Retiling Wall Above Bath

[bigalxyz]

The wall above my bath has previously been tiled. At the bottom of the tiled area, the tiles have been cut to fit so they're in thin slivers, maybe 15mm high (see attached photo).

The area is looking tatty now. It's been in situ for about 20 years and I think some moisture has got behind the tiles because some of them are coming loose and the plasterboard behind flexes slightly. I'm planning to retile the affected area myself. I could find a tiler to do it but I'm shielding because of COVID-19 and all that.

Unfortunately I only have a tiny bit of tiling experience so I'm a bit unsure.

The thin slivers of tile at the bottom move around a lot - I imagine adhesion to the wall behind is tricky with such a small contact area. Is there any alternative when retiling to having such thin pieces at the bottom? Some kind of tile bath seal type of thing, perhaps? I stumbled across this on the Wickes website:

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Homelux-Ba...8SDBJL2ROZ3IA-pdFthoCkLAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

and while I have no idea if this particular one is suitable for me, it made me wonder if something along those lines might help.

Also because I suspect there's been some water damage to the plasterboard behind the tiles, I'm assuming I'll need to replace that (seems unlikely I'll be able to remove the tiles without damaging it anyway), presumably with the green coloured water resistant stuff?

Thank you.

Caveat: if it all goes horribly wrong, at least it won't have cost me much money - and if/when (fingers crossed) the COVID-19 risk recedes, I'll get a professional in to do it properly.

 

[ktuludays]

Simple answer is that you don't put slithers like that down to the bath. I always ensure at least half a tiles height to allow for run out of tile sizes. Are you stripping the whole wall?

 

[bigalxyz]

Thank you. Yeah, the slivers look horrible now. However all 4 walls in the bathroom are tiled up to about 1.2m. Whole tiles at the top. Then above the tiles there's a little mosaic strip and some kind of ceramic cap end thingy above that. Then just painted up to the ceiling. I want to avoid retiling the whole bathroom - I want to just do the patch above the bath if I can - so I'm kind of stuck with the layout I suppose.

The gap between the lowest whole tile and the top of the bath is about 25mm if that helps (ref the photo attachment in my original post). Hoping there's a trim thingy I can find to bridge that gap somehow, because as you say the little pieces in there at the moment don't seem to be a good solution.

I did wonder if I could have the lowest tile wedge and hidden behind the bath (to avoid the need for cutting it), but I've read that that's not a good way to do it.

 

[ktuludays]

You should always tile down onto a bath as it helps to hold it firm and provides a better seal than tiles behind it.

You can but upvc angle bead for baths but they look awful and require more silicone which will blacken over time.

 

[bigalxyz]

Thanks. Unsure what to do at the bottom of the tiles though if the thin pieces are bad and UPVC angle bead is also bad. Is there any other way (without retailing the entire bathroom)?

 

[Swwils]

You could add a new mosaic strip halfway up the wall, or wherever works then tile down to the bath carefully ensuring the mosaic is chosen to allow a full tile to the bath.

You'll probably need to repair the substrate behind it up to that height anyway.

When you apply the sealant to the bath tub use a tool, if you use a finger it will thin the edge and it will breakaway, or worse create a cup that will retain water.

 

[bigalxyz]

Maybe instead of having a row of full tiles and a row of small slivers at the bottom, I could have two rows of tiles cut to 60% (or however the numbers work out) of their full size instead. I don’t think it would look too out of place (the tiles are just plain white - there’s no pattern).

I’ll probably be fitting an entirely new bathroom in the next few years anyway so this doesn’t have to be a long long term solution.

 

[ktuludays]

Maybe instead of having a row of full tiles and a row of small slivers at the bottom, I could have two rows of tiles cut to 60% (or however the numbers work out) of their full size instead. I don’t think it would look too out of place (the tiles are just plain white - there’s no pattern).

I’ll probably be fitting an entirely new bathroom in the next few years anyway so this doesn’t have to be a long long term solution.

That would remove the slither issue you have.

 

[bigalxyz]

I decided to have a closer look today. I pulled one of the tile slivers out, and behind it was essentially nothing. The tile above it came off in my hand. And some more. Drywall very wet, crumbled to dust. Rusty metal stud. See photos. I think I'm out of my depth now - time to get a pro in.

 

[ktuludays]

Oh dear, that's because it's all got wet behind. How far up has the water got?

 

[bigalxyz]

Unsure...but water being water, I'm guessing it's a bigger area than I can see!

 

[ktuludays]

Unsure...but water being water, I'm guessing it's a bigger area than I can see!

More than likely. It'll need stripping back to good. New board behind, preferably cement board or aqua panel and then retiling.