Use ceramic tile to provide your shower a fresh, long-lasting look.
Ceramic wall tiles can provide your bathroom shower a fresh new look. Durable, easy to clean, and water-resistant, a tiled shower wall will be one of the easiest surfaces to maintain in your home. With endless colors, styles, and your choice of layout designs, you can customize your individual look. Best of all, there is no need to spend a lot of money on installation labor. As long as you have a solid wall underneath, composed of either fiber cement board or backer-board to prevent moisture damage, installing your own shower wall tiles will prove simpler than you think.
Instructions
Wall Tile Placement Preparation
1. Plan out a design if you are using different colors of tiles (called a jack-on-jack pattern), or just want the joints staggered (called a running bond pattern). Sketch the pattern out to visualize placement. See Resources for additional pattern options.
2. Lay a row or two of tiles on the floor, including the grout space between each tile. Place spacers in between tiles to aid you, unless your tiles have built-in spacers.
3. Create a layout tool with a straight, thin stick such as a 1-by-2-inch board. Align the board with the tiles and mark the placement of each tile, including the grout space, across the length of the board. Make a second guide for vertical placement. Label each guide board with a different-colored highlighter, to differentiate.
4. Use a tape measure to mark 1/8 inch up from the tub or shower in two or three places along the length of the wall. This will create a gap between the tile and the shower or tub, which allows for expansion of materials. Repeat for each wall. Draw a straight line through these marks, and verify accuracy by checking with a level. Mark the center of each straight line with an X to indicate the center of each wall.
Laying Wall Tiles
5. Spread a thin layer of mortar on the wall, beginning in the middle of the wall, just above the 1/8-inch gap created. Mortar only a small area at a time. Use the notched edge of a trowel to swipe across the mortar to create grooves. You can, alternatively, butter the back of each tile before attaching to the wall instead of spreading mortar. Choose the method that works best for you or you feel most comfortable with.
6. Place tiles as desired with a slight twisting motion to spread the mortar. Avoid sliding them into place. Wipe the surface of the tile with a damp, soft cloth to remove any mortar that squishes out between the tiles.
7. Insert spacers between the tiles if they do not have a built-in spacer. Use your horizontal and vertical guides to position tiles as you work, to maintain proper spacing and grout lines.
8. Tap each tile with a mallet to ensure proper contact and adhesion, after placing a few rows. Continue placing full tiles until complete, leaving gaps where you must cut tiles for last.
9. Cut tiles to fit the edges or around fixtures using a tile cutter to score the edge of the tile where it needs to be cut. Tap firmly to break the tile along the score line. Place the cut tiles as previously installed.
Finishing Wall Tile Installation
10. Remove spacers, if used. Spread grout across the tiles using a float, held at about a 45-degree angle. Wipe the float across the tiles in a diagonal direction. Press firmly to force the grout into the grout spaces.
11. Sweep the float across the tiles again to remove excess grout. Wait 30 minutes, then wipe across the tiles with a damp sponge to remove excess grout and any haze left behind. Rinse sponge frequently and avoid gouging grout lines as you work.
12. Cure and seal grout according to manufacturer's instructions. Complete bathroom wall tile installation by running a bead of flexible, water-soluble silicone caulk along all seams and in the gap between the tiles and the tub or shower. Smooth caulk and allow to dry.
Tips Warnings
Installation of a waterproof wall board underneath the tile is critical for your shower walls, due to moisture exposure. Face the rough textured side of the wall board, if applicable, outwards as you hang the wall covering. Secure in place with nails or screws every 6 inches. Tape seams with a fiberglass tape to complete.
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