Tiling bath-end shelf

[ChipRivers]

Not sure if this is the right forum to post in but appeared to be the most appropritate. As you will have seen from my initial post if you read it, I am new to tiling so please excuse my ignorance.

I have just successfully installed a new bath in my bathroom and am about to start putting in the timbers to hold the bath panel and the filler shelf behind the taps to the wall. I intend to tile this shelf so need to calculate what level to put it at.

Should the top of the tiles when put on the shelf be flush with the top edge of the bath rim or slightly higher?

What thickness should I allow for the adhesive when I calculate what height the timber shelf needs to sit at to ensure the answer to my first question.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[CDS]

Hi Chip!
You can do either - Finishing flush to the bath probably looks better and is how I would do it. How deep is the shelf going to be? Will you have shower fitted? The reason I ask is that the problem with finishing flush is that you can get a bit of a water trap. You'll need to ensure that once tiled the shelf doesn't slope down into the wall - Ideally you want a shallow slope going from wall down to bath so water isn't static and has a chance to runoff.

How are you fixing tiles? Want to allow 4-6 mm for adhesive depending on trowel and adhesive?