Tiling

stuart45

A lot of people would fix the whole tile above the bath and put the cut at the top. Some people prefer to split the difference and cut top and bottom equally. 
Assuming you put the bath in dead level, check the ceiling line as well, which will probably be out. Check how plumb the corners are as well. 
I prefer to half bond tiles the same as bricks, but not everyone likes this style.
Always best to work out the area with measurements before you lay the first tile.

Boohoo

stuart45 said:

A lot of people would fix the whole tile above the bath and put the cut at the top. Some people prefer to split the difference and cut top and bottom equally. 
Assuming you put the bath in dead level, check the ceiling line as well, which will probably be out. Check how plumb the corners are as well. 
I prefer to half bond tiles the same as bricks, but not everyone likes this style.
Always best to work out the area with measurements before you lay the first tile.

Another option is if money is available you could use wall panels instead of tiles.

The bath can be installed 1st and then stick the panel's onto the wall after.

I have seen this done with panels and it looks good but can be pricey.

All this is irrelevant if the OP has already got the tiles and adhesive.

danrv

Boohoo said:

stuart45 said:

A lot of people would fix the whole tile above the bath and put the cut at the top. Some people prefer to split the difference and cut top and bottom equally. 
Assuming you put the bath in dead level, check the ceiling line as well, which will probably be out. Check how plumb the corners are as well. 
I prefer to half bond tiles the same as bricks, but not everyone likes this style.
Always best to work out the area with measurements before you lay the first tile.

Another option is if money is available you could use wall panels instead of tiles.

The bath can be installed 1st and then stick the panel's onto the wall after.

I have seen this done with panels and it looks good but can be pricey.

All this is irrelevant if the OP has already got the tiles and adhesive.

Yes. Panels are an easier option. I fitted PVC type after I installed my bath. Much lighter that high density wood ones such as Multipanel. Easier to fit with bath in place.

ic

Are you tiling just the walls around the bath, or extending round on to others where you'll meet things like the door and window(s)? 

If the latter and will have the lines of tiles continuing round corners, you need to do a lot of planning to work out where the tiles are what the cuts are like.  You need to avoid slithers, or difficult corner cuts.  Generally you'd want to centre tiles around a focal point such as the window.  When I fit a shower, the patterned feature wall tiles ran up from the shower tray on one side, but on the other wall where a brick pattern finished, I focussed on making sure the layout worked for windows and the door, without leaving me with a slither to complete above the shower tray.  Its a real balancing act of looking right, and not having too many cuts and lots of wastage.

Even if you're progressing up to the ceiling, you'll probably discover the ceiling isn't remotely straight and level, and need to consider the size of the last tile - anything less than a quarter of a full tile is going to be looking wrong. 

Create a gauge stick by attaching masking tape to a long level and mark it up with the tile and grout lines, and figure out where everything will fall.  You can always rub out pencil marks on the wall and plan again.

henry24

I'm tiling all 4 walls 1 with brick size tiles, the 2 end ones I think I can tile leaving off the tiles next to the bath until after it's fitted 

casper_gutman

stuart45 said:

A lot of people would fix the whole tile above the bath and put the cut at the top. Some people prefer to split the difference and cut top and bottom equally. 

Agreed these things are often a matter of opinion and taste. Almost inevitably there end up being compromises, and there is frequently no perfect answer. In our old bathroom they'd started with a full tile above the bath, but this led to tiny slivers of tile all the way around the room where the walls met the floor....

henry24

It's taken me a couple of weeks but I've done 3 walls leaving a tile to fit over the bath but now I am going to do the floor so do I do it before new toilet and sink are fitted or after 

jonnydeppiwish!

We’ve always tiled first with the exception of where the baths sits ‘in’ the wall, same as the kitchen.
just gives us more options in the future if renovating.
Obviously, if you have a hidden cistern and/or pipework, that needs to be in before you tile!

WIAWSNB

I've always gone against the normal method of tiling around baths and showers, and will continue to do so as it works for me.
Where do bath seals fail? Yes, between the bath lip and the wall. Where do showers fail? Ditto, between the tray lip and the wall.
Does this happen a lot? Well, given enough time, I reckon it is more likely than not to occur.
So, I always tile down below lip height by at least a couple of inches. I then grout. Finally I fit the bath/tray with a sizeable joint of silicone between the contact points. Finally, after the installation is complete, I add the finishing bead of silicone using a Fugi.
This way the bath/tray is anchored - bonded - in place too, and kept more firm against any movement. It also provides a minimum 1" wide sealed contact area all around the wall even before the finishing bead. And finally it is given 'the' finishing bead, which is the only thing it shares with the tile-down method.
I also prefer it for aesthetic reasons - I really don't like the look of a bath rim half buried in a wall. And it even gives your shower a helpful extra ~10mm of width
This have never let me down. I'll discover soon whether it has on my current tray, - in place for over 20 years - when I redo it next year. I will 'fess up if it hasn't worked, but there's certainly no sign it has - the tray remains solidly in place, with zero movement.
Of course, anyone considering this would have to be happy about doing so. 

danrv

henry24 said:

It's taken me a couple of weeks but I've done 3 walls leaving a tile to fit over the bath but now I am going to do the floor so do I do it before new toilet and sink are fitted or after 

Tile the floor first. I'm currently doing the same with LVT.