Bath, lay tile on bath edge, or from batten?

[Albumen]

I'll be tiling my bathroom soon. The bath is in the room, and plumbed in, temporarily, in the middle of the room.

When I actually start tiling, should a full course be started on the bath edge?

I'm wondering whether it is better plan as though there will be a full tile on the bath edge, but start with a batten one tile above that.

Advantage - I can work a bit quicker (bath isn't in the way) and when it comes to do the last course, the one above the bath, I can adjust the bath itself to get the best possible joint.

The bath is a very heavy steel one, on 4 screw in feet, so actually I can make micro adjustments to get it in just the right place.

 

[PaulEamomm]

As far as I am concerned there are more things than the top of the bath to consider when you are planning out your tiling.

For example -

Where else are you going to be laying tiles?
Will they be going to the floor or a skirting?
Are you tiling around a window?
Are they going to be any other horizontal cuts you'll need to put in?
Are you going up to the ceiling?

While it's all very nice to have a whole tile along the bath, if the door is opposite the window and the result of a whole tile along the top of the bath (which is likely tucked behind the door) is either a half inch cut across the window cill or a very large grout joint (depending upon your skill and tools), the whole time across the bath comes at a very high price.

In my view you need to consider all of the room and balance it out rather than concentrate on one bit.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Paul Eamonn

 

[Albumen]

As far as I am concerned there are more things than the top of the bath to consider when you are planning out your tiling.

For example -

Where else are you going to be laying tiles?
Will they be going to the floor or a skirting?
Are you tiling around a window?
Are they going to be any other horizontal cuts you'll need to put in?
Are you going up to the ceiling?

While it's all very nice to have a whole tile along the bath, if the door is opposite the window and the result of a whole tile along the top of the bath (which is likely tucked behind the door) is either a half inch cut across the window cill or a very large grout joint (depending upon your skill and tools), the whole time across the bath comes at a very high price.

In my view you need to consider all of the room and balance it out rather than concentrate on one bit.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Paul Eamonn

Thanks Paul.

Yes, I agree. There will be skirting, two windows (with different height sills and lintels), one of the windows has the toilet cistern right belowe it.

What the world needs, or me at least, is some sort of CAD type program where you can enter all the dimensions of a room and then say 'if I use 15x15 tiles, with the first one here, what will it all look like?'. Anybody ever come across any such thing?

Or a few sheets of graph paper might do. Or a tile guage or whatever they're called.

But I absolutely agree, there's no point going for a whole tile on top of the bath if I then end up with a 10mm cut all the way round the room on top of the skirtings.

 

[PaulEamomm]

Easiest way to balance it all out is to mark the height of each horizontal level of interest in one column on one of the walls. That way you can get an idea of where to start by 'picking a point' and then working up and down from it and seeing how each cut turns out with the various options you try without having to walk around the room at each attempt or drawing lots of lines with your level.

If using a couple of tiles 'hand-over-hand' is a bit hit or miss for you, try making a gauging stick with about 4 or 5 tiles marked on it and move it up and down over the column of marks to see how each tile falls on each mark.

 

[Albumen]

Easiest way to balance it all out is to mark the height of each horizontal level of interest in one column on one of the walls. That way you can get an idea of where to start by 'picking a point' and then working up and down from it and seeing how each cut turns out with the various options you try without having to walk around the room at each attempt or drawing lots of lines with your level.

If using a couple of tiles 'hand-over-hand' is a bit hit or miss for you, try making a gauging stick with about 4 or 5 tiles marked on it and move it up and down over the column of marks to see how each tile falls on each mark.

Great ideas thanks Paul. Infact I can see I tool buying opportunity here. One of those self levelling laser level thingies must be essential for this work, no? To transfer the levels across.

What do you mean a plastic tube full of water was good enough in the old days?

 

[tictic]

fix bath to walls..
then make a "staff stick"..(tile and spacers about 4/5 in height)
then work from at least a half tile from bath,checking cuts at top/bottom/corners..and if not happy with cuts(slithers)..then adjust as needed.. ...

 

[jctilingservices]

fix bath to walls..
then make a "staff stick"..(tile and spacers about 4/5 in height)
then work from at least a half tile from bath,checking cuts at top/bottom/corners..and if not happy with cuts(slithers)..then adjust as needed.. ...

This is the correct way to do it