In this video we’re going to give you tips on how to tile a shower, specifically how
to use stacked subway tile in a tub/shower combo. These are really awesome tips, so let’s
dive in. Tip #1 is to plan your layout; this is very
important. Layout is always the first thing you want
to do before you start tiling. So basically, in this feature, you always have a niche that
goes the full length of the shower. And we’re going to be using some Schluter edging for
that. Basically, there’s two obstacles that we want to make sure that we don’t have
slivers, and one is obviously up towards the niche. You want to have, you know, hopefully
at least we’re using 4x8 tile. So ideally, it would be nice to have either a full tile
or something above half. That usually looks a little bit nicer, if you can. Basically
just staying away from being less than an inch. Less than an inch looks kind of forced.
We want to be able to lay this out so that we have a large piece here and obviously making
sure that this piece is going to be large because this is all going to be the 4x8 subway
tile on this wall, so you want to make sure that this isn’t going to be a sliver either.
And then obviously you have the ceiling joint you have to consider as well.
Tip #2 is also very important; it’s to measure the mortar and the water for the water. As
you can see here, we’re pouring the water into a separate measuring bucket; you can
grab these at your local home store. Definitely get them.
So for this, the wall application, we’re going to use the 4-XLT made by Laticrete.
This is a non-sag thinset. It’s a little bit stickier. It’ll allow that subway tile
to really stay on the wall and not sag. So there’s two different amount of water ratios
that they have on here. This would be for a thin bed floor, so like if you were doing
a mosaic floor on a shower floor or something, you want to mix it a little bit wetter. But
for walls and large heavy tile, you’re going to want to go between 4 ½ and 4.75 quarts.
So we’re going to do the 4.75 quart ratio on this. I’m actually going to mix a half
a bag, so I’m just doing half of this for right now.
We mixed the 4-XLT per the directions. Always follow the directions, and mix it for the
specified amount of time. Tip #3 is to leave a gap between the first
row of tile and the bathtub. You always want to have a spacer of some sort
between the tub and your first row of tile. A couple of reasons for that is: for one,
you need a little bit of room for expansion and contraction; the other is when you fill
this tub up with warm water, normally things flex a little bit. You really want to get
a nice caulking joint at the tub. And if you have a space there, that silicone going into
that joint will create a nice, good grip for the silicone. If you just went flat to the
tub, you’re basically just smearing silicone against the tile on the wall, and there isn’t
a lot in the corners. So you end up having separation of it. But the main reason for
having any type of space here is for expansion and contraction because, believe it or not,
either cold or hot weather, the tile will actually expand and contract. Just slightly;
not a lot. But enough that you want to have a little bit of room. So I just like to use
these horseshoe shims. I think these things are really so much easier than those rubber
ones that you get at home stores, and they’re all really very consistent. And it’s just
really easy to be able to shim them up. Like if I were, say slightly off level here—but
you can see I’m pretty level—but if I was off level, I can just easily add another
one and get the height. Horseshoe shims are definitely something, especially with subway
tile. It really helps out a lot. Tip #4 is to use a laser level, one of our
favorite tile setting tools. As you can see here, we have a laser level that has both
a horizontal line and a vertical line. This is just a personal preference, but it definitely
helps us out with not only subway tile, but large format tile. And you can adjust the
laser and move it over to the edge of the tile so that you know you’re getting a really
nice level pattern for the first row, which is critical for your tile setting.
Tip #5 is to use the right size trowel, and this depends on the size of the tile, its
thickness, and how heavy it is. For the subway tile, we’re actually just
using a ¼” x ¼” square notch trowel for it. And with the flat side of the trowel,
I’m just going to burn the thinset into the substrate here. Use directional troweling
with all the ridges going in the same direction. Tip #6 is to take a coffee break. Coffee is
very, very important on cold days in Pittsburgh. Tip #7 is to back butter tile using the flat
side of the trowel. And then since these are larger subway tile,
we’re going to actually back butter each one just to ensure that we have a nice coverage
on it. And just basically go with our laser. Tip #8 is to leave a gap in the corner between
the tile and the adjacent wall, typically about 1/8 of an inch.
And you also want to have a gap in the corner for expansion and contraction.
As you could see, we used these 1/16 inch horseshoe shims to not only provide gaps between
the tile and the tub, but between themselves and in the corner.
Tip #9 is to get between 95% to 100% thinset coverage between the tile and the backer board.
The reason why we back butter the tiles, even these 4x12 subway tiles, is because that does
allow us to get the 95% to 100% coverage that the TCNA, the Tile Council of North America,
recommends for wet areas. Because this is a shower, it’s considered to be a wet area.
So having that much thinset coverage provides you with a strong bond between the tile and,
in this case, the HYDRO-BAN Board. Before I forget, we have a video that shows
you how to waterproof the walls in the shower. We used HYDRO-BAN Board. It’s super easy
to use, easy to cut, and light. So if you want to see that video, it’s right here.
So you can check that out for yourself. Tip #10 is to check for lippage between the
tiles. You can always use a tile leveling system. But for 4x12 tiles, we typically don’t
use one. As we set tiles, we immediately checked them to see if there’s one tile that’s
higher or lower than the other. And if there is, we immediately correct that problem.
Tip #11 is to use a Schluter metal profile if the tiles that you’re using don’t have
a bullnose or a pencil trim. We chose to use Schluter’s metal profile RONDEC on the bottom
of the shower niche and also on the top. You can embed it first, or you can slide it behind
the tiles. We actually have it capping the plumbing wall and the wall opposite the plumbing
wall, too, in this particular case. And you just butt tile directly up against the RONDEC.
You don’t have to worry about a gap between it and the tile.
Tip #12 is to pitch the niche. As you can see, we’re back buttering these sill plate
tiles. These are the tiles that go directly on top of the shower niche—the shelf that
is—and the reason why we do that, it’s easier for us to pitch the downward toward
the bathtub or shower. That way water will drain properly from the shower niche.
Tip #13 is to clean the grout joints as you’re setting tile. One of the little tools we love
using is a linoleum knife. This is perfect for cleaning the joints, and then you just
sponge off the top of the tile. And just look at your grout joints because
this is going to be a real easy place to kind of look straight down to see whether these
are aligned. You can use a paintbrush just to get this
thinset behind the tile. It kind of makes it a little bit easier to clean out rather
than scraping each joint. And you don’t have to get all the thinset out. You just
have to get it obviously below powdery. Tip #14 is to create a radius for the tile
that’s going to be wrapping around a tub edge. We first create an L-cut in this subway
tile using the wet saw. You can also do it using an angle grinder, but a wet saw’s
a bit more accurate. So we’re cutting this short so that we can
make this little radius that fits around the tub nicely.
So we just snapped out that little piece of tile, then we used an angle grinder with a
diamond blade, in this case, Montolit’s CGX115 to cut out this radius. So the main
thing is be very careful when you’re doing it, but this is one of the best methods for
creating that radius for around the tub. And then just clean off the thinset that oozes
out and then add your spacers. Tip #15 is to cut the hole for your mixing
valve. So we’re just tracing the outline of the mixing valve hole onto the tile, and
then we’re using our angle grinder with the CGX115 diamond blade to cut that out.
Again, be very careful. Wear a Silica Dust respirator when you’re doing this. And this
is just one method for cutting that hole out for the mixing valve.
Tip $16 is to tune up and of the holes that you cut for the mixing valve or for your shower
valve. This is called the Mondrillo milling bit by Montolit, and we used this to clean
up the mixing valve hole or any kind of shower valve hole. We didn’t necessarily have an
issue with this—it was covered by the escutcheon—but we wanted to make it look nicer. So as you
can see here, we have a nice circular shape using that bit.
And then Tip #17 is to leave a gap between the last row of tile and the ceiling. We have
about 1/8 to 1/16 inch of a gap between the tile and the ceiling for expansion and contraction.
So this is on all three walls in this tub/shower combo, and the reason why is the house is
going to have expansion and contraction, and we’re going to fill that gap with sealant.
Give us a thumbs up if you like the tips in today’s video. If you want more tips, we’ve
got a great short guide. It’s like a 2-page guide over on Home Repair Tutor. You can click
right here to get that. You’ll also get early access to our online course that’ll
show you how to remodel a basement tub/shower combo.
Thanks for watching the video today. If you got any questions, ask them down in the comments,
and we’re more than happy to help you out. Take care!