Preparations:
Remove faucet handles, flanges and spout after turning off the water from the house. Remember when we planned this part of the layout we planned it so that nearly full size tile form the first course above the tub. This will probably require cutting the first course of tiles above the floor or baseboards. Where window or door casings cut into the area, fit the tiles to them. At the shower door, run a cap or trim tile around with the bull nose edge toward the opening and so they lap over the edges of the tiles facing the opposite wall. When trim tile are used just let the joints come where they will unless they are the same size as the tile, then make sure you line up the joints.

The adhesive:
Follow directions when applying the adhesive, by using the proper sized notched trowel applicator for the tile you are using. This should be on the can or you can ask the salesman at the store where you bought the tile as to which size you need to use. Put a gob of mastic on the applicator and stroke it on evenly, covering the wall area with the tool inclined about 45 degrees. Cover only an area that can be tiled before it starts to get dry or stiffen, this could be about 2’ x 4’. Make sure you apply a little more adhesive to the wall than you will cover with tile so that when you add adhesive you don’t have to get too close to the tile you have already set.

Setting the tile:
Start setting the tiles at the vertical line just below the horizontal line. Lay the two full courses below the line above the tub. Now measure and cut the tile to fit between the tile already set and the tub. Make sure there is a little space left for grouting against the top of the tub. The strip to be removed from this first course of tiles can be snapped off by using the hand breaker or the nipping tool. Starting at the bottom, lay up the rest of the field tiles, pushing them with a twisting motion, and as far as possible without daubing the faces with adhesive or squeezing it up into the joint. Toothpicks or brads can be used between the tiles to form the grouting gap. Add successive courses until the top is reached.
If the tile start to get out of alignment you can straighten them up, provided this irregularity is caught before the adhesive starts to set. Just force the tile down or sidewise which ever is required and then move the adjacent tile the same way until they are aligned. Two or three square feet of tiles can be realigned in this way.
The ridged adhesive offers a little give and take so that any projecting tile corner caused by an uneven wall or a warped tile can be pushed in a little to divide up the projection, although this must be done with caution.
Finish laying all the full tile on that wall. Now all you have to do is measure and cut the corner tile just like you did above the tub. Be sure to keep the top line of tile level around the area you are working. The tile are normally just butted at inside corners with the grouting filling the gap.
Outside corners are a little more tricky and require full mitering corner tile, or trim tile to be done right. Some people try to just butt them but this never looks good and looks like an amateur did it. Mitering the corners can be done with a tile saw and diamond blade but this is time consuming and can leave a sharp corner. The best application is to use trim tile on an outside corner just like described above for around a shower door.
To bore a hole in a tile, work from the back with a carbide tip drill bit. To make a bigger hole, drill a series of holes around the perimeter and then letting them break into the middle. For bigger holes like around the faucet that come to the edge of a tile, these can be cut by carefully using the nippers. Take off about 1/8” at a time increase the size of the hole until the correct size is achieved.
After all the tile are set on a wall carefully scrape off and wash away any surface adhesive with a wet cloth, and rake out joints with a piece of hacksaw blade. This must be done carefully as you don’t want to shift the tile but this job is much harder after the adhesive dries. Now let the tile set overnight before you grout the tile.

Grouting:
Grouting is the final touch. The cement comes as a powder in many colors and is to be mixed to gravy consistency in clean water. Only enough should be prepared to last an hour. Wash the tiled areas freely with clean water with a special view to soaking the edges of the tiles. Then apply the grouting with a rubber trowel or squeegee working the grout into the grooves between the tile. After a short time of allowing the grout to set, use a damp sponge to clean off the surface of the tile. Be careful not to wipe the grouting out of the joints. You will usually need to do this more than once, allowing sufficient time between washes for the grout to dry a little and set. When you have all the grouting off the surface of the tile (they still may look a little milky) allow it the dry completely. Now you can polish them with a clean dry, soft cloth.

The finishing touches:
Soap dishes apply over top of the tile where ever you want them. This is done using some hot glue to hold them temporarily to the tile and silicone to hold them in place permanently. The screw holes for towel bars and shower curtain rods can be made by carefully breaking the surface of the tile glaze with a nail set and then boring a small hole through with a carbide bite. You can now reinstall the handles, flanges and spout and turn the water back on but don’t use it yet. All the inside corners and around the top of the tub should be caulked with silicone to allow for any movement between walls. Use a color that will blend with the grout. This should be the last thing that is done so that you won’t get it dirty drilling holes or working over top of it. Now you need to leave the tub over night before it is ready to use.

Not that hard was it? Have fun.

Posted by Dave McIntosh on Sunday, January 4th, 2009 at 5:37 pm.