Tiling the shower

It's June 2016.

Tiling - my favourite thing to do. People say it's hard but it's not. You've just got to make sure everything is ready and then you get on with it. The right tools are important too.

Up to the mosaic row

I tile the inside of the shower enclosure first. I'm thinking that I want to get the shower installed asap. It doesn't work out that way but here's where I start anyway.

Tiling onto new plaster requires some sealant. There's all sorts of discussion online about what you do and don't need and it's difficult to get a straight answer. I get the stuff that Tile Warehouse sell to be on the safe side.

This is the bit I was particularly pleased with myself for - look at those pipes coming through the tiles! The wall tiles are made of ceramic: not as hard as the porcelain, floor tiles but still tricky to drill through. I got an adjustable tile drill bit, put the tile on some foam wadding, marked the centre by knocking the drill gently and then started drilling slowly, wetting the head as I went to keep it cool. It took about 20 minutes for each hole.

Look how close to the edge that 2nd hole is! I couldn't believe that I managed to do it right on the first tile. I did do a practise hole on a waste bit of tile first.

The tiles were all stuck on with flexible adhesive. This wasn't necessary on the plaster but it made it easier than messing about with different adhesives. I used a dark grey because it was on offer. This meant I would have to use a dark grout because it would show through a light one unless I did a lot of careful trimming. I'm happy with that but you do need to be careful with these choices.

After the bottom section of tiles, it was time for the mosaic layer, lining it up with the inset shelf.

The mosaic tiles were Homelux Mosaic Mixed Media - Tucson from Homebase. The individual tiles come on a 12x12 net which you can cut to size and stick up in blocks. My border has 9 mini-tiles which worked quite well. It's nearly impossible to cut the mini-tiles neatly so they have to be "managed" into the space needed.

After the mosaic tiles had been added I had to wait for that adhesive to set. Adding the large heavy main tiles above the mosaics before it set would have squashed the mini tiles together.

These next 2 photos show the tiles completed over the mosaic border. I haven't done inside the window recess nor behind the WC yet and none of it is grouted.


















Before the new WC can be fitted, the tiling and grouting needs to be completed and grouted behind and underneath it.

If you don't do that first, once the new WC is fitted, all the tiles will have to be cut around it, not an easy job, especially the porcelain floor tiles.





In this last photo, the tiling is complete and grouted. You can just see the half-tile skirting used on the non-tiled walls.  There's a wooden skirting around the shower enclosure. This is screwed in place so it's easily removable if access is needed under the tray. The top of the half-wall and window board still needs finishing - see next post.