What’s the best way to tile a shower wall?
Today we share 9 Quick Tips for how to tile a shower wall.
For more tips and tricks visit Home Repair Tutor
Tip #1: Check shower stud walls
No stud wall is made the same. Place a 4 foot level vertically, horizontally and diagonally on studs to check their plumb and level. Off-kilter studs can be fixed by sistering a second stud to them.
Tip #2: Waterproofing Behind Tile
There are a variety of great waterproofing methods..use one, e.g. KERDI-BOARD, Wedi, GoGoard, Cement Board with RedGard, Cement Board with ARDEX 8+9, Cement Board with Hydroban.
Tip #3: Plan Tile Layout
All you need is the size of the tile, grout joint, measuring tape, and pencil & pad. Play the tile layout to avoid slivers at the ceiling and corners. There’s nothing worse than a sliver of tile.
Tip #4: Get Quality Tile
Don’t buy cheap clay based tiles…every chip will show. Get quality porcelain tiles that are the same color throughout. Check for imperfections and cupping.
Tip #5: Tile Leveling System for Large Format Tiles
Listen, tile leveling systems aren’t necessary all the time. But large format tiles often have irregularities. And leveling systems help set these tiles and eliminate tile lippage. They’re worth considering.
Tip #6: Stagger Large Format Tiles in Thirds
Large format tiles set in thirds helps stop lippage. Read the TCNA handbook for more tips on this.
Tip #7: Small Grout Joints
Grout joints that are 1/16″ or 1/8″ help cut down on maintenance. Plus, they just look better.
Tip #8: Quality Thin-Set
Use something like ARDEX X77 for large tiles. Choose the correct trowel size, back butter and use directional troweling as well. There are a lot of great thin-sets but we always go back to X77.
Tip #9: Quality Grout
Keracolor U, Mapei FA, ARDEX WA, SPECTRALOCK, QuartzLock 2, Flexcolor CG…these are all good options.
Hope these tips help your tile your shower wall.
Visit us at Home Repair Tutor for more detailed tutorials
