Tiling A Shower Floor Before Walls

Shower floor or walls first.

Tiling a shower floor before walls.

Wear skid proof shoes kneepads gloves. Begin by removing the old tile or the fiberglass shower wall. Before you start setting tile take some measurements and see how the tiles will all lay out image 1. If you prefer doing the shower floor first you can avoid accidental accidents by covering the new floor.

If you tile the floor first you may accidentally damage the new floor by dropping things on it. On the ceiling and floor of the shower we used 2 x 2 tiles and on shower walls 2 x 4 tiles. Give your shower an update with new tile. This is a dusty job so use plastic to cover your doorways wear a respirator that s rated for dust cover the floor with a drop cloth and make sure there s plenty of ventilation.

I like to have the bottom row of wall tiles sitting on top of the floor in the shower or whenever wall tiles meet floor tiles. Glass tile can be expensive so it s wise to think of it as an accent only. Tiling a shower is a diy project that you can usually accomplish in a few days with the right tools and equipment. But if you re using natural stone or larger tiles and your shower wall tile layout requires lots of cuts especially notching rent a tile saw for a day.

It pays to rent or buy a score and snap tile cutter if you re using 4 x 4 in. Follow steps for tiling a shower wall. Professional tile installation generally utilizes a method where the tile wall hangs over the tile floor. You should be aware the shower floor is slightly sloped to ensure that water runs into the drain.

Save time by setting several tiles at once. Also tile is heavy so put down blankets to protect the floors and tub from being damaged by falling. Because if the floor tiles of the bathroom are laid first there will inevitably be some ornaments such as cement and wall tile fragments falling on the floor when the tiles are laid. Or difficult to remove mortar drops when tiling the wall.

As a matter of practice i usually do most of the walls first then the floor then bring the last row of wall tile down over the floor tile. Tiling a shower floor is pretty similar to tiling the shower wall. This may result in cracked tile. When decorating the bathroom first install wall tiles then install floor tiles can effectively reduce the damage to the bathroom floor.

However professional tilers will disagree with this. Then pick your shower tile and use this guide for step by step instructions on how to tile a shower. Otherwise it is no more difficult to figure out how to tile a shower floor than it is to figure out how to tile a shower wall. Tiles like we show.

This way i can leave a slight gap between the floor tile and the cement board on the wall to allow for expansion and contraction of the supporting wood members in the wall. Just wondered why someone would lay the floor after the walls are completed.