Materials
Choosing bathroom tiles: a fitter's view
What a tiler considers when choosing tiles, which is rarely what a showroom mentions.
Tiling is our own trade, so this guide is written from the fixing side rather than the showroom side. The tile you like the look of and the tile that will still look right in five years are not always the same product.
These are the factors we weigh up when a customer asks what to buy.
Porcelain or ceramic
Porcelain is denser, less absorbent and tougher, which makes it the sensible choice for floors and heavily used showers. Ceramic is lighter, cheaper and perfectly good on walls. Cutting porcelain takes longer, which shows up in labour.
Size changes the labour, not just the look
Large format tiles need a genuinely flat wall. If the wall is out by a few millimetres over a metre, a big tile will show it as lipping at every edge. That is why we sometimes recommend re-boarding a wall before large tiles, or choosing a smaller format instead.
Floor tiles need a slip rating
A polished floor tile in a shower area is a hazard. Check the slip rating and pick something rated for wet use, especially in a wet room where the whole floor gets wet.
Grout is a decision, not an afterthought
Colour and type both matter more than people expect.
- Mid tones hide wear better than brilliant white or black
- Narrow joints look neat but demand accurate setting out
- Flexible adhesive and grout where a floor may move
- Silicone, never grout, in internal corners and floor junctions
What preparation the tile needs
Every tile is only as sound as what it is fixed to. Old sand and cement render that has blown, plasterboard in a wet area without tanking, or a flexing floor will all fail regardless of what you paid per square metre.
Buy enough, and buy at once
Allow for cuts and breakages and order the whole job in one batch. Shades vary between production runs, and matching a later batch is close to impossible.
Questions
Frequently asked
How much extra tile should I order?
Allow around ten per cent over the measured area for cuts and breakages, and more for a complicated room.
Can you tile over existing tiles?
Occasionally, if they are firmly fixed and the added thickness works. More often removing them is the sound choice.
Are dark grout lines a mistake in bathrooms?
Not a mistake, but they show limescale. Mid tones tend to age best.
Do I need special tiles for a wet room floor?
Yes, slip rated and in a size that follows the falls without lipping.
Why does my grout keep going dark?
Usually water getting behind the tiles, or inadequate ventilation. Regrouting alone will not cure either.
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