Fixing Villaboard to brick wall

Hi. I'm wanting to put some villaboard up in our (gutted) bathroom. The walls are a mix of timber stud wall and single-skin brick wall. The villaboard will ultimately be tiled so I dont want any chance of the villaboard moving or coming unstuck. The problem is with the brick sections - which are on most of the walls up to about the 1.4 metre mark. I know the preferred method is to fix battens and nail the villaboard to those - but it is vital that I dont shrink the room any further. The tech support people at James Hardie said that I could use a wallboard adhesive such as Maxbond, but were otherwise somewhat unhelpful. Still, using an adhesive seems to be the way to go.

I read the maxbond label and it seems the product is designed to be applied in a bead about 6mm thick. My problem is that the brick walls, although reasonably true, are too uneven-surfaced for this - there would not be enough contact area as the flat board would only contact the ridges, not the valleys. What I need is something more like using stud adhesive, where I use a large dollop which has the effect of compensating for the undulations in an uneven surface. I havent been able to find a product that functions like this. Does anyone know of such a product - or have any other suggestions for fixing?

I was told by the guy in Bunnings that they used to stock a cement based product which was designed to be used in this way, but he couldnt remember the name or supplier.

thanks
Arron

Pack the brickwall with masonite (or villaboard) strips\pieces (using wallboard adhesive) to a stringline or straightedge. Then glue the villaboard to the packing.

Aaron,


I'd be very wary about using an adhesive to fix cement sheet to masonary, particularly if you intend to use tiles. Cornice cement (or masonary adhesive depending on how its packaged) is specifically designed to fix plasterboard to masonary but this is not recommended if you intend to use tiles due to the additional weight. I'm currently lining my bathroom with villaboard and I'm using the thin furring channel, It only brings the wall out 15mm or so. I'd recommend going into your local Boral/Gyprock supplier and having a chat about what you want to do and have a look at the samples of whats available.

Good luck

I really would not trust adhesive to hold the viilaboard especially if tiling onto it and using in wet area.
Some years ago we had a similar problem and first packed the wall as best we could with strips of villaboard to make perpendicular.Then we used glue and also 40mm screw anchors in corners and midwall which we could countersink into board slightly and through to the wall.The head of the anchors was slightly proud on face of board but we compensated with extra mm of tile adhesive in corners. Not noticeable when tiles laid and grouted.We did use slightly thicker board so could countersink anchors more firmly.May have been a bit of extra effort but I was not willing to risk adhesive breakdown after 5 years.

Can you bring the villaboard down to the level of the brickwork but say 1-2mm proud, then render the brick work to create a uniform surface?

I had to do this in a kitchen and it has held up well. As suggested use cornice cement. Scrape paint off the bricks first and then prime with bondcrete, place large lumps of the cornice cement on the primed areas, every 450mm or so. Fasten the villaboard against the wall with temporary clouts. When the cornice cement sets the sheet will be firmly stuck to the wall with no shrinkage problems. If concerned about the weight then place the edges of the villaboard firmly against the ground at the bottom.

Cheers Pulse

Another option is not to use the villaboard and use another material that is thicker/stronger (is there a thicker villaboard??) that allows you to pack/screw the sheet in place. Maybe something like cement sheeting 13mm etc.. but I suppose price may be an issue.

Zig