How To Tile Bathroom Walls

If you want to figure how to tile the bathroom walls yourself, than you need to have a little faith in your abilities and get up and give it a try. Alone with these easy to follow step by step instructions detailing everything you need for this bathroom project, you will have the tiles on the wall before you know it.

Things you will need:

• Tile
• Tile saw/ wet saw
• Measuring tape
• Backer board
• Trowel
• Adhesive
• Rubber floater
• Screws
• Grout

1. Measurements need to be taking of the area where the tile will be installed. Measure the height of the area, with a ladder leveler than mark the height all the way around so you will have an even and exact height, than measure the width from one side to the other side.
2. The wall needs to be inspected for breaks, and leaks any type of damage to the wall, needs to be repaired before going any farther.Take your measurements to your local home improvement store. There will be someone to assist you; make sure to get accurate measurements for the tile. You also will need to purchase cement board or ceramic tile backerboard. They are both resistant to water and mold, but the backerboard is easy to install, score and break, but the cement board is more durable to hold the wall tile.
3. Install backerboard or cement board after any necessary repairs have been made. If there are any adjustments to be made to the size of the board, it can be done with a scoring knife or box cutter. It will be better to install the backerboard/cement board to the beams in the wall for a stronger hold; a stud finder can be used to find the beams. Apply water resistant adhesive to the wall, position board, drill screws into the beams. Use seam tape along the seams where the pieces of boards come together add spackling compound over the seam tape and smooth it out; you can take a break until the adhesive dries.
4. You are ready to begin installing the tile to the wall. You will start from the top where you marked it with your ladder leveler. You will either need a tile saw, wet saw or tile cutter to make those unavoidable cuts that are usually needed on the final row of tile. Never put the half pieces of tile to the top, you want the half pieces to be inconspicuous. The decorative tile boarders will go to the top and on the sides to give it that professional appeal.
5. Apply tile adhesive to wall.  Make sure the space for the decorative tiles are accounted for. With your leveler measure the width for the boarder tiles at the top and draw a line across the entire length of the wall. After the first row has been positioned, that will be your guide for remainder of tile. With a notch trowel apply a significant amount of adhesive to the wall; one section at a time. With the twist of each tile installed put a “spacer” between the tiles. Make sure you get the correct size spacers to get desired grout line width. After you are done setting the tiles, with a wooden block or rubber hammer, give each tile a light tap, just enough to secure the tiles in position.  Allow sufficient amount of time for tiles to dry before going to next step.
6. Apply grout to the grout line. Use a rubber grout floater to smooth the grout evenly over the line.  You should glide across diagonally it doesn’t take long for the grout to dry and haze over; by that time you want to be finish applying the grout. Once it dries it’s time to clean-up any grout; drying time should be on the grout container.
7. Add water resistant caulk to the seams and a waterproof sealant to the grout. You want to avoid any water getting behind the tile, that’s why the caulk in the joints is necessary. Apply a sealant to the grout to prevent water damage keeps it from cracking and fading, but wait until the grout is dried completely before adding the sealant.