Tiling of Bathroom

PRman

Hi, in the middle of getting a bathroom done - do people think we're better off tiling to the ceiling or just to the window, etc? The bloke in the tile shop says we're better off going to the ceiling but he would say that wouldn't he?!! Also - Is tiling a job best left to professionals? I have heard yes from some people and I have other people telling me to do it myself, so any info appreciated!!:)

johnnyrotten

Tile right to the ceiling, makes the walls maintenance free. Its not a difficult job really. Make sure the your tiles are level with even spaces. But a Good quality cutter .Take your time at the start until you build up confidence. Good luck

arseagon

It really depends on the size of the bathroom and how good your ventilation is. If it's big and well ventilated then ther's no need to go to the ceiling apart from around a shower unit. If there's going to be lots of steam that won't escape quickly you're better off going right to the ceiling.

And as for difficulty, it's not a hard job at all. If you're unsure do maybe a 3ft by 3ft square of tiles as a practice, don't grout them and they'll knock off the wall pretty easy the next day if you're not happy. the real difficulty is getting them straight although i hear you can get spacers to keep everything right (phooey) sorry I'm a stickler for eyeing it up.

smashey

I had my bathroom tiled from floor to ceiling. It is a great job and now I have fewer awkward bits to paint. Highly recommended.

dools

I am personally not a fan of floor to ceiling tiles in a bathroom. I find the room gets very steamy and as a result the floor gets slippy and the walls have streaks of water running down them.

I prefer to paint the room white and tile to the ceiling just around the bath and have a splashback at the sink. I just find it less steamy and just generally more breathable. Alos costs a lot less to tile

D

tribesman

markdunne wrote:

the real difficulty is getting them straight although i hear you can get spacers to keep everything right (phooey) sorry I'm a stickler for eyeing it up.

For wall tiling you need spacers on the horizontal joints at least. Otherwise the tiles will just slip down the wall and leave no gap for grout.

FrankGrimes

Getting tiles onto the wall is not difficult, in the same way getting paint onto a wall is not difficult. Doing either job to a quality finish requires a lot more skill and, more importantly, good planning and preparation.

Get a DIY book at least and go through the tiling guide and make sure you use a tiling gauge to ensure you have similar sized cut tiles either end of the walls. Tricky bits when going for full wall is ensuring that you don't end up with sliver cuts either side of your window while still ensuring you don't end up with slivers in the corners. Take a lot of time to plan EVERY aspect of your layout and it will go a lot smoother. good luck with it.

hunnymonster

Is there a standard sized spacer? When calculating the number of tiles to go accross a wall, how much do you add to the dimension of the tile to allow for the grout?

ctrl-alt-delete

hunnymonster wrote:

Is there a standard sized spacer? When calculating the number of tiles to go accross a wall, how much do you add to the dimension of the tile to allow for the grout?

There is no standard size, some people like big grout joints, some people like minimal - also imo different sized joints suit different types of tiles,

anyway 2mm or 3mm would be the norm for walls,

with 4mm-6mm for floors.

smashey

hunnymonster wrote:

Is there a standard sized spacer? When calculating the number of tiles to go accross a wall, how much do you add to the dimension of the tile to allow for the grout?

Calculate the area to be tiled and take this to your tile supplier. They should be able to give you enough to cover what you want, including natural wastage.

squire1

When you get your tiles, get a length of 2x1 timber. Measure the width of a tile including spacer and mark this width along the length of the 2x1. You end up with a good measuring stick that will show you where your last full tile will finish. This will ensure you dont have sliver cuts at either end. As Frankgrimes says, watch out for windows or sinks along the wall making sure you dont have small cuts around them.

Now using a level fix the 2x1 to the wall, less than one tile height above the floor. This can then be used as a base for starting your tiling giving you a good solid straight edge to work from. (Note, floors are NEVER level.) When you have finished tiling the wall and the adhesive has gone off, remove the 2x1 and cut and fit tiles to fill in the gap between the floor and the fitted tiles. You can also use a length of 2x1 on the vertical in a similar way if you think you need it but if your horizontal is straight then you should not require it.

Repeat for each wall. Best of luck with it.

hughm

We tiled floor and walls to the ceiling. looks great...we wanted the expensive hotel bathroom feel and it worked.

If you want to be able to stand back and admire the work then pay a professional to do it. I have watched our tiler do many rooms in our various houses over the years and there is an element of skill to it. This is more important if you pick an expensive tile.

PRman

Thanks for all the replies. we got someone to do it and they tiled to the celing - looks great. the walls weren't straight so relieved I didn't try and do it myself!!!