Wall covered ceramic tiles in the bathroom

Mazeroth

We purchased a 20 year old house a few months ago that needs some updating. The hallway bathroom is kind of small but has a full bath and shower and only a few feet of walking space between the tub and sink. The walls have some damage on them, especially where the wall meets the shower (horrible caulk job and some sort of indent all the way around). I love the look of a completely tiled bathroom but my wife is hesitant to do it. Any pros/cons to doing this? We're in our mid/late 20s and plan on keeping the house for another 10 years so being able to resale is a plus. I would hate to have someone love the house but hate the bathroom and know how much of a pain it would be to tear it all down and do what they wanted. On the other hand, I have to live here for the next 10 or so years so I might as well enjoy it!

While we're on the topic of bathrooms are there any other tips out there? I'm thinking a nice tub and shower with only a curtain this time (currently has dual sliding doors to get into the tub) to maybe "open" the room up a little, along with a nice John and maybe a vanity-less sink.

Thanks!

BaggedLancer

my bathroom is covered floor, wall and ceiling in ceramic tile......long as it's done in good taste can't see it hurting resale. Then again, I've never bought or sold a house.

Pablo

I'm not a huge fan of full wall tile in the bath, but it's more personal taste than anything. In my downstairs bath I did a half wall all the way around and and full wall in the shower (even did the ceiling). I think it looks great, plus with a half wall you can change the room with a coat of paint (as long as you get a nuetral colored tile).

In my master bath I did the bath up to about six inches from the ceiling. I think it looks pretty sharp that way.

As far as fixtures, I put in a wirlpool tub in the master bath. They make them the same size as a normal tub, but they are nice and deep. (They also require a dedicated circut, so if you put one in make sure you do that). I have a pedistal sink, and it looks nice. The only down side is that there is no storage, so for a main bath, it's not always a good idea. I personally hate shower doors. They are expensive, and if they are not done correctly, you just end up with a leak you can never find. Plus with a curtain, you can through it away and put up a new one, and you have a new look to the bath.

I can take some pictures if you want.

steveinaz

My question is, can standard drywall take the weight of wall tile?

Pablo

You need to use green board because it's a bath room, but most people do it that way. Cement board is a better way to go because it's moisture proof, but dry wall works just fine (and much cheaper and easier to use).

steveinaz

Our shower walls are all green board, but the rest of the bathroom standard drywall.

treitz3

Weight no, moisture, no.

EDIT: Weight = maybe, depending on thickness of the sheetrock, tile and grout. No in high moisture areas.

Joe08867

My bathroom Echoes Pablo's. I have tile halfway up the walls and full wall in the shower except the ceiling in my case.

You could always try a wainscot halfway up the wall to open up the look of the room also.

daniel_paul_

Joe08867 wrote: »

My bathroom Echoes Pablo's. I have tile halfway up the walls and full wall in the shower except the ceiling in my case.

You could always try a wainscot halfway up the wall to open up the look of the room also.

+1 You can get more expensive tile because you are using less. Labor is less. You can update the bathroom later with different wall colors.

I just installed Kohler fixtures. They look great but I was really disapointed with the build quality. Thin metal, blotchy finish. I might stear clear in the future.

Bathrooms and kitchens are what sell the house. As long as you have another bath to use doring construction I see no reason to wait.

Pablo

What ever you do, don't cheap out on the faucets. I've been very happy with the price fisters. I also have a Moen, and it seems pretty good. I haven't tried a Kohler, but I have tried American Standard, and they seem to suck.

BaggedLancer

Cement board all the way if you are serious about tiling the whole thing. My entire bathroom is cement board since there is an 8'x10' steam room in it we had no choice but to tile floor, walls and ceiling. The moisture would have ruined the walls within a few years.

That being said, floor to ceiling tiles has other prices down the road. When the house settles rest assured those walls/ceilings will crack and you will have loose tiles that you need to remove, trim, replace and regrout. We have had to do this both in the steam room and in the bathroom itself. It is costly and if you don't buy alot of extra tile when you are doing the project, it very well may just be discontinued when these problems start to occur.

Another factor to consider when tiling the walls, it's not like sheetrock where you just patch over where you hung pictures. mirrors, towel racks, toilet paper holders, etc....so if your wife wants to upgrade/change that stuff later she will be forced to find something that fits in those holes you drilled through the tile to hang the first stuff. Yet another problem we are facing with my bathroom because we are looking to upgrade.

Joe08867

Pablo wrote: »

What ever you do, don't cheap out on the faucets. I've been very happy with the price fisters. I also have a Moen, and it seems pretty good. I haven't tried a Kohler, but I have tried American Standard, and they seem to suck.

+1 on the Price Fisters. Very nice quality fixtures. American Standard is just that the standard stuff those all in one kits come with. They don't last long and the finishes are usually pretty weak. Moen is also always nice. I have heard they can be hard to find parts for though.

Kohler is over priced for the quality.

DollarDave

Do not tile over sheetrock, you will have problems at some point. For 4x4, 6x6, or similar tile you can use green board screwed on. Larger tiles, use cement board behind it.

On the floor, if you are not on a concrete slab, use cement board to firm it up. Otherwise, the tile and/or seams will crack at some point.

Don't be afariad to mix-n-match tile styles. For example 16x16 on the floors and something else on the walls. If your bathroom were larger, 16x16 on the floors would be good - you may want smaller so you "see" more space. In our master bath, we did a hop-scotch style where we have 4x4, 12x12, and 16x16 tiles, but you need a lot of floor space to make it work. Also, I've seen some of the brick-shaped tiles in tub surrounds and I personally like that.

Edit - For fixtures, I have had good luck with Moen and Price-Fisters. Stay away from Peerless, American Standard, and the other entry-level stuff. Spend a little more on the stool and you will be much, much happier with the ability to get a good one flush result. Sorry if that was somewhat graphic, but the bottom line is that the quality products are worth the extra cost over even a short period of time.

daniel_paul_

My Kohler tub (tile walls) is well built and absolutly beautiful. Go figure? If you are putting in a new tub think about a 20" deep tub. Ours is awesome for taking baths. My wife is 5'4" and fits comfortably.

+1 for the moen quality construction.

BaggedLancer

If you are seriously redoing the bathroom....think about no tub and just a nice tiled shower. Tubs just seem so old school......a tiled shower always looks nice.

Just my 0.02

daniel_paul_

BaggedLancer wrote: »

If you are seriously redoing the bathroom....think about no tub and just a nice tiled shower. Tubs just seem so old school......a tiled shower always looks nice.

Just my 0.02

Keep in mind that you need at least one tub in the house to bath small children, preferably not in the master.

dkg999

And tubs can be more fun when shared properly

BaggedLancer

daniel_paul_ wrote: »

Keep in mind that you need at least one tub in the house to bath small children, preferably not in the master.

Blah, take em outside and hose them off.

sucks2beme

Buy a tile saw. Those stupid score and crack jigs are worthless.
I am a big fan of Hardibacker. It gives a good base to install tile on.
It's strong and waterproof. Use accent tiles to break up the pattern.

markmarc

I spent the better part of my 20's and summers in my 30's helping my brother lay tile from time to time.
Concrete wallboard is crucial, and it's not terrible expensive. For the tub/shower area go with a quality 4x4 tile (Florida Tile is good stuff) if trying to save money. You can make it look sharp by adding a simple second color into the design. Just make sure to take the tile at least 4in high than the shower spigot. Many independent tile store have better prices than HD or Lowes, far better selection and lower rental fees for tub saws.

McLoki

We put in wall tile in our last house and it looked awesome. (used 4x8 tiles) anyway - don't use drywall in the bath/shower area. (basicallly from where the shower comes out of the wall all the way around the tub to about 4" outside the tub (where the tub meets the wall and water runs down when you get in and out or splash.)

Use cement board in that area. We used greenboard everywhere else in the bathroom but are not sure if we needed it or not.

There was tile on the wall that we replaced and they had used standard drywall behind it. once the tile was off, the wall behind it just disintigrated. I am not sure how the tile stayed in place. It only took 3 or 4 sheets of cemet board to do that area and if the grout ever leaks, it will not create a problem. (only need to use the cement board where their could be direct contact to the water. Not that worried about steam and such....

Anyway, that is my recommendation.

Michael

SKsolutions

Do not tile any more than you have to. Always use durock cement board in areas that you will be tiling. Always have a tub, unless there are baths for each bedroom. Even en suite master baths should have a tub with atile, or stone surround. Do not use shiny marble, tumbled is good.

Try to use a ribbon (band design around top-ish part) in your tiling of a shower, and a pattern for a floor. You can download a free program to arrange the tile for you, or make a mosaic.

If you have tiling on your ceiling, and it's not a steam room, you will have trouble selling now, let alone 10 years from now. Less is more especially in a small room.

Mazeroth

Pablo wrote: »

I can take some pictures if you want.

Pablo, that would be great!

For everyone else, thanks for all the input. I just spoke with my Mom who says her friend has tile even on the ceilings and it looks remarkable, however, I'm not so sure I want to go that far. I'm 100% sold on the floor and would really like the walls done as well as they're in need of a lot of repair work that I could avoid putting up the cement board and tile, along with the better look. The ONLY thing holding me back is the resale of the house, as if I were a home buyer that didn't like tile and knowing how much of a pain it would be to take it down would really deter me from buying it.

Again, thanks for all the input and let's hear some more if you got it!

Pablo

Here are the pictures of my baths (keep in mind bath1 I did 7 years ago, and bath2 5 years, so they are showing signs of wear [and need a grout cleaning]). Also keep in mind it was all done on the cheap. Everything you see are home depot specials (they really don't have anything good). We did shop a bit for tiles, nothing at the tile stores jumped out at us and were all at least twice the price. I have 2 more baths that need to be redone (a full and a half), but not sure when I will get on those.

Bath 1 is my master bath (the blue one). It's not huge, but big enough. It has 4x6 tiles surrounding the shower with 6x6 on the floor. You can see the tiles don't go to the ceiling. It's a wirlpool tub that was pretty cheap but works nice (don't use it all that much since we got a hot tub).

Bath 2 is a downstairs bath (the gray one). It has 4x6 half way up the wall with 12x12 on the floor. The shower is entirely tiled. It looks a little strange in the picture, but the shower ceiling was tiled diagonaly using the floor tile. This bath is mostly used for parties and guests, so doesn't see all that much use.

Pablo

(This is bath 2)

tryrrthg

I did subway tile on our shower/tub surround, broken up by a decorative tile. We did a small hexagon on the floor.

tiling wasn't as bad as I thought. not fun, but not horrible.

polktiger

The tile install has been pretty well covered, you have good tips on doing that correctly...

I actually think qualilty clear glass doors open things up better than a curtain, but we have shower only in the master since neither my wife or I take baths. (There is a tub in the "hall bath" when one is needed.) You could consider a frameless or semi-frameless single swing door with glass panels instead of the normal double slide. When reremodeled we used all solid surface (corian) for the shower walls and pan to cut down on the maintenance. We tiled the floors (including adjoining master closet) but not the walls since I did more elaborate trim work.

Since you have all the walls torn out of the shower, go ahead and install a second shower head or a alternate handheld sprayer. You will already need the diverter for the tub/shower and they are convenient and should provide a little "wow" at resale.

Also, strongly consider whether you want pedistal sinks in the master bath. They look nice, but I am more concerned about functionality in the master bath. I like a counter when getting ready. My wife really needs one when she is getting ready. But, it is certainly a personal preference.

On toilet - consider one with the 3" flush valve unless you go pressure assisted. Even then the gravity flow with 3" valve will frequently perform as well or better than the pressure assisted ones with much less noise.

MrNightly

Maz,

Do a wainscoat, 4' high on the walls. Floor to Ceiling just isn't in style any more for bathrooms. I've been setting tile for many years now, and design and do a lot of custom work as well. I wouldn't do the ceiling. For the dry walls, you can use either Durarock, Hardiboard, or sheetrock. For the wet walls, Durarock, Hardiboard, or my personal favorite, Denshield. Denshield is ton's easier to use then the others, can be cut with a sheetrock knife, and is 100% Waterproof. Check your local tile stores to see who sells it. Most Sheetrock will hold your dry tile just fine. No need to go crazy and replace all of it. Avoid HD or Lowes for tile selection, you get what you pay for there! Use a mastic on the dry walls, and Ultraflex II or comparable for the shower and flooring.

There are a TON of tile and stone styles and choices out there, stop by a tile dealer and ask for a few catalogs to flip through. (Florida tile was mentioned above, a great company with ton's of styles!) American Olean, DalTile, Florida Tile, Crossville are all great companies.

Setting the tile isn't rocket-science (Hey, if I can do it, anybody can! ) but it does require the proper tools, as I'm sure you know. If you have any questions, just drop me a PM.

To those that are crazy about PricePfister... just wait 6 months. They are crap. Moen is a great choice for fixtures and has some of the best customer care around!

Kohler makes some of the best toilet's out there in their price range... check out Lowe's Highline or Cimmaron. Both are around $200 and rock solid performers that you'd be hard pressed to find anything close for that price.

Enjoy and have fun with this project. As stated above, kitchen's and bathrooms make or break a house! Spend the coin, do it right, and enjoy!

SKsolutions

Look at pictures from lofts and condos that are being sold in NY, Boston, & San Fran to get some inspiration. To implement a style that been around for over 7 years will look dated to me already, and to most buyers in short fashion. I'm not a snob, this is just what I do for a living. I currently have some tile on the walls of my bath. When I update, I know I'll be maximizing my return by spending the time and money wisely.