Tiling a Shower: Prep, Installation, and Finishing Touches

How to Tile a Shower in Kenya

Are you prepared to renovate your bathroom? Any bathroom benefits from a newly tiled shower, and the greatest part is that you can install it yourself. You can design a stunning, leak-proof shower with the tiles of your dreams, whether you have expertise as a contractor or are just a dedicated do-it-yourselfer, with the correct tools and methods. Continue reading for all the advice and product suggestions you’ll need.

Tiling a shower personalizes your bathroom. All aspects of the tiled shower are your choice: tile type, size, tiled vs. premade shower pan, and even extras like cubbies, shelves, and seats. When your tiled shower is done, it will be a truly unique creation that reflects you.

Because of the importance of waterproofing in this project, it’s best left to licensed contractors with proper permits or only experienced DIYers. Whoever completes this project, it’s important to have the shower wall and shower pan inspected afterward to ensure the waterproofing is done correctly.

Safety Considerations

Turn off all electrical circuits that service wires running through walls adjacent to the shower.
When using the wet tile saw, make sure that the water is fully bathing the cutting area before you begin cutting.
Water not only holds down dust, it also partially helps to prevent tile chips from shooting back at you.
Use eye, hearing, and breathing protection when cutting tile or when demolishing the existing shower.

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

1/4-inch notched trowel
Drill driver
6-inch drywall knife
Tape measure
Chalk line
Pencil
T-square
Tile spacers
Rubber mallet
Wet saw, if not using custom-cut tile pieces
Diamond-tipped hole saws (if needed)
Utility knife
Foam brush
Work gloves
Grout float
Grout sponge

Materials

Shower wall and floor tile
Edge tile
Accent tiles or listellos
Cement backer board
Tile spacers
Thinset
Floor protection materials
Plastic shims
Cement board tape
Liquid waterproof tile membrane
Paint roller frame and roller covers
Grout haze cleaner
Grout sealant

Things You Should Know

Remove old tiles from the shower. Then, put up a vapor barrier and a cement board barrier and paint it with water resistant primer.
Plan out your tile pattern before you start. Create a grid by marking vertical and horizontal lines, using a level and a straight edge as a guide.
Use thin-set mortar mix to apply your tiles. Start in the center and move outward, and cut any tiles to fit into the edge spaces.
Apply grout once the tiles have set, then seal and caulk around the edges.

Building or Adding a Shower Pan

While this project assumes that a fully plumbed, operable shower pan is in place, you may want a new shower pan. You can either build a shower pan from scratch with tile and mortar or you can use a pre-built shower pan. You should never tile a shower without a pan or you can expose the floor and subfloor to leaks.

Tiled Shower Pan: You can build a shower pan with shower floor tile, layering a base of mortar to create a slope that moves water toward a central drain. While this method affords you the most creative freedom and has a sleeker look, there’s also a greater chance of water leakage.
Pre-Built Shower Pan: Even if you want to use tile on your shower walls, you can still pair the tile with a pre-built, single-piece fiberglass or acrylic shower pan. The look is plain and functional but the chance of water leakage is greatly reduced. Plus, it’s easier and faster to install. For many do-it-yourselfers, combining tile walls with a pre-built shower pan is the best approach.

How to Tile a Shower

1. Plan Tile Layout

The tile layout can be influenced by the tile type, size, and shape. Pick a tile design like a diamond (diagonal), brickwork (staggered), or a grid. Typically, subway tile is set in a grid-like pattern for a more modern appearance or in a brickwork pattern for a more classic impact.

Large fields of small tile are more visually appealing when a border of accent tiles or listellos is laid horizontally, ranging anywhere from waist level to eye level (or 55 to 65 inches high).

2. Protect Floors

The bathroom floor does not require protection if it is still in the subfloor phase. If a floor covering has already been put in place, cover the bathroom floor with thin plywood planks, cardboard, or plastic that has been taped down. Safeguard the entire area, including the shower’s floor. Continue a trail made of plywood or cardboard protection board to the outside for carrying away demolition waste.

3. Remove Shower Tile or Surround

Using the prybar and hammer, remove any worn-out tiles. From the top down, start. Along the way, remove nails and screws. Because loose tile can be dangerous to stand on, only a few tiles should accumulate in the shower pan before being disposed of.

With a reciprocating saw, one-piece shower enclosures made of synthetic plastic can be disassembled. Disassembling multi-piece enclosures is possible.

4. Fix Shower Wall Structure

It is necessary for the framework supporting the shower enclosure to be sturdy, dry, and mold- and mildew-free. Wood studs in older homes may have worn out to the point where replacement is necessary. In some houses, the tile or plastic surround may be covered in greenboard or drywall. In a shower, drywall cannot be tiled over. As cement backer board will be used in their place, remove these components. If at all possible, replace any moldy fiberglass insulation with spray-on foam insulation.

5. Add Seats, Shelves, Niches, and Cubbies

Your tiled shower’s clean lines are maintained and given further functionality by built-in shower chairs, shelves, niches, and cubbies. These accessories can be created from scratch or with pre-built components designed for this use.

6. Measure and Mark Shower Area

For each wall, use the tape measure to determine the horizontal center. Mark the location. With the laser level or bubble level, strike a plumb vertical line off of each mark and then snap a chalk line.

Do the same vertically. With the tape measure, measure the height of each shower wall to be tiled. Find the halfway point, mark with the pencil, then add level lines, using the laser level or bubble level.

7. Measure and Cut Backer Board

Place cement backer board directly between the studs after removing the previous tile or surround. Measure the area that needs to be covered using the tape measure. By slicing the backer board with a utility knife, bending it backward, and then cutting softly along the back, you can trim it to size.

With a hole saw attached to the drill, make the holes needed for the showerhead and plumbing fixtures. Use a jigsaw to cut the backing board into curves.

8. Install Backer Board

With the drill and concrete screws, secure the backer board to the studs. Use 1/2-inch-thick cement board to match the thickness of the bathroom’s surrounding walls. Alternatively, you can use two layers of 1/4-inch cement board.

9. Add Cement Board Tape

Every seam between cement boards should be taped with cement board tape. Insert thinset mortar into the tape and smooth it out using the flat (not notch) side of the trowel.

10. Add Cement Board Tape

Apply the waterproof tile membrane to the cement backer board using a paint roller. Take extra care of the joints. Depending on the environment, drying takes between one and two hours and as long as twelve. Put on a second layer.

11. Lay Tile on Floor

Lay the tile for each wall on the floor in the eventual wall pattern, including the plastic tile spacers. Most tile applications require that the tile be cut to fit vertically and horizontally. Orient the tiles so that they start at the center strike points and move symmetrically outward. The idea is that when a tile needs to be cut, it’s best to split the difference between two tiles.

12. Create a Story Pole

Use a scrap piece of one-by-two or other lightweight board that is at least 8 feet long. Lay it up against the side of your tile laid out on the floor and mark each grout point on the story pole..

What Is a Story Pole?

A story pole is a temporary layout tool. Based on project measurements, the story pole identifies locations on the work area and standardizes them. This allows the user to avoid continually measuring with a tape measure. Since the story pole is specific to a project, it is often discarded after use

13. Set Second Tile Row Start Point

The first row above the shower pan’s border should be saved and kept for the time being. Since the uppermost point is visible, whether it be a ceiling or edge tile, it is typically preferable to have full-size tiles there. As a result, the first or bottom row of tiles must be less than full size.

Above this vacant initial row, place scrap one-by-two boards horizontally with a seam above and a quarter-inch below. Screws should be used to tack the board down.

14. Spread Thinset

The thinset mortar should be combined until it resembles peanut butter. Using the trowel’s notch side, spread the thinset over the cement board. In the shower, start low and work your way up. Work in small portions rather than covering the entire shower with thinset. Before you can apply the tile, large parts will need to dry.

What Is a Notched Trowel?

A notched trowel has two straight sides and two sides that are notched in either crenelated or V-shapes. When the user drags the trowel through the thinset at an angle, the notches meter out the correct amount of thinset.

15. Apply Tiles

Press the tiles into the thinset by gently wiggling the tile side to side. Avoid pressing too hard. Work upward, adding spacers to create seams between the tiles. Add a row of accent tiles or listellos, if desired.

16. Finish First Row

Remove the second-row starter board. Tile the first row, cutting as needed to fit.

17. Add Edge Tile

Install the edge tiles such as a bullnose along all visible edges of field tile. Apply with thinset dispensed from a grout bag.

18. Tile Around the Drain

If the drain is square, tiling around it will be simpler, and there won’t be as many grout lines as if it were round. The tiles that are closest to the drain will need to be shaped with the use of a tile nipper. For both a square and a round drain, use these instructions for tiling:

Square: Use tracing paper to draw a template of the drain’s shape plus a quarter inch more, then transfer that onto cardboard. As you’re tiling the pan, when you get near the drain, stop using thinset and loosely put tiles in place, using the cardboard template to plan out what tiles will need to be cut and sized.

Round: You’ll need to make circular cuts around the drain and a tile nipper will help. Smaller mosaic tiles are easier to place around a circular drain. Use tracing paper and cardboard to make a few templates. Make an overall template if you are installing larger tile. If you are installing smaller or mosaic tiles, you can use a template for each of the corner pieces you will need to cut to fit. Once all the pieces fit, you can then use thinset.

19. Grout Tile

Grout the tile after the thinset has dried. Apply grout to the tile’s face using the rubber grout float. Utilize the float’s edge. Fill all gaps by pulling the grout diagonally across the tile. After the grout in a shower has dried, it needs to be sealed by using grout sealer.

20. Clean Grout Haze

After the grout has dried, clean the grout haze from the tile with grout haze cleaner. Mix with water in buckets and wipe down with sponges.

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