Tiling around a bath

[Tim S]

The day cometh closer...

1) Does the panel reckon it's better to tile first then fit the bath, or fit the bath then tile?

The former prevents bath related damage[1] but the second may present a better water run off arrangement...

[1] Though I could tile most of the wall and fit the lowest row of tiles afterwards, reducing the risk...

2) I may have 1-2cm gap along one side of the bath and will have about 5cm at the back end.

For the 1-2cm gap what would be the best way to close the gap to the wall? One of those angled bits of plastic trim perhaps? It's only a couple of foot lenght, but in the shower section.

For the 5cm gap, I was going to mount a shelf of WBP ply to underhang the bath via a wall batten then tile the top and seal to the bath with silicone - this will be a shelf for shampoo, beer etc. This is at the end furthest from the shower. Good idea? Or might there be a better arrangement?

Ta as always...

Cheers

Tim

[Stuart Noble]

I think the normal procedure is to fit bath, get it level, then start with a full tile up from the rim. Lay a piece of board across the bath to prevent damage (makes a good work surface too).

Oooh no. Don't go there.

How so? Can't you fit it to the wall?

>

[Simon]

This is the best idea. Measure up just less than a tile from where the bath rim will be and fit a batten. Tile up from this, then after put the bath in and tile the bottom row. Trim the tiles a little to fit. There is some leeway to line up the tiles with other items (window sill etc).

Build a shelf (even smaller) than the 5cm one !

I did that, works fine. Very useful little shelf.

Also, beef up the bath brackets / legs etc with lots of timber. The silicone at the edges should be able to take some movement, but this is really only movement of the floor etc. Silicone will never seal a bath with just those silly little metal legs they supply !

[Tim S]

Stuart Noble coughed up some electrons that declared:

Hi Stuart,

It goes in to a u shaped end of the room, like this:

C ===================== | | | Bath here | | B----A | | | | D

The 1-2cm gap will be on wall B-A

The 5cm gap is on wall C-D

You've given me an idea though.

The bath has 4 fully adjustable feet, and it would be helpful if I could tile behind the bog first and fit that (I have to decide the level of the tiles and keep them consistent round the room).

I could arbitrarily choose a bath rim height, and tile sans bath, using batten, then fit the bath and simply tweak it up on its legs until it meets the tiles and is level.

That sounds good - I win both ways.

You see, in the diagram above, the u shaped inset makes tiling hard without actually standing in the bath, thus risking it constantly. It's only an acrylic bath so I'd rather not be dropping tiles on it, even with a dust sheet.

Cheers

Tim

[Tim S]

Simon coughed up some electrons that declared:

Good - along with the fact I can tweak the bath height anyway, this sounds like the plan.

That's an idea. Basically just a batten with a sliver of tile on top?...

Cool

I was wondering that. The legs are really silly looking.

Do you mean: run 2x2" batten around the wall and effectively allow the bath rim to sit on the batten and take some load?

Or do you suggest some extra timber under the bath too?

Cheers

Tim

[Chris J Dixon]

The bath fitters who installed my rather large airbath were similarly critical of the flimsy bits of metal supplied to locate the edges, although the whole thing has a pretty solid frame. They simply used lots of silicone between bath and wall, left it to go off overnight, and tiled up from it the following day. It has so far lasted five years without any sign of movement despite pretty high loadings.

Regarding the 5 cm horizontal section at one end, one suggestion is to introduce a vertical section, leaving the horizontal shelf a little higher than the bath, and reduce the chance of water slopping on to it. In my case it is a little wider than yours, but works well.

Chris

[John Rumm]

I would go further and say, hack a channel out of the wall to take the edge of the bath, then tile down to it. Make sure any roll edge is buried in the wall so you don't get a mositure trap against the tiles.

Its the second you have to live with...

Move the bath? ;-)

You need SWMBO to hold the beer for you (and wash your back). So much more civilised than a shelf!

[Tim S]

John Rumm coughed up some electrons that declared:

That's an idea. Not sure I can face it, but it is a good idea.

True...

Then I'd have a 1-2cm gap along 1.7m - it's in a u shaped recess you see :)

Hehe

[TheScullster]

"Tim S" wrote

Hi Tim

Agree with other respondents on: Tiling walls down to last row before *final* bath fitting - a few trials will be needed to sort plumbing, waste etc of course. Adding more support for bath in the form of timber framing/baton(s) fixed to wall etc. One thing I didn't do (but feel may be beneficial) is adding insulation to the underside of the bath before fitting - this should reduce noise due to bath filling and also slow down heat loss during those long soaks.

Phil

[Jules]

Fill it with porridge first. :-)

(TBH tiling first sounds like a recipe for busted tiles later and/or something not lining up nicely - I think I'd put the bath in first then tile. Maybe tape some corrugated cardboard loosely in the bath when tiling and that'd be enough to stop scratches or dropped tile damage?)

cheers

Jules

[The Natural Philosopher]

Bugger that. a sheet of MDF over it will suffice.

AND you can stand on it to tile right up..

[John Rumm]

Also another trick; silicone the bath to the wall before tiling. Then tile, leaving a tiles thickness gap to the top of the bath. Then fill it with water before doing the final silicone. Let it set before pulling the plug. That puts the final seal under compression in the bath empty state and relaxation when full, rather than tension when full.

Ah, yes, see your point ;-)

[Tim S]

John Rumm coughed up some electrons that declared:

That idea I like!

Thanks John

[Simon]

Well I used 2x2 under the rim with several 2x2 studs on the front in addition to the supplied legs. On the sides and back I used some 2x3. The space under the non-taps end and and the little shelf is open to form a cupboard. The door to the cupboard is tiles to blend in with the bath panel. The little shelf means that when you lean back in the bath there is a little extra space for your head ! Mmmm. I feel like a bath now - usually only have showers ...

Simon.