You can probably look in your kitchen cupboard again for another good example of this. The size of the tile you choose depends on the shower base you installed in your shower remodel. 1. If you decide to take a chance and install these in your shower, you will inevitably experience tile delaminations as the tiles disconnects from the paper matte and pop off your shower wall or shower base. My diamond file is my best friend when Im cutting the valve openings into a ceramic tile shower wall. However, it can cause some issues if youre planning to install a curbless or barrier free shower due to the large drop in elevation required from the high end of the shower pan, to the drain. Hopefully I was able to open your eyes to a few new things about these tiles, and give you the knowledge and confidence to choose the best tile for your shower remodel project. Great synopsis of the considerations of what type of tiles. Installation of these tiles is very similar to any other natural stone tile and their maintenance is quite similar to that of granite tiles. See my shower waterproofing membrane post for more information about compression risk and other important considerations if you plan to install a mosaic tile shower floor on a tile ready foam shower base. Unfortunately, this is not too helpful to the novice installer because mosaic tile can vary so much in size, but I can tell you that this warning is intended mainly for those planning to install mosaic tile sheets with the small 1 square tiles attached. I left a link to buy this product in the Marble and Travertine section above, but its also quite easy to find at most home improvement stores. Please let me know what you think of the post in the comments below, and please ask me any question you like about choosing the best shower tile. Some contractors prefer to just wet the back of the tile with a sponge and water before setting it into the mortar. We are highly committed to provide secure and genuine relationship. Very clear and useful information. And if you are unlucky enough to use a some of the many household cleaners that are not suitable for travertine and marble, you may end up damaging the surface instead of cleaning it. It would definitely be a bigger problem if its an outside wall with inadequate insulation, because of a higher risk of condensation in this wall. Natural stone tiles are quite popular in the bathroom and in the shower, but they can be tricky to handle, install, and maintain. This adds another time consuming step to an already very hectic tile installation process. All Rights Reserved. If you have a traditional installation, there will be a liner under the pan. No matter how it is glazed, it will always be far more permeable than porcelain. I had some fake contractors start a shower with only backerboard.they spent all day tiling over it with no membrane and I spent most of the night roping the tile off so they could paint redguard on it and then tile . Another solution to the large tile problem is a single slope shower base with a linear drain on one end. Much appreciated! If youre considering ceramic tile in your shower, you should keep in mind that its significantly less dense than porcelain, which means that its more permeable to moisture. This is often the only way to keep rows of tiles uniform and symmetrical. In this post Im going to show you what type of tile (ceramic or porcelain or stone) is the best choice for your shower walls & shower base, and why. One such consideration is tile size. They recommend instead that a mortar base shower pan should be installed if you plan to use mosaics for your shower floor tile. Im super happy that I have managed to relay my thoughts clearly and to clear up some of the confusion around choosing and installing tile in the shower. We currently have marble tile and sanded grout on out shower floor. Because ceramic is so much softer than porcelain (less dense), it can be a breeze to cut with a tile saw or a standard tile cutter. Is this a good combo to eliminate maintenance? When you are laying tile, the hydration of the mortar beneath your tile is extremely important for secure bonding to the substrate, and strength after setting. To clean granite, you simply have to remove or bleach out the material in the fissures. Our bath floor is relatively solid, and if we decide on curbless, ouch, can we prep our existing 2.25 inch tiles and tile over them on the main bath floor, to gain some needed height for curbless? ", "Shadimate.com team searched Saba for me, their efforts to find my soul mate was really marvelous. I thought odd. Because these tiles are composed of small pebbles, they share the same disadvantage of all small mosaic tiles when it comes to installing them on a foam shower base. Since quartz or engineered stone became so popular for kitchen counter tops, there has been an increase in the production of tiles made out of this material for use in the bathroom and shower. Granite tiles are extremely dense so they can be used anywhere in your shower. Pebble stone tile shower floors are very unique and compelling but there are some risks associated with them. Although the density of porcelain tiles can vary significantly, porcelain is more like glass in the way it absorbs water. If the pebble mosaic tiles are made of sedimentary rock, then they would definitely need to be sealed the same as you would for marble tiles and travertine tiles. Hopefully youre not as confused as theRead More Shower Membrane Waterproofing DIYers Definitive Guide. Ive made it pretty clear that I have a slight bias against ceramic tile. Because the back side of all ceramic tiles absorb water extremely well (hygroscopic), they tend to remove the water from the mortar reducing its ability to bond and set properly. Like Ive said before, Im not a scientist, but I can tell you that granite is not porous and does not require sealing . The floor thickness also becomes unmanageable when tiling over existing tile. I know that they pu out on with We want to help you to find that special someone who is the right choice for you. Quartz tiles are not quite as hard as natural granite but this difference is not really important when it comes to installing them in the shower. Bottom line is you dont want to continue with a contractor you dont trust, even if the job has already begun. On the unglazed base of any ceramic mug, you can see the tone of the ceramic gets darker when exposed to water. If the pebbles in the mosaic matt are granite then these tiles do not need to be sealed, unless you are using a unsealed cementitious grout. Steve Gehrmann is a remodeling contractor (SKG Renovations) as well as a partner in Redblock Industries. And because of the poor bonding, your ceramic tiles can eventually delaminate over time. 2. Oxi-Clean powder dissolved in water and sprayed on the surface, works great for this purpose. If you are using modified mortar, the risk of delamination is a fair bit lower but I would still highly recommend pre bonding. I have installed a lot of tile over the years and from this experience I have compiled a list of little known facts and advice to help you choose your tile with confidence. I have actually spent many hours measuring and sorting through tiles so that I can alternate rows of smaller and larger tiles on a shower wall. Of course there are other measures like increasing your outside wall insulation that can lessen this risk, but the risk is simply higher with ceramic tile vs porcelain tile. And because you can quite easily shape your cuts with tile shaping hand tools, your rounded corners can be made to look perfect without the need for an electric cutting or grinding tool. Thanks to Shadimate.com for providing best platform as here i have found most of profile verified and personalized support. The pan will need to be replaced if this occurs. This arrangement poses no problems at all to installing larger tiles in your shower. Period. A huge benefit of these tiles over ceramic or porcelain tiles is simply that their color is the same throughout the tile. This results in eight intersecting flat planes leading to a square drain (see image below). If you have a foam shower base, it will be utterly destroyed during tile removal so the pan would definitely need to be replaced. That means that there may be no need to install tile edging, as long as your cuts are clean and you are willing to do a little hand finishing. But your biggest problem will be the wall/pan margin and the drain assembly. If you dont feel comfortable for any reason, you should ask him/her a whole bunch of questions until you do. The benefit that quartz tile has over granite is that its manufactured under controlled conditions so its quartz surface is smooth and uniform. As I talked about in my shower tiling post, the downward pressure applied from someone walking on larger format tiles is distributed across the entire tile. They can be as attractive as any other type of tile but they have the added advantages of high density and low moisture permeability. Is this a major problem for the integrity of the shower or should it be ok for awhile? I talk more about tile drift in my Tile laying post. A 5 long shower will drop in elevation 1-1/4 from one end to the other, which cannot be accommodated with a standard 5/8 3/4 subfloor. Ceramic tiles can vary in size significantly, even within the same box. Click here for my full Personal / Professional Disclosure. The small mosaic tiles are pretty much always mounted on a matt (or sheet) (usually 1 x 1) to allow you to more easily install them and to keep them relatively evenly spaced. If your ceramic tiles vary too much in size, and youre using a fixed size tile spacer, your grout lines will drift out of level and out of alignment. Let it rest for about 10 minutes and then wipe clean with a good microfiber rag (also works great for grout lines). It is possible to remove the tile and grout from the pan without replacing it but its risky and I wouldnt generally recommend it. It sounds like there are at least a couple of issues that you are concerned about with this particular tiling contractor. He called saying stopping by to measure again, but didnt inform me of two guys coming doing tile work. All it takes is to drop something solid, sharp or heavy near the edge of one of these tiles to cause a chip or compression mark. Granite has fissures and pits in its surface that can accumulate material so it may look like its staining but it will not absorb liquids, so it cannot stain. Wanted to start this Friday but I didnt have all the bathroom tile tub etc. This type of mosaic tile sheet is designed for decorative tiling applications like kitchen backsplash tile. This makes it super easy to clean. This is also a more expensive option because linear drains are quite pricy, and youll likely have to relocate the shower drain, and possibly restructure your subfloor. You will likely destroy the drain assembly if its plastic and even if its not, you wont likely be able to re-bond the membrane to it after the demo. Although they make no attempt to explain themselves, they are recommending this because of the risk of point source compression. Everything about cutting tile is more difficult with porcelain tile. We are highly committed to provide secure and genuine relationship.If you would like to make a suggestion or give us your opinion to help us to improve our service,please write us on [emailprotected], 2015-2021. I have noticed this problem with both ceramic tiles and porcelain tiles, but it seems to be a bigger problem with ceramics. Think of a porcelain tea cup that you may have in your kitchen cupboard. If there are no other problems with the installation other than what you described, the drywall screws may be ok for awhile. So, if you want to install a tile ready foam shower pan like the Schluter shower tray, I would recommend that you not choose any tile smaller than 4 square for your shower floor tile. Stone on mat with glass (eye drops) for appeal. If this doesnt work, you should politely suggest that youd like to settle the bill so they can move on to their next job. Because these stones are relatively soft, it also means that they can wear unpredictably over time. Its difficult to say whether the installation will be OK for awhile, since other installation steps may not have been done correctly. If the installation includes a modern under-tile waterproofing membrane, the pan is usually fixed to the substrate so theres a lower chance that the pan will crack during tile removal. This is not necessarily a terrible thing if your membrane is great and you live in a relatively mild climate. Two questions: Marble tiles are by far the most popular natural stone tiles chosen for the bathroom and shower. The fact is, the glazing on the top surface of all ceramic products only inhibits moisture from being absorbed. This is the most comprehensive, technically defendable discussion on the use of Shower Tiling..Well done Sir !!!! Most popular member base are Hindu matrimonial - Muslim matrimonial - Sikh matrimonial - Christian matrimonial and Divorce matrimonial. The problem is that the slope is not linear towards the drain.. instead it constantly changes as a tile position changes on the base. In this case the grout would obviously need to be sealed. It was a long search. Anyways.. both marble and travertine tiles are sedimentary rock, which means they are quite soft and porous, travertine being the softer and more porous of the two. If you install either marble tiles or travertine tiles in your shower, you should thoroughly clean and dry out your shower a couple of times a year to apply a new coat of stone sealer. Im super happy that you are getting so much from my blog! The problem is that no matter how much waterproofing is applied, drywall screws will rust over time and its difficult to predict the exact consequences and the timeline. ", About Shadimate: Sahdimate.com one of India's best matrimonial webiste which provide limited free service for different communities, was developed with a simple objective - bring peoples together. Both quartz and granite are very hard and essentially non porous. I painted 3 layers of red guard at least over all the seems and nails. The 12 x 24 tiles (large format) are a popular choice because they are often used for the main bathroom floor area and many people are intent on maintaining thecontinuity between the bathroom floor tile and the shower floor tile. ", "Thank you Shadimate for making me meet my soulmate. Id like to remove these and replace with porcelain tiles and epoxy grout. Porcelain tiles and epoxy grout would be an ideal combination to make cleaning easier. After all that, I still love the look of a marble tile shower just not quite enough to install it in my own shower. This can be a problem with foam shower bases because they can be damaged by point source compression. It is not completely water resistant like glass, but it does repel water similar to glass. Hi, thanks for taking time to inform the not so of us lol! Some people like to read books of fiction, I like reading books of FACT, by Steve! Any of these tiles are dense enough to be used on the shower walls or shower base with conditions. Tiles larger than 4 always pose a challenge if you want to install them on any shower pan / base with a standard round drain. ), but I would always recommend removing existing tiles instead of tiling over them. Ill leave it up to you to decide if its worth it. Below I will compare these two types of tile, assuming that they are being installed into an area of constant water immersion.. in other words, a fish pond you plan to build in your backyard (just kidding), or a shower (much more common). If it gets too wet, the mortar will also not bond properly. Im not suggesting that the top face of the ceramic tiles in your shower will be unglazed like the base of your coffee mug, but its a good way to see the major difference between the material used to make porcelain vs ceramic tile. I regularly see the advice that granite needs to be sealed regularly, much like marble. The problem is also more pronounced between different boxes, even if they belong to the same tile lot. I do not recommend this. "I am very happy to have Adeeba as life partner. Really it was a wonderful experience to find most suitable,lovely life partner for me as I wanted. This is not a good look and creates some unanticipated problems with floor transitions. Looks like we have to remove and modify the subfloor under the tub ares, unless we go with Tile redi pan . So if you want these tiles in your shower, there are a few things you should know. Your email address will not be published. There is also a very real risk of wetting the back of the tile too much using the sponging strategy. All of a sudden ceramic or porcelain tile doesnt sound so bad does it? But there are also a few other things you should consider before choosing your shower base tile. Porcelain tile has a clear advantage over ceramic tile in the shower but you must weigh the risks and decide for yourself. This can cause big tile lippage problems with larger tiles. Thank you so much for your comment and compliment! Remember, Im a contractor, not a designer.. although I do have a lot of opinions about design. On a mosaic tile, this same downward force is focussed on an individual tile or a small group of tiles making the point source pressure extremely high. If not, there will be movement under your new tile, which can cause grout and tile cracking. Porcelain tile is the best tile for showers in my opinion. Ceramic or porcelain or stone tiles in your shower? A terrible situation all around if youve ever experienced it. And if there is no shower wall waterproofing membrane present this scenario only gets worse, as moisture condenses within the tile backer board or within the stud wall cavity. Drywall screws and drywall tape in the seems after lying to my face. Most of these mosaic pebble tile matts are specifically made for installation on the base of the shower however, I am aware of some cheaper products out there using paper based matts and inferior glues. Thank you Steve. Please keep in mind that this is strictly a nuts and bolts guide to choosing the right type of tile for your shower remodel it is not a design guide. After all I have said about the deficiencies of ceramic tile, most of these can be managed with the strategies I have mentioned except one, the permeability problem. The subfloor is also exposed to an immense amount of extra weight when you tile over tile, which can enhance floor deflection.