A flat surface is one of the primary requirements for tiling. The larger the tile size, the flatter the wall needs to be. 1/4" won't fly, no matter the size of the tile, even if you used 3/8" mosaics.

We tiled our shower stall and talked quite a bit with the chap. We happened to use the large 5 by 8's with backer board....[it was all made straight].... he mentioned when walls aren't straight the smaller tiles can absorb the grade discrepancy over a stretch or run. I would think it'll be ok ....2 by 2 squares or the like?? mosaics-no because they are on sheets....If the cabs aren't in, can't they install the bases a bit "out" and you can add another layer of drywall or backer board at least where backsplash will be..... I think you'll figure out a solution...

I think you are referring the the Hub that joins two pieces of pipe. I think you are going to have to add a layer of dryway of 3/8-1/2" thickness over the whole wall, cutting out the area over the hub and then filling in and spackling that area to make it level and smooth to the new wall surface.

The extra 1/2" will throw things off by that much, but you should be able to compensate for it.

Or, you could install the cabinets in the normal position and patch the drywall between the upper and lower cabinets in the same way described above. The countertop would be slightly less deep in this area, but it would keep the cabinets in their original planned position.

This post was edited by palimpsest on Thu, Aug 22, 13 at 10:34

Exactly what others have said: you really need a flat wall to do a proper job of tiling. A very small amount of unevenness can be accommodated, but 1/4" is a lot. Reading your description, it sounds like they have put drywall next to it, but not over the pipe yet? I don't know if it's up to code (maybe some expert can chime in?) but perhaps they're planning to use thinner drywall over the pipe. I know you can get thin drywall, maybe 1/4" thick or something. I don't know if it's a good idea or sturdy enough, but maybe that's the plan?

You can cut the drywall out just at the point of contact with the pipe. Then use mesh tape and mud over the pipe. This is done often where there is a bulge from a pipe or framing hardware etc. And since you are going to have tile over, the patch doesn't have to be all that pretty, just flat...

There is 1/4" drywall that you can apply to that wall. Do a cutout in it for that hub that is protruding.

A good tile person can work around that. I have tile on top of brick with thick grout. He used chicken wire and mudded behind to lay tile. Looks great. Thicker backer board is also a good idea.

GWlolo has a good point. There just needs to be a flat surface to tile on. I suppose it doesn't mean that the flat surface can't be created on top of the drywall using some applied product.

Thanks so much for all your responses. My GC's explanation sounded most like GWlolo, he mentioned thick grout. And also what ctyctm said I think he mentioned mud and tape over it. He also mentioned he could shave a little bit off the pipe fitting (??safe?!).

I still think the idea of an extra layer of thin drywall sounds less risky, but I'll cross this again when we get there.
Heres a picture...
thanks again

I inherited my dads house and decided to tile around the tub in the upstairs shower. The wall behind the plastic paneling like stuff I took off is really uneven and crumbly. How do I prepare that for tiling. I don’t want to spend any more money than I have to. I’ve spent enough

Shim or fur out the studs flat for the cement board, then follow the proper procedure for cement board and waterproofing before you install your tile

@millworkman, good to see you here my friend! :)

Cement board went up in my bathroom and a hole was cut for the prefabricated niche. Went over with the niche in hand and naturally it doesn't fit. Why is everything so hard?? The niche flange is sitting at least 1/4" proud of cement board, though it should have been the right depth. Confused as to how this could be happening, I ran a straight edge across the cement board from edge to edge and can see that the center of the board (where the niche sits) dips in. Guess my contractor didn't bother to check if the board was level. So now I'm thinking ahead to the tile job (I picked 6x12" tiles) and from multiple posts, can see that what you are tiling on needs to be flat. I showed my contractor and he said that the wall does not need to be flat and that you can even all the tiles out by adding more mortar where necessary. A whole internet of posts seem to disagree with him. Ugh! So since he clearly doesn't give a crap how my apartment turns out, I'll sort it out myself even though I don't know what the hell I'm doing.

Here's what I've come up with.

1) leave the niche proud and try to level around it with thinset, thereby also leveling out the wall. I'm not sure if this is beyond my technical capabilities. I was impressed will all the divets I filled in the drywall (yeah, my GC sucks), but cement might be another ballgame to drywall mud and this is a much larger area.

2) Cement board is quite flexible. Maybe I can add some shims between the board and the stud to bring it out a bit?

3) Cut the outer layer of drywall out behind the niche (it faces a closet). Then the niche flange will sit flat on the cement board and I can feather down the small lip with thinset. The wall itself will still not be flat with this option. Enter the chicken wire mentioned earlier in this post for leveling out the wall. Seems like a great idea and I can pass it on to the tiler!! Is this a common technique employed by tilers when faced with uneven walls or am I going to have to find a creative one?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Here are some pics to illustrate the problem:

At the worst point, the niche flange is probably 1/4" proud of the wall.

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Top seems ok'ish, but this is a LONG niche (36")

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Running a straight edge along the wall while holding the two side in place. The center of the board clearly dips in.

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Actually, I'll make my own post so as not to hijack this one. Sorry OP.