Carrying on in the ensuite we moved onto progressing the floor. To try and minimise impact sound from people walking upstairs we are laying a wood fibre acoustic underlay throughout the first floor (foxtrot board). Generally the floor boards will then be laid on top of this, except in the bathrooms, where the final floor finish will be tiles.
On top of the acoustic underlay in the bathrooms we are laying a tile backer board - in this case Magnesium board. The installation instructions suggest that to cut the board the 'score and snap' method is used. When the boards were delivered we were told that they were a nightmare to cut - very dusty and brittle. We were very nervous about using it - particularly about cutting some of the more complex shapes out! Luckily though it was neither of these things!
It cut very well and very accurately with a jigsaw.
The first sheet laid in the ensuite.
We also finished off the air barrier by sealing all the edges. The most challenging edge to seal was the one against the clay plaster on the straw bales. The manufacturer recommends priming dusty surfaces and then using their Orcon Airtight glue - running a bead in the primer and then adhering the membrane. However the method we found most successful was to prime the clay, extending the primer slightly below the edge of the membrane. We then used some of the general purpose flexible sealing tape (Tescon No1) which we stuck to the edge of the membrane and into the primed clay. This seemed to work really well.
