Tile below bath or above bath?

Discussion in 'Other Trades Talk' started by Octopus8, Sep 22, 2016.

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  1. Octopus8

    Octopus8 New Member

    Hi,

    Confused by this one - so many people telling me one way or the other.

    I favour tiling below and butting up bath as grout likely to perish often above bath and more chance later on for tiles to fall off?
     
  2. TheMorg

    TheMorg Active Member

    Always tile above the bath. The joint should be sealed with silicone with a 1-3 mm gap between bath and the tiles bottom edge. If it's fitted securely (easier said than done with cheap baths) tiles/grout will never fail.

    Also walls are rarely true so if you butt the bath up to the tiles there's a risk of a gap.
     
  3. palavaman

    palavaman Well-Known Member

    Agree with TheMorgue. You MUST always tile above bath.
     
  4. Yes yes yes yes - we all know how it should be done - how the pros do it.

    But I like to do it differently :p

    I almost always tiles first. Provided that the walls are relatively straight and the corner reasonably right-angled.

    I have a thing about that 'bath lip partially obscured by tiles' look... :oops:. Also, the thought that, should any breach in the sealant beading or a grout line in the tiles occur, water will seep unknowingly down past the bottom edge of the tiles and make mischief with the wall below.

    Also, to tile down to the bath edge means you are relying for total waterproofness on a piddly line of sealant which will almost certainly fail to some degree (whether you are aware or not) within 5 years.

    So, for all these reasons, what I do with baths - and even more importantly, shower trays - is to keep going with the tiles so's I'm nicely below the bath rim level (the full height of the bath rim edge thingy), then plan the fixings to secure the bath. (Ditto for shower tray - I go down around half-way down the tray side).

    All tiles then grouted and finished off (cement-based grout only - ie the 'setting' type).

    Then when ready to install, I run the heftiest bead of sili along the bath/shower tray edge and press into place. Secure, and then finish orf with additional sili once the initial 'sealing' bit has set.

    That ain't going to let any water past.

    Shower trays tend to have gently sloping sides, so you can't tile too far down or else it'll hold the tray out too far, so too large a visible sili bead along the top. But, all along the tile surface that's below the shower top edge, I have a full sili seal.

    (It also makes the shower's standing area around 10mm larger than it would otherwise be...:rolleyes:)
     
  5. longboat

    longboat Screwfix Select

    You've been up all night, on the whiskey, haven't ya?
    10am, beejeebus, get yasel to bed.
    :p
     
  6. angellonewolf

    angellonewolf New Member

    installing the bath on a 2nd solid piece of wood screwed to the floor i aways put the bath in first a good line of mastic betwwen the wall and side of bath apply fixing to secure bath to wall so it cant move apply extra mastic to level it with the topof the bath leave to dry then tile on top of bath after dry mastic again

    never had a leak yet
     
    koolpc likes this.
  7. longboat

    longboat Screwfix Select

    Yep, that's the correct way to do it.
    Last year I had a client who wanted a new bathroom installing, a repeat customer, as id fitted the existing suite, tiles etc, 14 years previously.
    They just wanted a change, but it was interesting, although a bit disheartening having to destroy work I'd done many years before.
    Grouting was still fine, sealant still sealing, not a whimper of a leak to be seen.

    Must have done it right in the first place, I guess!
     
  8. Jord86

    Jord86 Screwfix Select

    Agree with the above, that's the correct way to install a bath.
     
  9. Diezel

    Diezel New Member

    Please would you elaborate for me. Is it mastic tape that you use between wall and side of bath and is is double sided or are you just running the mastic tape along the wall and then do you apply fixing sealant on top of the mastic tape before pushing the bath up against the line of mastic tape and fixing sealant. What do you mean when you say to add extra mastic to level it with the top of bath? Once the bath is butted up against the wall is that when you run another length of mastic tape level with the top line of the bath. Is mastic tape supposed to be waterproof? Is there a video that you know of that would explain it. I'm just trying to visualize what you've written.
     
  10. WillyEckerslike

    WillyEckerslike Screwfix Select

    As the poster hasn't been seen on here for 18 months I'll explain. For 'mastic' read 'sealant' - supplied in a tube and applied with a sealant gun of some sort - not necessarily silicone as there are several options. Once the bath is fixed to the wall, fill any part that does not have sealant up to level with the top edge of the bath. This is to compensate for the fact that most baths are very slightly angled/rounded around the edge as part of the manufacturing and mould releasing process. Once the sealant has dried, fix the tiles. Once they're secure and the grout has cured you then apply a bead of sealant to the join between bath and tiles. I hope this helps.
     
  11. MalcyB

    MalcyB Active Member

    Ignore what DA has said it is 100% wrong.
    Fill bath with water to the top first. Then as angelionwolf says seal between the wall and the bath making sure that it is filled level to the top of the bath.
    Then after tiling, making sure you leave the 1/3mm gap seal again. You will then have a double seal to prevent water leaks.
    I do it this way and never had a leak. It also looks neater.
     
    WillyEckerslike likes this.
  12. WillyEckerslike

    WillyEckerslike Screwfix Select

    Good point about leaving a gap for the first row of tiles.
     
  13. DaveF

    DaveF Active Member

    I always fit the bath, fill it with water, seal the bath to the wall, let it set, drain the bath, tile the wall leaving a small gap to the bath, then seal the tiles to the bath.
    I also tend to fit a pieces of wood to the wall to support the sides of the bath to stop any up and down movement. Some cheap baths are rather flexible!
     

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