Wall Tilling Bathroom And Shower
Bathroom And Shower Room Wall Tiling Tips
Having a new bathroom tiled? It is now quite often when I go to price a tiling job that I have to advise people on some problem on carrying out the work. The typical hotspots are:
bath out of level, fitted showers, shower trays and baths with excessive gap between these and the walls, lipped shower trays not set in, shower unit/controls at the wrong height, radiators, owel rail, basin already fitted, toilet pan height and servicing, old tiles still in place after having a new suite installed.
Bath out of level. No much thought has been given for accommodating the tiles. if on the other hand you are installing mosaic or tiles with lines or strong patterns, the tiling will look awful as even the smallest level difference along the bath length will be very noticeable.
Fitted shower. I have had situations where the shower has been fitted, without even allowing for the tile thickness between the cover plates and the wall.
Shower trays and baths with excessive gap. I am not in favour of these bath/shower trims or tile beads as I have found the baths and trays can move downwards causing the trim to separate and capillary action allowing water to draw into the walls. If you find that the bath or tray is not fitting tight to the walls it is likely that it is due to the right angled wall not being square to the other or that the wall is bulging.
This also helps “hold” the bath/tray in place. Again, only set the tray into the wall until the gap closes. Also, pay attention to the shower tray as if you inset this too much, you might have problems later fitting the shower screen.
Lipped shower trays not set in. In theory this is great but I have carried out a number of tiling repairs due to this type of tray. On a few occasions the tray was placed against the walls (not inset into the wall). On other occasions the fitter did not inset the tray enough into the walls. This causes the tray’s upright lip to move (from inside outwards) towards the tile and doing so, de-bonding the first row of tiles and in turn allowing water to penetrate in the wall, causing problems.
Shower unit/controls at the wrong height. A common problem that can be avoided is the placing of the shower controls height onto the walls. If the border is thicker than the main tiles then you can have more problems with the control’s cover plates not seating flush, also if the border is thicker than the tiles the tiler will need to know where the shower/bath screen will be going exactly as that part of the border where the screen will cover must not be tiled or the screen won’t seat flush.
Radiators, towel rail, basin already fitted, toilet pan height and servicing. Here if planned in advance the tiling would need to be carried out BEFORE the final plumbing installation.
Old tiles still in place after having a new suite installed. “The tiler can take the tiles off”.
Make sure that the tiles are removed prior to the new installation.
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