How should my bathroom tile be laid out?

[Andy Smith]

Hi all,

New to the forum - thanks for having me and sorry for the long first thread.

I’m having my bathroom retiled (after a hilariously bad tile-job by another company - more on that later) and am hoping for some advice on how to lay out the tiling on one of the walls. It’s being done by a professional tiling company but I’d like to be able to specify how I’d like the tiles laid out because I’m a bit of a perfectionist and I know that if I leave it to someone else to decide, I'll always wonder if I should have made a different decision.

The tiles will be 24x12” and will be horizontally placed. I’m leaning towards a vertical stack pattern rather than broken joint or 1/3rd joint, etc as that seems to be the fashion out here. The tiles are rectified porcelain concrete-effect, so a modern tile in a modern bathroom.

But I’m struggling to reconcile a number of detail issues.

The wall in question is the head-wall for the tub. It has a 30” wide tub with shower controls on the wall over the centre line of the tub (so the controls are centred 15” from the side wall). But the tiling area is 33” wide to allow for a slight overhang for the shower curtain to sit on so the centre line for the tiled area is 16.5" from that wall. So the shower controls are centred over the tub, but are not centred within the tiled area...

If I use a vertical stack pattern, should I:
A. Centre a tile on the shower controls and use a small filler piece on either side (one of which would be 3” wide and the other being 6” wide)
B. Centre a tile within the 33” wide area and use identical small filler piece on either side (both of which would be 4.5” wide). This would make the shower controls “off centre” in relation to the middle tile by a few inches.
C. Place a full tile against one side of the 33” area and then use a 9” filler to complete the row using only 2 tiles. This would have the shower controls way off centre in relation to any tiles.

Obviously I can’t have all of these 'wishes':
1. The tile centred on the 33" wall area to allow even filler pieces each side.
2. The shower controls centred over the tub at 15" from the side wall, for symmetry for the tub filler spout.
3. The shower controls and tub filler centred on the middle line of a tile.
4. Only two tile pieces per row (i.e. no small filler pieces)

What would folks on here recommend? The shower controls and tub filler cannot be moved and I wouldn't want to, even if they could. I also don't think that the 33" tiled area can be shrunk down to 30" to match the tub width - I believe that the 3" overhang is standard best practice.

Attachment PDF showing a schematic of the situation. Obviously once I make this decision, that'll dictate the rest of the tiles on this wall.

Next question will be about where I place the first row on that wall: at the ceiling, on the tub deck, at the floor level...

Thanks for reading and sticking with it!

 

[Waluigi]

Yes those slithers would irritate me.

Personally I would welcome these decisions to be made on my behalf when I came to tile a room.

I’ve worked out the tiling with customers a few times and it takes a long time to empty your brain out and explain why things are done a certain way. Also sometimes it’s good to get a customers perspectives

 

[Andy Smith]

Exactly. I’m totally happy to listen to the thoughts of the professionals - they know a lot better than I do, which is why I’m on here. 🙂

I’m also happy to take 100% responsibility for the decisions that are made when it comes to details - as long as I’m given a chance to hear and understand them first.

The last tiler was clearly out of his depth and/or rushed the job. So the new tiler has specifically requested that he and I run through all the decision points together so that we can agree on everything so there’s no surprises for anyone. It’s taking a chunk of my time to do that but I’m more than happy to trade my time for a well-done job - especially if it reduces stress on all sides.

I’m going to post photos of the current tile job shortly so I’ll put a link in here. I’m more than happy for everyone to offer their opinion as to whether I’m just being fussy. 🙂

 

[Waluigi]

Decisions should be made together, sometimes.

You can soon tell the types of customer that employ you purely for you to make the decisions as the professional and those who take an interest and then those who need to know every last cut.

It doesn’t really bother me although sometimes it can take a disproportionate amount of time to work things out. Usually it’s many decisions throughout a compete refit so can slow the job down.

 

[Andy Smith]

Exactly - I don’t want to take up any more of the guy’s time than I need to, but it’ll be quicker to make the decisions now rather than having to stop-start during the job every time something crops up.

Here’s a link to some photos of the current job that we’re now having to fix:
Would YOU walk away happy from a job like this? (Pic-heavy!!) - https://www.tilersforums.com/threads/would-you-walk-away-happy-from-a-job-like-this-pic-heavy.86756/

 

[Waluigi]

Yes it’s dissapointing when you see stuff like that.

I visit a lot of domestic properties and find poor tiling in the vast majority. Most run of the mill tilers don’t have high standards.

 

[Spare Tool]

How about getting a feature tile strip running vertical and centered up the valve which would allow you to centre sink and window, which to me is the focal point, just a thought..

 

[Time's Ran Out]

Yes it’s dissapointing when you see stuff like that.

I visit a lot of domestic properties and find poor tiling in the vast majority. Most run of the mill tilers don’t have high standards.

Comments like this really annoy me!