construction, it is also more rigid than foam-based boards providing a more stable board.
Supporting a combined weight of tiles and adhesive of up to 100kg/m², this is strongest claim in the UK market. This also far exceeds the recommended tiling weight for plasterboard (32kg/m2), gypsum plaster (20kg/m2) and foam-core tile backing board (up to 60kg/m2).
This means that with BAL Board you can specify larger, heavier tiles.
Another great benefit of BAL is its ease of installation. BAL Board can be simply scored and snapped – with no specialist cutting tools required. With BAL Board in particular, no specialist screws are required – it can be simply screw fixed with suitable stainless steel or hot-dipped galvanised screws to timber, reducing costs and installation time.
Coming in 1200 x 600mm and at 6 or 12mm thickness, BAL Board is also easy to fix e.g. at 300mm centres in both directions on to existing wall substrates, timber battens or floors.
Several backer boards on the market are also designed for alternative uses. For example, BAL Board can also be reversed to allow finishes to be applied such as paint or wallpaper as required. This means they can be used for an entire bathroom or kitchen, even if the room is not completely tiled.
BAL Board and some other tile backer boards are also fire-rated, non-flammable and non-combustible. This means unlike plywood, it can be used around multi-fuel or log burning stoves as finish to the fire opening or as a reference plate on the chimney itself creating a fantastic room feature.
Many tile backer boards on the market are also suitable for use in wet areas, BAL Board for example, is water-resistant, meaning it won’t warp, rot or degrade over time even in the wettest conditions.
In wet areas all water-resistant boards should be made waterproof. For this BAL recommends tanking with a waterproofing kit before tiling, especially in installations such as showers, wet rooms or swimming pools. This provides an extra layer of protection and stops water penetrations from causing tile failure.
Thermally-resistant boards provide a substrate which is suitable for use in conjunction with underfloor heating systems, whether below electric heating mats or on top of water-fed heated screeds to create a level surface for tiling.
For more information on tiling with BAL Board, tiling advice or specifications, please contact BAL Technical Advisory Service on 03330 030160.
