Renovating Your Bathroom? Tiling Your Walls

By Author: Tel Mel
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When completing renovations there are often many things, from paint colours, flooring and cabinetry to types to the types of accessories, such as door handles, towel racks, power points, and so on. There are so many different little elements to consider. While having a diverse selection of materials available, it can sometimes be a little overwhelming.

When you visit a home display centre you will find that there are often many products available for each element in your home each of which can look the same, but come in different colours, and different sizes, have different load ratings or even perform slightly differently. You will be tasked with combining all these elements to not only do what you need them to do but also to last for a reasonable, amount of time and have an appearance that fits in with all the other various elements that you have selected. On top of that it needs to fit in with your budget.

More often than not the larger the overall size or appearance of the item, the bigger the effect it will have on the aesthetic of your interior design, so elements such as window dressings, flooring, paint ...
... colour and tiling will have a substantial impact on the look and feel of your house.

One trend which has become quite popular in recent years is to tile entire bathrooms, including all four walls, right up to the ceiling. There are some very good reasons for this, as tiles are extremely durable, waterproof, easy to maintain, and ideal for radiating heat when combined with hydronic heating. There’s also the consideration that when the right blend of colours is used, it really can look amazing!

Understandably, having to tile 4 entire walls will increase your upfront costs, especially if you have a large-sized bathroom. This is based purely on the premise that you will need to use more materials and labour to install. It is definitely worth noting though, the amount of damage prevention to your walls from either wear and tear as well as moisture, can actually end up saving you money in the long run, particularly so if you have family members who are a little bit clumsy or rough with their belongings or otherwise are inclined to have long hot steamy showers (both of these things being something which teenagers tend to excel at!).

When it comes to installation, a commonly asked question is whether you should get the walls or flooring tiles laid first. The truth to the matter is this can really vary depending on the type of tiles you have selected. Quite often tiles which are specifically designed to be installed on walls are not quite as thick as flooring tiles, as they don’t need to support as much direct weight applied to their centre from being stood on. Installing wall tiles first will prevent any unnecessary clean-up from any spilled grouting or caulk.

On the flip side if you install the flooring tiles adequately and allow enough time for them to set, you won’t need to use spacers to get the correct positioning of the start of the wall tiles, and you can simply start at the join.

Of course, these aspects are common knowledge to any professional bathroom renovator or tiler, so if you’ve watched a DIY video on tiling a bathroom and think this is something you can do by yourself, be prepared for the process to take significantly longer than expected including multiple trips to the local trade store. It’s also advisable to have a backup plan just in case things go wrong with DIY, as they can quite often do.