Mitred Tiling - Should I just give up now?!

IvyFlood

Hello

So we are renovating our bathroom and one of the things we are doing is putting a niche the entire width of the back wall above where our bath/shower will go. We are also having our bath 'tiled in' (there's a term for this but I forget what it is!)

Anyway, I absolutely love the look of a mitred edge when it comes to the tiling in the niche and where the side of the bath meets the bath ledge.

When we've had quotes, I've been told most tilers will run a mile, or, will price a ridiculous amount to ensure you say no to giving them the job. Now I get there is more labour involved and it is going to cost more which I totally appreciate but I'm just struggling to find anyone who is actually willing to do it. Is it really that hard? Surely with the right tools etc? These people must exist as I've seen the finish in plenty of pictures on the net - in fact its very rare I see any with trim! 

I can't help but feel a load of trim will ruin the look we are trying to achieve but I'm thinking it may have to be!

I'd be interested to hear from any tilers? And we are based in the North East if that's of any use.

Thanks

FreeBear

Not all tiles can be mitred, and the edges will always be prone to chipping - Some tiles will be worse than others. Accuracy of cutting will be paramount, and even a small error will stick out like a sore thumb. The mitred joint should be sealed with silicone rather than grouted.. A compromise on corner trim would be a corner bead (as used in plastering or rendering) which will give you a pinstripe finish - Could work, but colours would be limited.

IvyFlood

FreeBear said:

Not all tiles can be mitred, and the edges will always be prone to chipping - Some tiles will be worse than others. Accuracy of cutting will be paramount, and even a small error will stick out like a sore thumb. The mitred joint should be sealed with silicone rather than grouted.. A compromise on corner trim would be a corner bead (as used in plastering or rendering) which will give you a pinstripe finish - Could work, but colours would be limited.

I might be willing to compromise if I could find tile 'beading' preferably with a curved edge and quite thin but it all seems to be white plastic UPVC. We have that in the kitchen and it looks ok cause the tiles are white but our tiles for the bathrooms are off white! I much prefer the curved edge when it comes to trim.

CSI_Yorkshire

IvyFlood said:

FreeBear said:

Not all tiles can be mitred, and the edges will always be prone to chipping - Some tiles will be worse than others. Accuracy of cutting will be paramount, and even a small error will stick out like a sore thumb. The mitred joint should be sealed with silicone rather than grouted.. A compromise on corner trim would be a corner bead (as used in plastering or rendering) which will give you a pinstripe finish - Could work, but colours would be limited.

I might be willing to compromise if I could find tile 'beading' preferably with a curved edge and quite thin but it all seems to be white plastic UPVC. We have that in the kitchen and it looks ok cause the tiles are white but our tiles for the bathrooms are off white! I much prefer the curved edge when it comes to trim.

Even the big orange box sells tile trim in three or four different colours - if you look somewhere specialist I'd bet there are many more.

nofoollikeold

1. If the tiles are porcelain all the way through, you can get the edges rounded over.  Its a very specialist job, and quite expensive.  We had six tiles done for a window sill edge and it cost something like £200 about 12 years ago.  
2. The tiler knew where to get it done.  He didn't do it himself as it requires very expensive diamond wet grinding machinery.

IvyFlood

CSI_Yorkshire said:

IvyFlood said:

FreeBear said:

Not all tiles can be mitred, and the edges will always be prone to chipping - Some tiles will be worse than others. Accuracy of cutting will be paramount, and even a small error will stick out like a sore thumb. The mitred joint should be sealed with silicone rather than grouted.. A compromise on corner trim would be a corner bead (as used in plastering or rendering) which will give you a pinstripe finish - Could work, but colours would be limited.

I might be willing to compromise if I could find tile 'beading' preferably with a curved edge and quite thin but it all seems to be white plastic UPVC. We have that in the kitchen and it looks ok cause the tiles are white but our tiles for the bathrooms are off white! I much prefer the curved edge when it comes to trim.

Even the big orange box sells tile trim in three or four different colours - if you look somewhere specialist I'd bet there are many more.

I've looked online on Genesis website and yes there's many options but still not what I'm after. I'll keep searching online

benson1980

I’ve just done some mitred edges with porcelain tiles in our shower room. I used a heavy duty wet saw- not really a specialist tool as such and any tiler should have one. Nothing too taxing about it.

Simonon77

You can also spray paint the trim to make it any colour. Use plastic car primer then normal car paint over the top. 

benson1980

FreeBear said:

Not all tiles can be mitred, and the edges will always be prone to chipping - Some tiles will be worse than others. Accuracy of cutting will be paramount, and even a small error will stick out like a sore thumb. The mitred joint should be sealed with silicone rather than grouted.. A compromise on corner trim would be a corner bead (as used in plastering or rendering) which will give you a pinstripe finish - Could work, but colours would be limited.

You can mitre a little bit short (1mm) of the glazed surface, could you not, if chipping is an issue?

benson1980

IvyFlood said:

I can't help but feel a load of trim will ruin the look we are trying to achieve but I'm thinking it may have to be!

I'd be interested to hear from any tilers? And we are based in the North East if that's of any use.

Thanks

Completely with you- think tile trim looks terrible so I'd stick to your guns on this one. Have you done a google or social media search specifically for 'tiler', 'mitred finish', or similar search term in your area? 

gazebo

IvyFlood said:

FreeBear said:

Not all tiles can be mitred, and the edges will always be prone to chipping - Some tiles will be worse than others. Accuracy of cutting will be paramount, and even a small error will stick out like a sore thumb. The mitred joint should be sealed with silicone rather than grouted.. A compromise on corner trim would be a corner bead (as used in plastering or rendering) which will give you a pinstripe finish - Could work, but colours would be limited.

I might be willing to compromise if I could find tile 'beading' preferably with a curved edge and quite thin but it all seems to be white plastic UPVC. We have that in the kitchen and it looks ok cause the tiles are white but our tiles for the bathrooms are off white! I much prefer the curved edge when it comes to trim.

https://www.tilingsuppliesdirect.co.uk/product-category/tile-trim/tile-trim-edging-profiles/page/2#.ZHYz_c7TU1I

Not affiliated to any site, but as an example, if you can look at this link, there are options on the second row that aren't white and shows such a thing as a thin strip does exist