Bathroom Ceramic Tile Installation

Hello and thanks in advance for any and all replies.

I am in the process of finishing my basement and doing 90% of the work myself. I have just finished tiling my bathroom shower and (I think) it looks beautiful. My wife does too but doesn't like the corners... Let me explain....

I started with a base of Durock and had it finished into the green board where I knew the tile would end. Approximately half of the outer tiles fall on the durock and half on the green board. (Follow me?) Anyway.. I started tiling with some very nice Italian tiles. I have a fiberglass shower pan at the base. The tiles were started about an 1/8" above that per directions. I stacked the 6" tile straight up and down until I got to midway up the wall. I then have a border of three rows of 2" tiles going around the shower as the border. (No problems with this part!) The trouble begins (As my wife sees it) when I started tiling above the border. All the tiles here are on the diagonal. I cut 1/2 tiles and started tiling. The book that I read said that all the tiles should be centered on each wall. However... This means that the tiles don't match in the corners where the walls meet! I tried it the other way where, after cutting the tiles to fit into the corner... Taking the remaining tile and start in the corner on the next wall so the tile looks like it "wraps" around the wall. When I tried this it looked weird because the grout lines didn't match up as they do on the main wall. Also the tiles were obviously not centered on the wall when doing it this way... But the corners would look good.

So... Who is right and who is wrong or is it a matter of taste or choice. I've seen pictures both ways. My wife wanted me to take the tiles down. I told her that after spending 25+ hours tiling the shower that they were there to stay... I couldn't take them down anyway since the thinset has dried.

Can anyone tell me how this is supposed to work?

Thanks,

Rick

 

You could have tried to cut the tile on the diagonal but not in half. The cut would be made to make the longest side of the cut tile = to the length of the tiles on the bottom half of the wall so all tha grout joints lined up from the bottom to the top - the 2" tile unless you get lucky. Layouts can start at the middle or offset by 1/2 tile. This is usually for rectangular layouts.

 

The grout joints line up on the main back wall... It's where they turn the corner that they don't line up. I can't change the size of the cut when I turn the corner??

What is normal??? Do you continue the pattern when you turn the corner or do you center the tile on each wall and let the tiles end where they may??? Even thought the grout lines don't match...

 

Can you post a picture?

 

When doing a diagonal, it is always best to have the tile "wrap" around the corners so the grout lines match up, as if the tile was bent. Not so big an issue with a straight lay, but significant when doing a diagonal, herringbone, running bond, etc. Steve no need for a picture, I know what he is talking about, but if it will help with your shower tile layout, then by all means, please post a picture Rick as it will be beneficial to others.

 

Needed to read that one more time. I ran into this in my kitchen. It was important to me too that the corners looked good. The wife is right un that respect. I solved the problem by doing the corners with mirror images and worked my way to the center which was under a window. I bought the same tile I was using only larger in size cut to what I needed and put it under the window and nobody has noticed it yet.

Your prob is a little different. You have no where to hide the mismatch. One option is to use a larger tile right in the middle. The top and bottom of the tile will not come to a point in all likely hood but it is a tough situation when you are doing it in a confined space. Start at 1 corner and work your way in. the same at the other side. I see tilebri just weighed in. Let's see what he has to say.

 

So in other words, you would start by measuring the diagonal in the center of the long wall and worry about the corner cuts on the two short side walls where the very small cuts would be noticable. Then you need to make a determination as to whether it would look better to shift the tile on the back wall over by 1/2 a daigonal tile width. I hope this makes sense, kinda tough to describe. R&D has lots of pics, maybe he'll see this and post one or ten.

 

I don't know if you are talking to me but if you are I say do a layout with all the inside corners and outside edges full 1/2 tiles and work your way to the middle and see what you are left with. Maybe a larger tile of the same design can be cut to fill in the space. Like I said you will need to cut the top and bottom of the tile so it would be more like a 6 sided tile. You could alsodrill a hole in the middle of this tile and put in a glass tile or some other accent piece to make it look like it was part of the design. It's a tough situation. Of course all this would be done on graph paper

 

The tile should look like it folds around the corner, start in the middle and work outwards.

Why can't I post pictures, how is is done here?

 

Okay... I hope this works... Here are some pictures of my "Problem"...

Here's a shot of it from the doorway... I think this part looks great!



Now for the corners... This is a shot of the corners...



The point is that if you look at any wall... It is almost perfectly centered! It's not until you look at the corners that the train wrecks. <grin> I'm hoping that once grouted and caulked it looks better.

So... Is it a matter of taste or did I do it incorrectly?

 

It is never going to look better. =The wife wins this one. You did it incorrectly. I think you know that right.The book you read is the prob. You can either center the tile in the middle or offset it by 1/2 tile meaning the grout joint falls in the middle of the wall. It is hard to explai but in a nut shell the difference is a 1/2 tile shift.

Having said all that it does not really apply to tiles on the diagonal. 1 layout would be to start at 1 outside end Of a front or back wall and work your way around the 3 walls. Hopefully the other outside corner will not look too bad it may look great. The other option is to start in the middle of the long wall and work your way in each direction around the corners disregarding the fact that they are corners. Use the left over piece from the cut as the first piece on the front wall or back wall so the tile looks folded.This is the best option because both outside corners will be identical I still think another option is like I described , that is to start at the corners and deal with the middle , but only if it can be made to look as if it belongs there.

I think the tiles need to come out. I don't think it can be fixed. You can only center the tile on 1 wall the rest need to go where they go. Your mistake was to center a whole tile on each of the 3 walls

 

Yes.. I know now that I did it incorrectly... But how do I get the tiles out? Or.. Do I even want to at this point? I know there is no way to save the tiles at this point if I remove them. They are on a Durock backerboard so I'm not worried about peeling the greenboard paper out or anything like that. What is the best way to remove them (Smash them with a hammer and pry out the remaining tile pieces?) or, like I said, is it even worth it?

 

I would use a 4" mini grinder with a dry cut diamond blade and cut a straight line right over the 2" tiles and then again over the top trim pieces and just remove everything including the substraight. See what others have to say. I do tile but it is not all I do.

 

If it were me, I would live with it for a few years. I don't see any reason to tear out a perfectly good tile job just because the tile PATTERN was done incorrectly. Looking straight into the shower, you can't even tell there is a problem. You are a DIY'er, you justs learned a lot right, and saved a lot of money. Enjoy the new shower and then in a few years you can tear it out and change things up.
Tearing the tile out may or may not damage the board under it. If damaged, it all needs to come out.
If you just cut the section out as suggested by joneq, you will have problems sealing the joint. You won't be able to thinset and tape the new joint.
I guess it comes down to how long you plan on being in the house and how unhappy your wife is. Most of my screw ups, my wife just wants to make sure I know that she was right and I wrong but it isn't a big enough deal to really worry about for a few years.
Good luck it looks like a nice shower though,
Bryan

 

I have done this many times. Every time someone does a repair to replace some tile it would be nice if they also took out the perimeter tiles outside the repair but it is usually not done,at least around here. I realize that the joint should be taped so if you want you could leave the bottom row of diagonal cuts and remove the rest then chisel off the bottom row and tape it, ,or you could remove the top row of 2" tile sand it and tape the joint,or you could take it all off and use matching colored caulk or you could live with it. It didn't look like the job was meant to be ripped out in a few years. I would rather do it right the first time but it is too late for that. I think Rick knows that it can stay as is. That is obvious. I think he mentioned that he wasn't going to remove them in his first post.

"I told her that after spending 25+ hours tiling the shower that they were there to stay... I couldn't take them down anyway since the thinset has dried."

I am not one of those who thinks every grout joint is going to leak, or that every untaped wall joint that is caulked is going to crack a tile[especially when it is not on a tile]. Quite the opposite. This will be a natural joint that will not crack a tile an I believe it will not leak if done properly. A bed of caulk could be laid between the new piece of durock and the old remaining piece..This is not a shower floor it is a shoulder high vertical wall we are talking about.

And finally--- You do not want the wife [any wife] looking at this everytime she takes a shower. Girls don't like stuff like that. You will probably pick up an extra 5 or 6 hours of free time in just the first week That you could have used to fix it.

 

First I appreciate everyone's advice and points of view. I guess it's nice to know that I can take it down if I really get a lot of grief from my wife... But I think I'll probably just leave it up. We probably won't be in this house by the time it needs to be replaced or is considered outdated. It will be the next guys problem. It's strong, it looks great (except the corners) and It will look even better when I finish grouting and my wife decorates. I bought a clear glass door so there's no hiding it.

I just had a neighbor come over who is a DIYer himself. He (and his wife) inspected it and said, yes... it probably should have been wrapped around, but they just toured several million dollar homes in Florida that were tiled the same way... They noticed it when they were there.

Anyway... I'll dig up this post and post some pics when it's finished!

Thanks again everyone!

Rick

 

The only way to fix it, is to remove all the tile on one or the other wall, if you can live with it, leave it.

 

I'm not trying to talk you into anything, but it's only the front and back wall not the long wall. That stays. I would try to take off a couple of tiles just to see what I got and how difficult it was.You could do one wall at a time. I would at least make sure I had enough tiles so that if I ever felt like it I could fix it, or to give to the new owner.

 

Let's see if this works, this is how a corner should look.

http://photobucket.com/albums/y209/R...t=MVC-022S.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/y209/R...t=MVC-010F.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/y209/R...t=MVC-027S.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/y209/R...t=MVC-039F.jpg

OK, figured it out, didn't have to paste all four, but you now see how it has to look, if you get paid for it.

 

R&D... Yeah... I know what iut's supposed to look like... But those are all backsplashes. If it were a backsplash I would have wrapped it. There were no grout lines to match or mismatch.

Like I said.. Once it's finished it will look better. The fact that my neighbors saw the same thing done by professionals in high-dollar homes make me feel a little better. Also... The grief from the wife has subsided... It's not as big an issue as it was. As Duneslider said... I saved a bunch of money doing it myself and, what is more important to me, I learned something from the experience!... ... ... ... Pay someone else to do it next time.

Nah... actually it was fun but tedious. The next time I do something like this... No professional will have been able to have done it better... quicker maybe... but not better.

Thanks again guys for all the interest and posts with suggestions. As I said... I'll post more pics when the whole thing is finished!

 

Doesn't matter what it is, you follow the lines from the first course of tile that you set on a diaganol, picture the deco row as a countertop, it should work all the time if cut correctly, a corner is corner, backsplash doesn't make a difference.

I'm not here to knock your work, but your comment about a pro not doing it any better?, if it looked like that when I finished it on a job, I wouldn't expect to be paid.

 

"if it looked like that when I finished it on a job, I wouldn't expect to be paid."

May I echo that point. I really think your friends are trying to make you feel better. It's really not likely,but they are nice to do it.

I keep looking for where you were matching all these grout joints and I don't see any, but I do see a lot of thinset in the joints or on the edges of the tile I think.You need to clean them out real good or use grey grout or both. If you are using say a tan grout it looks like it may be a problem. I can't really tell ,but it looks that way. Not trying to pick on ya man, just trying to save you some trouble.

 

Guys... I didn't mean to upset you... Please read again what I wrote... I said with what I have learned... the next time I do this a pro woudn't be able to do a better job... quicker yes. It took me a long time to do this job... And yes I did screw up the corners... But other that that It's a grade A job. Granted... It was a screw-up... but I did learn.

Sorry if I offended anyone... It was not my intent...

 

Rickeeeee you didn't offend anybody. Joneq definitely knows about offending you didn't do it, not even close. Clean up the joints and grout then post the pics. As soon as something doesn't look right stop the presses and post here. Make sure you don't mix the grout too thin[watery]and get it all off the face of the tile. If you need help with grouting ask before you start or google -how to grout tile. Later