bathroom - tiles, paint or both?

want2bmortgage3

my bathroom is currently covered top to bottom with green old fashioned tiles. they look quite solid and flat, although i know they will come off easily as i've had to remove a couple to fit a fan.

i am not sure whether to remove them all and have the room plastered, or re tiled with new tiles? or have it plastered and tile just around the bath/shower?

i've sorted out the ventilation problems with a quality vent axia humidity sensor fan which comes on boost when humid and always stays on trickle.

so opinions anyone on the best answer from a practical and design point of view?? cheers

JennyW_2

We 've done both. Our first house had terrible pink tiles so we re-tiled the whole bathroom in white tiles.

In our property now we had the whole bathroom plastered, painted the walls in a nice coloured paint (bathroom paint) and just tiled around the shower area (in the corner). I prefer this way of doing the bathroom . Much easier to keep the walls clean as you only need to wipe them down.

The problem I found with the whole tiled bathroom was that the tiles do need to be cleaned and the grout does in time lose it's colour so it can turn out to be hard work

genny

Tiles also get condensation on them, but a fully tiled bathroom does look lovely.

andrew-b

It depends alot on your budget. For tiles you've got to allow at least £20 per sqm just for the tiles...add on that adhesive, grout etc and labour if your not doing it yourself - you may also have to have some plastering done if the walls are bad condition. I think with tiles you've got to be much more choosy as making the wrong decision is costly. Tiles that are fashionable now might not be next year and changing them is messy. With paint if you don't like it you can just slap another colour on top.

In our bathroom we are currently planning on going for painted plaster and part tiling - undecided yet on whether to tile all round to just above windowsill level or just locally around the bath/shower and basin. If we were to tile the whole lot i'd still have to get the walls plastered as they are really bad condition going back to the blockwork in places - looks a bit like Beirut in there at the moment! So i'd say it depends alot on the condition of the walls when the old tiles come off.

You could also consider thick vinyl bathroom wallpaper for non-tiled area as it will hide imperfections in the plaster - we have that in our bathroom at the moment (though the previous owner had it hung upside down as there are little upside down fish on it! derr!). Avoid normal vinyl wallpapers as they tend to peel off in a steamy bathroom.

When you get round to removing the old tiles get a couple of big flexible buckets and throw all the broken tiles in those - makes it so much easier to dispose of. We've taken about 6 big buckets to the tip so far and probably about another 6 to go.


Andy

Doozergirl

It really depends on budget but without doubt a fully tiled bathroom, floor and walls looks better - and no skirting boards! I can't stand skirting board in bathrooms, it breaks the clean lines and the board attracts proper dirt in a bathroom. You can get a real wow factor with a fully tiled room.

It's practical with kids because they manage to get the bathwater and soap everywhere and you don't have to worry about it anymore.

Phirefly

Oh Dooz I was all decided then and now you've made me rethink... I was planing on having the whole bath area tiled to the ceiling then the rest of the room halfway from the floor all the way round but you've thrown me a curveball there...

Doozergirl

Phirefly wrote: »

I was planing on having the whole bath area tiled to the ceiling then the rest of the room halfway from the floor all the way round but you've thrown me a curveball there...

Yup. Been there and done that. I don't know why but just that the last few bathrooms have really made me grin whereas every other bathroom has left me slightly cold

I do think that halfway from the floor makes rooms seem smaller, like the tiles are looming in on you? That might just be me being a headcase though!

Voice_of_reason_5

want2bmortgage3 wrote: »

my bathroom is currently covered top to bottom with green old fashioned tiles. they look quite solid and flat, although i know they will come off easily as i've had to remove a couple to fit a fan.

i am not sure whether to remove them all and have the room plastered, or re tiled with new tiles? or have it plastered and tile just around the bath/shower?

i've sorted out the ventilation problems with a quality vent axia humidity sensor fan which comes on boost when humid and always stays on trickle.

so opinions anyone on the best answer from a practical and design point of view?? cheers

From experience I'd say only tile splashbacks. Tiles are a devil too clean as the condensation leaves limescale. Some tiles, and a WASHABLE paint is far more practical. :money:

Bungarm2001

Go with fully tiled...you can't beat it for ease of cleaning and a terrific look if you get it right.

There are so many nice tiles out there at the mo and you could come up with a real nice design with maybe a stripe running around the room at wasbasin level perhaps, or using the bigger tiles with corner insets...you can get some really original looks with a bit of thought.

Needn't cost the earth either (£20 a sq metre?? blimey, you can pay half that or less with a bit of shopping around) and of course, really cheap if you DIY.

PS I personally would chip off all the old tiles..messy and time consuming, but worth it in the end if you want a truly nice finish. You don't have to be too fussy with the replastering either if you fully tile..just use more adhesive!;)

Doozergirl

Bungarm2001 wrote: »

Needn't cost the earth either (£20 a sq metre?? blimey, you can pay half that or less with a bit of shopping around) and of course, really cheap if you DIY.

I'm interested to know where you have found as I can't find anything properly nice for less than £20 either (except a rather large amount of black marble mosaic that I've secured for about £10 a metre on ebay - haven't seen it yet!)

Bungarm2001

I'm lucky enough to have a D.I.L who is shopping mad and will spend hours trawling round outlet shops and the like for cheap seconds of expensive stuff, and then tells us. Saves me doing it! She's a hair stylist and gets all the goss from her clients which then sends her on her way.

She found one oulet a few years back that sold 6inch ceramic in several toned colours for a quid a box of 10. True, there were the odd one or two that had a bubble or spot in the glaze, but you'd use them for the cuts.

They also sold those pebble mosaics for £2 a sheet when they were something like a tenner each in the sheds along with top brand paints etc for a fraction of the price.

Sadly, the place burnt down a couple of years back, but rumour has it, they are re-opening this week...yipeee!

I do believe that there are places like this all over the UK they just need finding, places that sell flood or fire damaged goods or just plain seconds. You might not get a full range, but like I say, with a bit of imgination, or mixing the cheap with a bit of classy expensive you can come up with some pretty nice designs.