Installing a bathroom and tiling? which goes in first?

Question

On bare plaster board at the moment. 1st fix elec and plumbing in. do i tile and plaster first, or fit the suite? 1st time i've put in a bathroom or tiled.

Answer 1

Fix the suite in first, otherwise you could damage the plaster and tiles.

Answer 2

Plaster, fit suite, then tile.

Answer 3

Its far easier to tile first then put in the bathroom suite if you are not confident at tiling, making tricky cuts on tiles is not easy. It also makes for a neater finish, this is how i always do it, and most people i know do it this way as well

Answer 4

Fit the bath first, it saves on tiling.if you are fitting a toilet and washbasin tile before fixing them.

Answer 5

I would install a bath or shower BEFORE tiling, and then tile down to them. This makes it unlikely that water will get down behind the bath/shower even if your sealant doesn't seal properly. I would install a WC and wash hand basin AFTER tiling as this makes it easier than having to tile round the strange shapes. Be aware of where you are going to install your WC or WHB before you start tiling and work from the centre of one of these two items.

Answer 6

Put the bath into position ,Draw a pencil line around it(the top),To get the height of the bath,Remember that your bath will not be level to allow for drainage.at the highest point measure a full half tile up,Then fix a batten level to the wall,Tile  up from there,Allow to dry,Remove batten,Fix bath in place, cut tiles to suit and fix,Allow to dry,Fill bath half full with water,Use silicon sealant to seal the bath,Allow to dry.Empty bath,Job done.

Answer 7

I would sit the suite first. This lets you plan the tiling properly, so it's centred or whatever. And tiling first could cause damage when u fit the suite. Tiling is decoration and that happens last.

Unless it's floor tiles ...

Answer 8

Suite first every time. So, Debbieca's husband is a plumber and he is the only one who disagrees out of about 8 of us. I don't think you should take up her offer to contact her if you want more information!!!

Answer 9

For walls fit appliances first and then tile round.

For floors lay tiles first then install wc etc.

That said do which ever is easiest for you there is no hard and fast rule on it. It is normal to tile down a wall onto the bath flange to get a good seal, but not impossible to fit a sealing strip after. If you have a roll top bath rather than a built in suite, I would prep all the connections, then do the tiling first before final fix of suite.

Answer 10

I've done it both ways round, if you have no fittings in place I would definately tile first, floor to ceiling.  Fitting battons and siting bath etc can be done much more easily once the tiling is done.  The only time I tile around fittings is if I don't intend changing them.  Believe me I've done a lot of bathrooms and tiling an empty bathroom cuts down a lot of tile cutting.

Have fun, oh and treat yourself to an electric tile cutter, only about £30 but well worth it.

Answer 11

Hi

My husband is a plumber. He would definately say tile first. Trying to tile around a suite would be h**l.

Best of luck, and if you have any other queries email me and I'll ask him for you.

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