Saying hello and looking for guidance with my diy bathroom project.

[slicker55]

Hello everyone,

I don't pretend to be a professional anything... just a 'competent DIYer', always willing to listen and learn. I am patient, appreciate the importance of good planning and have an eye for detail.

I am currently fitting a new bathroom and have reached the tiling stage.

I want to centralise everything on a feature wall to accommodate a large rectangular mirror and vanity unit - no problem.

However, on the opposite wall, there is a wall mounted mixer tap (central to the end of the bath). I would also like this tap to be central to the surrounding tiles.

I have been experimenting all day and have determined this will not be possible if I tile this wall in the same way as the feature wall.

Here's my question...

I have studied the general principles of 'setting out' and appreciate that generally tiles and grout lines should be reflected on opposite walls but is it ever acceptable to compromise this approach?

 

[slicker55]

Hi 3_fall,

Thank you for taking an interest in my set out and also for your comments - appreciated

The mixer is centred to the bath but the tile set out on the feature wall (opposite) dictates the mixer cannot be centred to a tiles/tiles without changing the tile set out on the mixer wall which I don't think will look right.

I chose to install the mixer on that specific wall as there is a small walk-in wardrobe on the other side of the wall, through which I have made provision to gain access to the underside of the bath for future maintenance.

Comments noted about mosaics - I think the mosaic panel behind the mixer would serve a useful purpose but wouldn't be my preference if there was another way to resolve the misalignment issue.

Alternatively, maybe this is just one of those situations where the best compromise has already been reached and it's just a case accepting you've done your best?

I thought you might comment about the height of the first row of tiles above the floor - this seems to be the only way I can avoid a horizontal grout line above the sink. I see this as a viable compromise but I don't know whether this would be acceptable to a professional fixer.

I have also prepared a scaled drawing showing the 'plan view' of the room for reference purposes.

 

[Old Mod]

You plan view helped thank you.
I’m always interested in others view point, especially clients.
We look thro different eyes and can sometimes be blinded by the obvious, or we can just be stuck in our ways and stubborn. 😀
As far as bottom row goes, I don’t think it’s iffensive at all.
I don’t tend to walk around with my eyeline at the floor. 🙂
It’s kinda skirting height anyway, so perfectly acceptable in your circumstances I feel.
In certain instances, you are correct, it wouldn’t be.
I might consider a larger mirror if it were me, to deal with unwanted grout joint, possibly.

But in honesty, these days, I would be going for extra large format tiles, probably 2.4 x 1.2, that way there would be no horizontal joints anyway.
The industry is changing daily at the moment and difficult to keep up with all that’s out there.
Please do come back and show us your progress, and thank you for taking time out to present this.
Appreciate it. 🙂

And good luck.

 

[slicker55]

Hello again,

Just taking a moment to acknowledge your detailed response which I find very encouraging.

My mind is pretty much decided on the set out shown in the images and, thanks to your support, I feel more at ease regarding the height of the tiles at ground level.

I will prepare a scaled image of to illustrate what the mixer will look like in relation to the surrounding tiles if I 'mirror' the 'set out' used on the opposite wall so we can discuss the merits of the mosaic panel a little more...

Just another thought... the ceramic tiles I have purchased are 40cm x 25cm and I have already purchased the mosaics.

I plan to fix the tiles portrait (I have also tried landscape which provides no advantage) but I am just wondering if a professional fixer would utilise a different tiling pattern altogether to get around situations like this?

 

[slicker55]

Undecided which way to go...

Option 1
Mixer central to the bath but not central to the tiles

Option 2
Mixer central to the bath and central to the mosaic panel but the tile to the right of the mosaic panel is narrower (87 mm) than the respective tile on the opposite wall (153 mm)

 

[Julian 'Farmer' Bonsall]

Slicker - welcome. I read your project with interest. How did you create the drawings?

While I personally may not have gone with your solution and 3_fall has given me a question I think. The size of tile you have on your first row and also above the door - what happens if you make the first row shrink to zero so you have a full tile above the door, alters the joint near the top of the window.

I look forward to hearing more.

[not a Trade Tiler, more a DIY *1.5 (doesnt always go to plan) ]

 

[WetSaw]

And even when facing the mirror wall, you can not view both small walls at once.

Hmm, let me think about that...

 

[slicker55]

Hiya Julian,
Thank you for taking an interest in my project.
The drawings have been prepared using a program called 'Graphic' on my MacBook Pro.
Just to clarify, I haven't decided which way to go yet in relation to tackling the mixer issue (misaligment) - just interested to hear what others think would work best - what do you reckon?
Oh, you asked what happens if I was to start the first row with a full tile - good question - I did try that and it results in a 'sliver' immediately above the bath. It's all quite tight (so to speak)... cutting the first tile down just a bit to get rid of the 'sliver' above the bath introduces a 'sliver' under the shelf above the sink - aaaghhh. I really don't want a horizontal grout line between the top f the sink and the shelf above the sink so there's little scope for me to manoeuvre...

 

[WetSaw]

Can't you move the shelf above the sink so it'll be on the grout line?

 

[slicker55]

Hello pdc,
Nice one - food for thought - I will have a look at that....

 

[Albert]

Can't you move the shelf above the sink so it'll be on the grout line?

As above