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I’ve tiled about 5 times now with different material. I’ve done a friend’s kitchen backsplash, another friend’s shower, my own bathtub surround, my bathroom floor and most recently my own shower. I’ve had enough experience to where I’m getting the hang of what works and what doesn’t work and that’s what this post is about.
When I did the kitchen backsplash tile I got to use Mussel Bound, which is basically a double sided tape membrane that you stick to the wall and then stick the tile to. Mussel Bound is meant for tile and works great!! You aren’t supposed to use it in wet areas like showers though and once you stick your tile to it there isn’t any wiggle room to move the tile around to get it spaced perfectly. You also can’t put the tile’s on wet, so when you use the wet saw you have to either wait for the tiles to dry or you can speed the process along by putting them on a baking sheet in the oven to dry them out. But that stuff is strong and works great!!! I couldn’t use it for my Zellige tile that I’ll discus later because of the rough texture of the tile back and what it’s made out of. You can read the directions for Mussel Bound to see if your tile is compatible.
The picture below you can see the Mussel Bound on the wall. I stuck it to the wall and then only peeled off the backing of the area you are working with. This was my first tiling project, my friend’s backsplash. They let me do this to learn and I was so thankful for the opportunity! This tile comes in 12×12 sheets so the large areas went quick, it was the outside areas that I had to cut small pieces that took forever.
He borrowed a wet saw from a friend and I learned how to use it. It worked pretty great and I’ve since bought myself a wet saw just like it.
I learned how to make intricate cuts too! The wet saw blade doesn’t have teeth so you can get closer to it without risking the teeth grabbing the tile and pulling your hand into it like a regular wood saw.
This project I used a grout float to push the grout into the tile lines, then used a regular grout sponge to remove the excess, working in small areas. But now when I grout I use a microfiber sponge because it works much better!
Since this tiling project was a kitchen backsplash, waterproofing wasn’t necessary like in a shower and same with the bathtub I did in my master bathroom, since it was just a bathtub and not a bath shower combo.
I started my bath area by removing the tile. I first tried to pry it off and save the drywall, but I quickly realized that wasn’t going to work! So I used my multi tool and just cut the drywall and removed all the tile.
I just replaced the drywall here. When installing drywall you want to begin and end the drywall on a stud so it’s nice and sturdy. So one piece of drywall takes up half the stud and the next piece of drywall starts on the next half of the stud.
Then I just tiled right over the drywall. I used mortar that you mix yourself with a corded drill and a mixing drill attachment. But now I use this mixer because it is SO much easier to use and cost less than buying a corded drill and the mixer attachment (you want to use a corded drill for this because you don’t want to burn up the motor and battery of a battery operated drill by mixing).
This Zellige tile is actually really easy to work with for a beginner because it is natural hand made tile and doesn’t require spacers for the most part. This is what it looks like before it’s grouted. I chose the color Natural White for the tile, there are lots of different colors and shapes to choose from.
Then I grouted this almost the same as I grouted my friends backsplash, but this time I used the grout you mix yourself to save money, it was cheaper than buying the premixed stuff, but turns out the premixed is so much easier and doesn’t separate like the stuff you mix yourself. So it’s now worth it to me to spend the extra money on the premixed grout. I bought grout in the color Light Almond for this project, there are LOTS of colors to choose from. I also learned about the microfiber sponge on this project and it works a million times better than the regular yellow sponge!
And this is what the bath area looked like before and after. I took the tile up to the ceiling around the window here where it wasn’t before. The tile was white when I took it off the wall because I painted it with Tough as Tile paint a few years before replacing it.
Next I did my friends bath/shower combo. They had the old tile removed and I came in and added cement board (the red kind is waterproof), used Redguard waterproofing membrane with seam tape and then started tiling.
Personally, I HATE working with cement board, it’s a pain to cut and it’s heavy. I had to cut it with a cut off tool and you want to make sure you’re wearing a mask because the dust is terrible to breathe in! In my shower I used mold resistant drywall paired with the Schluter waterproofing membrane, but next time I do this I’ll use the Schluter Kerdi board instead of cement board or drywall. It’s pricey but some things I’m willing to spend more on.
This tile was beautiful! But you do have to be more precise with it because the grout lines will show if they aren’t perfect! So you want to use spacers and take your time. But also the darker grout you go with white tile the more you will notice any imperfections. We went with a white grout for this bath in the color Avalanche. Also, with tile with color variation like this, you want to grab from different boxes every few tiles to make sure the colors are spaced throughout the area. Here’s how it turned out.
My next tiling project was the floor of my master closet and bathroom. We first removed the original tile, which was a HUGE pain! I’m pretty sure it was installed with black magic! I barely got 1 tile out on my own so Tyler went after it with a jackhammer and got it all removed for me! The closet only had a floating wood floor in it so that was easy to take up.
Once we got the tile up, I went with the Schluter uncoupling membrane. I’m using this because it helps smooth out any uneven surfaces, it’s a waterproofing material and it will prevent the tile from cracking if the concrete floor cracks. The tile in my kitchen has already cracked because of this and I didn’t want to continue that. You install the membrane by cutting it to size and then using mortar to attach it to the floor just like you would tile. If you are laying mortar on a cement slab like I was, you want to spray the slab with water before putting the mortar down, that will prevent the mortar from drying too fast and making it less stable.
I chose a ceramic hexagon tile for this bathroom which was definitely not the easiest choice! It’s hard to get the spacing just perfect with this shape, even using spacers like I did! I used these leveling spacers to help make sure the tiles were level with each other. I would back butter the tiles, which is where you put mortar on the back of the tile and then add trowel lines to it, then I’d put the spacers on the back and flip it over and lay it down. Here’s an example without the mortar:
Once the mortar dries you can kick the spacers off. The bottom of the spacer will stay under the tile but the top of it is designed to break off. I just wore shoes with a hard toe and kicked them off, but you can also use a rubber mallet.
This is my awesome wet saw!
Then when it comes to grouting, like I said before, I HIGHLY recommend the microfiber sponge! It makes a world of difference! I tested a light grout (Light Almond was the color) on the bathroom floors, the same I used for the bathtub, but it looked pretty yellow compared to the white tile. So I ended up choosing a darker grout instead, in the color Driftwood. I spread it out with a grout float, then wiped it off with the microfiber sponge and kept repeating until the whole floor was done. You want to work in small areas for this so the grout doesn’t dry on top of the tiles. I used a 5 gallon bucket to hold the water and ring the sponge out. Every few feet of floor I’d change out the water. You’ll want to buy a bunch of these 5 gallon buckets for tile jobs, they come in real handy!
And this is how the floors turned out, from when we first moved in, to after they were painted and stenciled to the new hexagon floors.
And now for my favorite tiling project, but also the hardest! My shower!
It was hard because there was a lot of prep work before I could tile! I removed all the old tile, cement board and drywall in the shower area, including the ceiling! We first did the walls and then the floor, we waited to do the ceiling until I had Tylers help to take the old one down and put the new one up immediately so we didn’t have a hole to our attic for too long. Tyler had to remove the shower pan for me because it was mortared down, and that was a pain! He used a jackhammer to get it up. You can read more about the details of all the prep work in this post.
Once the demo part was done it was time to rebuild. I used mold resistant drywall instead of cement board because I hate working with cement board and I had planned on using the Schluter system to waterproof it. Next time I do this I’ll use Schluter kerdi board instead (I still have our guest bathroom to do), it seems way easier to install and you only have to waterproof the seams instead of the entire wall. I had to waterproof every nook and cranny! I even added an arch and had to waterproof that.
We waterproofed the floor by using a Schluter floor pan that has a natural slope to it, the floor pan came in to the kit I bought. Then we did a 24 hour water test to make sure it was water tight.
Once all the rebuilding and waterproofing was done, it was time for tile! Again, I use this mixer to mix my mortar because it’s awesome! It also helps to mix smaller batches of mortar at a time because you only have so long to work with it before it hardens. I marked the center point on the shower floor and started from there so that way the tile would reach the walls at about the same distance. So if I had to cut some off of the tiles once I reached the wall I’d have to cut the same amount off the other side, if that makes sense? I started with the floor because I didn’t want to set a step ladder on the soft foam material and risk tearing the waterproofing membrane. I tiled the floor and then let that harden and then started on the rest another day.
You need to soak these Zellige tiles in water for a few minutes before you can install them, if you don’t the tiles will soak up the moisture from the mortar and it will dry prematurely and it could mess with the integrity of your tile job. You can see in the photo below I have a water bucket with some soaking, then I take them out and then add mortar on the back so I can install them.
I know I said it earlier, but this tile is so beginner friendly because it’s not meant to be perfect with perfectly straight lines! I only added spacers to a few rows or pieces to keep it mostly level. When I did use the spacers, I only used the yellow pieces that came in the kit, not the clear pieces.
I used my wet saw to cut tiles to go around the plumbing. I marked on the tile about where I needed to cut and got as close as I could, the plate that goes over the pipe would cover this so it didn’t have to be pretty.
Another challenge was the ceiling, mostly because I’m 4’11” and my ceilings are 9.5ft. I didn’t have any problem with the tile sticking to the kerdi paper, although I did have 1 tile fall because it was right in the corner and the wet mortar didn’t want to stick too well to the dry mortar, so I had to add some extra and it stayed. As you can see below we did add a water proof light. Because we added the arch, it is a little darker in this space so the light was a smart choice. I just pulled the light down some and put the tiles between it and the ceiling. We also added this premade shower niche and this one below.
Another challenge was the shower niches. I found 2 designs for niches on Pinterest, this one and this one, pictured below. But I called some granite stores and this would be several hundred dollars to do the left photo and I wasn’t willing to spend that much on just a little bit of granite. I did search for tile but I couldn’t find any as thick as the photo or with finished edges. The right photo was nice but I wanted a ledge.
So I went with something sort of in the middle. Some of my Zellige tiles appeared finished on the ends where the glaze had poured over, so I used those as my ledge pieces and ended up with this.
Tiling these niches took me about 1.5 hours per niche!! Mostly because I cut the tile at 45 degrees in order to make them seamless on the tops and sides so I had to keep running back and forth to the wet saw. This was definitely challenging! This wet saw can do miter cuts, it’s pretty great!
I even added a shaving niche right here to give me something to rest my foot on when I’m shaving! I got this idea from Pinterest and it’s been amazing!!!
The arch I also 45ed and that took me an entire 8 hours to install!
Then it was time for grout. As I said before, I used to buy grout that you mix with water to save money, but I’ve since realized that it’s worth the extra cost to buy the premixed grout, in my opinion. I use this grout float and I always use a microfiber sponge now that I’ve done this a few times and I realize what works best.
You want to grout all the flat surfaces, but anywhere that the tile changes planes you use caulk. I use this caulk that you can buy in the same color as the grout. See the difference that makes? It makes it look so much more finished and put together.
We did add a shower door. My neighbor installs these for a living so he got us the door and came over to help install. This is just installed through the tile with anchors. You first set the door in place with spacers at the bottom to make sure it fits, you mark where your anchors will go, then you predrill holes and then you install. It was way more simple than I imagined! We installed these hinges and this shower door handle, both in brushed nickel to match the shower system.
And here is a before and after of the shower! From when we first moved in to now. This shower tile took me about 9-10 days working between 4-10 hours per day! That’s not including grouting.
So in summary here are my biggest tips for tiling:
- Put thought into the tile you choose, does it align with your skill level? For example: my hexagon tile was way more difficult for a beginner than the Zellige tile.
- When choosing between premixed mortar and mortar you mix with water, be sure your project is suited for whichever kind. To be safe, choose the kind you mix with water. For example: when adding the tile to the wall, premixed mortar is fine, but adding it under Schluter uncoupling membrane, it won’t dry because the premixed mortar needs oxygen to dry whereas the kind you mix yourself dries through a chemical process.
- Buy a mixer, it’s well worth it! Thank me later!
- Get a nice wet saw! I recommend my Rigid one because the base moves and has a fence for straight cuts and it also miters. This wet saw is amazing!
- Buy several 5 gallon buckets! At times I was way too exhausted after spending all day tiling to clean it out! They also make these bucket liners you can buy for easier cleanup. But you’ll need multiple, I used several for mixing mortar, one for soaking zellige tiles, one for water when wiping excess grout off the wall with the sponge.
- I recommend splurging on premixed grout! And then buying the caulk that matches the color of your grout. Mapei is the brand I use. You want to grout the flat surfaces and caulk anywhere the tile changes planes.
- Use a microfiber sponge, it will make grouting so much easier!
- Choose the right tooth size for your trowel depending on the size of your tile. For larger tiles you want to put mortar on the surface your tiling and you want to back butter your tile so it sticks well.
What do you think? Is tiling a job you would attempt yourself? Or would you hire it out? Is there any other questions you have? Did I miss anything?
Next up, the bathroom ceiling!
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