So you're thinking of tiling your bathroom! So many decisions to make colour, size, style, finish and material. I know how you feel, believe me, I need to buy a pram for my son due in May and there are so many styles designs and choices! Very confusing and frustrating.
I'm going to try and break it down for you, (tile buying that is not pram) to help you choose what to use, where and why.
How many tiles do I need!!
First of all I would measure your bathroom - now for me the easiest way would be to measure each wall separate width x height in cm or inches. Then measure the areas to come off, i.e. the areas that are not being tiled - door, window, behind bath, etc, etc. Now it's a simple height x width calculation for example:
235cm x 200cm = 470cm2. There is 100cm to the metre, so therefore this wall/floor is 4.7metres square.
76inch x 96inch = 7296inch2. This has an extra calculation to get your square metres. So There is 144 square inches to a foot.
7296inch / 144 = 50.66 ft2. And 11 square feet to the metre:
50.66 / 11 = 4.6m2.
Do the same calculation for your bath, window, door, etc and take the area off the wall. Don't forget to measure for features, borders, mosaic areas, glass panels, and keep that measurement separate. Any good tile retailer or online store will help you through this if you are struggling.
It is important to add wastage to all measurements just add 10% to your total area once measured
What design should I use?
Not a lot I can help you with on this unfortunately! Because as an individual everyone has their own opinions and ideas. If it was me I would use a large white tile with a mosaic feature. But I can give you an insight into what material to use. And I would always recommend you take a sample home to try them in your own bathroom lighting
What material should I use?
Because there are so many sizes, colours, designs and materials, find a design you like, white, stone, travertine, marble, then consider the following materials.
Ceramic:
The tillers dream! Ceramic tiles will be noticeable they will have a red biscuit (backing) or an off white biscuit. Here are some of ceramic tiles good points:
1. Easy to work with and therefore less cost in fixing
2. Colour fast and easy to clean.
3. Wall and Floor ceramic tiles available.
4. Good value for money.
Most Ceramic wall tiles will have a co coordinating floor tile to go with it. My advice would be to pick your wall tiles and then your floor will follow.
Porcelain Tiles:
Porcelain can be a little harder to fix, as they are a stronger denser product than ceramic, and cutting can be sometimes a challenge. So you may find fixing costs will be higher. Porcelain come in a range of finishes styles and designs. They can be used on walls and floors and are great for heavy traffic floors inside and out. They can be slightly more expensive than ceramic and for a domestic bathroom not really necessary. Some good points of porcelain are.
1. Strong hard wearing
2. Suitable for wall and floor
3. Frost resistant, so they can be used externally
4. Colour fast
Natural Stone Tiles:
There is a large choice in natural stone. Travertine is I would say, the most popular. You can pick up Travertine quite reasonably priced but there are different grades to consider. From top of the range premium to standard down to commercial grade.
For your bathroom walls any grade would work. Make sure you are fixing direct to plasterboard or a tile backer. As plaster (skimming) will not hold the weight of the stone. Go for a standard to premium grade for your floor. Tradesman will charge more for stone, because it takes longer to cut and has to be sealed, therefore more work and longer to tile! Here are some good points on natural stone.
1. Very attractive each stone has its own characteristic.
2. Timeless, always be available.
3. Affordable.
I wouldn't worry too much about the material for your wall, ceramic, porcelain or stone will all do the same job. Also I wouldn't get too concerned about the PEI rating for your floor tile (this is the grade of the glaze and how it will wear under traffic.) As most bathroom floors are upstairs and are mainly barefoot or slipper traffic any floor tile will be fine no matter what the grade.
Summaries:
1. Measure your area in advance.
2. Take time on your design.
3. Buy some samples to try them at home.
4. Don't get too hung up on the material leave that for your kitchen floor.
5. Liaise with your tradesman and keep him up to date with your tile choice.
Tiles are a fantastic covering for wall and floor. Easy to clean, maintain, durable and colour fast. Visit www.thetileshed.co.uk for a great choice and fantastic value.
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