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enduring

Feedback Needed on My Shower Tile Plan

enduring
10 years ago

Hi, I am in the midst of tiling my shower. I want to get feedback on what I should do with this wall. Originally I was going to tile it, then chickened out (with help of others advising me not to tile this area). I have it finished now with paint and baseboard. But, I still think about tiling it. I had posted several months ago about this dilemma but I can't remember which thread.

The following pictures are of the shower, traveling to the left, around the partial wall, and then to the W/D stacked set. My plan was to continue the tile around this partial wall and have the tile die into the cabinet. The tile in the shower will go to the ceiling. If I tile around the partial wall it will go to the ceiling too. I have enough tile.

Should I:
A - tile it?

B - leave it painted?

Right side of shower:

to the left:

Partial wall on the shower side:

Washer/Dryer side of the wall:

This post was edited by enduring on Fri, Mar 14, 14 at 20:21

Comments (24)

  • catbuilder
    10 years ago

    Are you asking for a re-vote? I'll vote again for tiling around the wall. To me, it would look more cohesive, plus I prefer to die the tile into a corner or edge (like a door casing or other piece of trim).

    Here is a link that might be useful: original thread

  • enduring
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Oh thank you Catbuilder, I will have to take a look at the thread. But I think I remember you liking the go-around. Now that I got my counter in place I think it will be cohesive as you say. One trouble I'm having is the size of the tile. It is a SLOW process. I can only mix up 5 cups of water and mix the thinset into that, to set the tiles. I'm also a messy tiler so I go slow and clean as I go.

    There are no bullnoses so I will need to make my own slightly rounded end caps. I was planning to tile the 2 sides to flush and then put end caps at the 6" wall end, covering the tile last tiles from the 2 walls. I saw an installation at a tile show room that was like this. I also have seen mitered corners but I don't know if I can do that. I have a miter jig for my saw though. Raehelen's husband did mitered corners around their shower alcove. What ever I do, the end cap at the partial wall will be at a narrow area of the bathroom (bottle neck) and I don't want to have issues with banging into the corners of the tile and breaking them. The space is 35" from counter to partial wall, but the entry into the room is only 32", through the pocket doors.

  • lotteryticket
    10 years ago

    I remember this question! I'm not sure how I voted before but I would bring it around the corner to the W/D. And you're doing a great tile job. There's no reason to hurry. Slow and steady!

  • enduring
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Lottery, LOL, you voted to stop at the shower! See the link that Catbuilder supplied.

    I am really thinking about doing the wrap. I planned from the beginning to do this and thought I ordered enough tile. There is so much waste with these 12x24 tiles. I would not recommend using these unless the room was bigger. or you have a "random sized tile" project waiting in the wings. I drew and drew the plan before I ordered, and I hope I counted all the whole tiles I would need for the ends. But that was months and months ago. I think I counted right, and I remember even buying extra, even over the x% extra I might need for mistakes. I have to stratigically lay the shower without committing to the wrap until I can really see what I have left. I will need 9 tiles for the laundry side. All my scraps are smaller than the largest tile I need on that side (13.75").

    Slow and steady, thanks for the support lottery. It took me 2 hours to lay one of those niche tiles as I got the first one too short. I am slow.

  • raehelen
    10 years ago

    I can't remember what I said before either, but since you won't know if you have enough tiles until you're further along, it may be a moot point anyways.

    You should be able to do the end of the wall with left-overs. I totally hear you about the waste with 12 X 24 tiles, we had to cut even more than you as I laid my tiles soldier style so they ALL had to be cut except for the centre column on ONE wall (the long wall). But we used the left overs to make a baseboard and to cover the outside of the shower base and the 4" wall return, we have 3 out of 88 tiles left over, and we had to redo/waste 2 tiles because of having to level the shower base. In all, I think the total waste might have been 5-6 tiles or 10-12 sq ft. I think when you use the large format tiles in a small space you just have to calculate all that extra cutting as an added cost per sq ft, ie so if the cost was $6 per sq ft, think of it as $6.60-$7 to account for the added waste. Sort of like when you lay wall paper with a large repeat, ie over 21", you just know you will be wasting more thus making it more expensive!

  • enduring
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Raehelen, thanks for your input. I counted and counted and I think that I could have 1or 2 left over :/ I also need to get information about mitering corners and I know your DH did that on your shower. If I end up wrapping I think the miter might be a nice clean look. A bit of a rounded or squared off miter so it isn't sharp.

    I am going to see if I can buy any of the tile on the internet. The local tile business where I found the tile only sells to the trade but they also sell their tile through an outfit locally called Nebraska Furniture Mart. It wasn't a typical tile they carry and had to be shipped from Italy. I am wondering if any place on the internet has it in stock. I could see getting 12 (need 9) tiles to finish the other wall.

  • enduring
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    At the point of no return. I finally made the commitment to take the "marblelain" tile (thank Hunzi for that mash-up:) around my partial wall.

    Here is the beginnings of the process:


  • BirchPoint
    9 years ago

    Enduring, how high did you take that shower tile and what height is your ceiling?

  • enduring
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    It's going to the ceiling, which is about 97 or so inches tall. It is going to be very plan in the layout, now bull nose or other trim pieces. The through body porcelain accommodates this in my view.

  • feisty68
    9 years ago

    I love the effect of the large format tile! Your shower will look fantastic. I think I want this in my tub/shower area. Good to know about the waste, but then again you will waste less of your precious time scrubbing grout lines in the future :) .

  • DreamingoftheUP
    9 years ago

    Absolutely good idea to tile around to the cabinet. You don't show the rest of the room, but I'd even tile the other walls, hi or lo, depending on what you like. I like fully tiled rooms

  • enduring
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Feisty68, thanks for the complements :) I am on hold, visiting with my DS2 in Saratoga Springs, NY this week. Next Thursday I will get back on the job!

    DreamingoftheUP (beautiful land), thanks for your input. Because of cost I didn't want to tile the other walls. But it would have been spectacular indeed!

    As mentioned above, my original plan was to tile to the laundry cabinets on the other side of the shower. I got talked out of it by the carpenter, and I thought my DH (he denies that now). I will probably need to order another box or two. I have now decided I will be 1-3 tiles short in the best scenario. I still need to finish the cut tiles at the top and at the pan before I can place my order for number of boxes.

  • jerzeegirl
    9 years ago

    Your shower looks fantastic! Great job!

  • hunzi
    9 years ago

    My mad love of marblelain continues!

    Y'all are going to coerce me into going right into the 3rd bathroom when I'm done with this one so I can have my own marblelain bathroom.

    I like the wrap around on the tile. I think it will look more finished than switching to drywall.

    Always ;-)
    Hunzi

  • hunzi
    9 years ago

    they also sell their tile through an outfit locally called Nebraska Furniture Mart.

    Are you telling me that I can get this fab tile at NFM? Oh joy!!! That's where DH works - that means I could possibly score an employee discount! (discounts vary widely on products - it just depends) I'll need the name/make of the tile!

    Happy dance!
    Always ;-)
    Hunzi

  • mgmum
    9 years ago

    Looks fantastic! I'm loving the "marblelain" tiles! I'm coveting them for when I get around to doing my bathroom.

  • enduring
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks you guys.

    Hunzi, the tile is Atlas Concorde, Marvel, Calacatta Extra, in the matt. Go to RBC show room in Omaha, and see it. NFM carries one of their lines "Back Bay", at least in Des Moines they do. So since NFM is a retailer for RBC Back Bay line, you can get the Atlas Concorde through NFM too, even though they don't carry it on the floor. Note, RBC has another "marblelain" tiles you might want to look at.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Atlas Concorde, Marvel, Calacatta Extra

  • enduring
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here is the tile finally up tonight. I still have to take it around to the other side but I want to focus on getting the shower grouted and caulked and the fixtures installed. You can see that I have some lipage with some of the tiles. Oh well : /

    The orchid is there for the amusement of my DS2 who now lives in NY state.

  • raehelen
    9 years ago

    Looks marvelous! I was going to comment that you are pretty fancy decorating your step ladder... I actually have a huge piece of coral which is now on my vanity counter, but I contemplated putting it in my niche...LOL

    Did you agonize (well, agonize may be too strong a word) over placement of tiles like I did? I like how your veins flow from one tile to another.

  • enduring
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Raehelen, yes agonizing is a good word to describe the process. I wanted to make sure that the pieces didn't repeat near each other. But I noticed when I posted these pics last night I had two tiles near each other that were repeats, dang, though one is upside down from the other. You can see it in the first pic.

    I tried to balance the heavily veined tiles throughout the walls, using the lighter tiles to break thinks up. I tried to plan all my cuts within each tile to maximize pattern or prevent repeats. I did not waste even one tile in this project. I think I may have made a miss cut on one of the niches "L" pieces, but I was able to salvage that for one of the bottom tile trim pieces.

    These tiles are very nice, they are dense and cut very well. They are an Italian tile. My floor tiles seemed a little weaker, they were made in a plant in Tennessee. Both porcelain.

    BTW, I may have lucked out, there might be 3 tiles left over after I am finished. I was able to use one tile for 2 pieces in several areas at the top and bottom.

  • leela4
    9 years ago

    enduring - it looks beautiful. What a great job!

  • sjhockeyfan325
    9 years ago

    Very beautiful and well done.

    Raehelen, don't do it (the coral) - what if it falls?

  • socom
    9 years ago

    Your shower looks great! Beautiful!

  • anitaladyrose
    9 years ago

    Beautiful! It's obvious that you are meticulous. Very well planned. *Jealous* :)