Tile experts re: cove

10 years ago

I am currently doing a bathroom in 2x2 porcelain, walls and floor. It worked out so that the floors transition with the built-up cove base, and we were able to do coves vertically on the shower wall corners as well, and I really like this. I know 2x2 porcelain is pretty old-school--I couldn't even get the 100% correct corner that was coved in both horizontal and vertical directions. They stopped making it, and I was the first person to ask for in a few years.

I am doing two more baths, and in one of them I want to use conventional 4.25 square tile. It comes with a 4.25 square cove tile, and I was wondering how this would translate also in the vertical, since the cove is so much less of a cove

With the 2 x 2, the cove tile is a whole tile curved in half, where as the 4.25 tile just has a coved lip at the edge.

I am going to mock it up with some tile before I buy it, but I was wondering if anyone had already done this.

There are 4x tiles that come with an actual separate cove corner but the particular tile I want to use is 1) actually color matched to the fixtures and 2) about 20% of the price of the tile that has the separate cove corners

Thoughts on how this would install?

Featured Answer

ineffablespace
Original Author

10 years ago

Here's what we are doing in the one bathroom, you can see the cove between the vertical and horizontal surfaces, and between the two vertical surfaces.

Comments (7)

debrak2008
10 years ago
I'm not sure I understand your question. We have 4.25 cove tile in our bathroom.

Is this what you mean?

I just realized you are asking for tile experts to answer this. Sorry no expert here!

This post was edited by debrak2008 on Mon, Jan 27, 14 at 20:32
ineffablespace
Original Author
10 years ago
Yes, that is the cove that comes with the tile I am using in bathroom #3 although it is 4.25 square rather than 6" rectangular. I am wondering if anyone has installed this vertically (against the same 4.25 tile) vertically up wall corners as well as the corners against the floor.

(The 2x2 is made to be coved in any direction you want, it's a bit different, and all the coving is usually done only in commercial settings).
debrak2008
10 years ago
Sorry I was really off! No that tile is not 4.25. I have that in a different bathroom but there is no cove.

Interesting cove tile in your photo. I'm never seen that before. I hope someone posts who has helpful info for you.
ineffablespace
Original Author
10 years ago
It's color body porcelain and it was used a lot in apartments in my neighborhood when they were converted in the 1960s . Both my condo units had it floor and wall, but without the cove. The cove is used a lot in commercial settings.
raehelen
10 years ago
Wow! That's a lot of piddley work! Are they all laid individually, or do they come on a mesh sheet? So, then you have to get all your corners to line up exactly to use those coves? Or do you trim that bottom piece? Not quite sure how you would cut that double coved piece?

We had 2 X 2 tiles in our old house, (first house that we had built). If I remember correctly, those came on sheets. I loved the look, I even had the BR counters tiled in it... Hey, it was the 80's! LOL
ineffablespace
Original Author
10 years ago
The field is in 12"x24" sheets, the bullnose is in 12" strips, the built up base is 12" x 5" mounted, and the rest are made-to-order pieces.

The way to fudge the corners is in the field adjacent to the cove or corner pieces.

This bathroom worked out almost all full tiles. There are a few areas where a row needed to be shaved and a row where the gap between tiles is probably a tiny bit too wide, but it's in an unfinished basement and it was kind of an experiment.