Re-tiling bathroom

Before going too much further, its possible to tile over old tiles if they are not falling off. Scuff the surface of them a bit, and use a tile on tile adhesive.

If stripping the tiles you need a reasonably flat surface to work on. You can skim over old glue in much the same way you would flatten an artex ceiling.

That's what we did when we didn't like the tiles that came with the house. If you use plain white square ones, they will never look dated, & they'll be easier to match if you need replacements or extras later. AIUI, it's traditional to leave the extras from the last opened box under the bath.

I don't recall using special tile on tile adhesive, though. Maybe we did (& I've forgotten), or maybe we just used normal adhesive.

That's a good idea, although there weren't any there when I "did up" both our bathrooms. The spare tiles were in the garage.

Just love your optimism. ;-)

And in 20 years time your room has shrunk by several inches!

Brian

Thanks. I aim to please.

Indeed, plain white tiles look dated nowadays. Matching isnt as simple as it looks either - but more chance I expect than other types. Always keep the leftovers somewhere.

Picking tiles that wont look dated and keep looking good isnt the easiest thing to do. Anything fashionable will inevitably look dated. Perhaps a relatively safe option is to go for somthing so dated its cool again. Finding the tiles might be fun.

You could always do a Gaudi... people are seldom that brave though!

NT

A power plane with old carbide blades removes tile cement residues quite effectively. A bit dusty though.

You dont need a smooth surface to tile onto, it can be done onto a lumpy one. You'll need to use dot & dab, and do pull off any lumps that arent sound first.

NT

Just avoid the tiles used in demonstration kitchens and bathrooms in the sheds - they will be dated by tomorrow. It you really want something timeless fit a butler sink in the kitchen :)

and watch it get chipped as it writes off the crockery! Classic case showing triumph of design over function.

ITYM triumph of fashion over function. The 'design' of something can be led by function or style (or'fashion'). It's only the words "Style" and "Fashion" that indicates a 'failure of design'.

Function should always be the prime mover of design. 'Fashion' and 'Style' should only arise out of good functional design never the other way round unless the function is limited to simply 'Looking Good' with absolutely no other function beyond that.

Keeping to the 'original' style of the house is probably reliable if it's anywhere between 1830 and 1939, but 1970s Barratt style is less in fashion these days.

Owain

That's because butlers never washed crockery. Crockery was the parlourmaid's job.

Owain

I almost didn't make it to photo 9

Jesus! How much to knock-down the price for redecoration?

:) Probably more gaudy than gaudi

Yup - I'd skip the 1800s colour schemes though

NT

Butlers, however, looked after glassware.

Outstanding - probably worth keeping a copy of those shots just for amusement. ;-)

You can get Azulejos from UK suppliers, or use it as an excuse for a trip to Portugal.

You probably need to redesign the building to get the best out of that idea though.

Colin Bignell