Wall Tiling
Preparation – The Surface
Wall tiles can be applied over a range of surfaces, including plasterboard, fibre cement board, plywood, solid plaster, brick or blockwork. MDF board or chipboard can also be tiled over, but not in wet or humid areas.
Walls must be free of grease, dirt, soap, loose paint, plaster and dust, and must be dry, flat and firm. Walls must be smooth, with holes and rough areas filled with plaster filler and then sanded. Smooth paintwork should be sanded and scratched to provide a surface to fix to.
Bare plasterboard, MDF or particleboard should be sealed. It should also be noted that when tiling over joins in MDF and plasterboard, it is recommended to firstly tape over the joins otherwise problems may occur if there is movement in this area. Note – all walls must be waterproofed in wet areas (eg showers).
If there is too much flex in the wall, you may need to strip off the lining, add more studs and/or noggins, and reline.
Wall tiles can be applied over a range of surfaces, including plasterboard, fibre cement board, plywood, solid plaster, brick or blockwork. MDF board or chipboard can also be tiled over, but not in wet or humid areas.
Walls must be free of grease, dirt, soap, loose paint, plaster and dust, and must be dry, flat and firm. Walls must be smooth, with holes and rough areas filled with plaster filler and then sanded. Smooth paintwork should be sanded and scratched to provide a surface to fix to.
Bare plasterboard, MDF or particleboard should be sealed. It should also be noted that when tiling over joins in MDF and plasterboard, it is recommended to firstly tape over the joins otherwise problems may occur if there is movement in this area. Note – all walls must be waterproofed in wet areas (eg showers).
If there is too much flex in the wall, you may need to strip off the lining, add more studs and/or noggins, and reline.
To work out how many tiles you'll need, use our Tile Calculator.
Preparation – Laying Out
1. You may need to make some 50mm wide support strips from straight timber to use as guides and supports to hold up the tiles until the adhesive sets.
2. Although the layout out process is similar to floors, you will not be able to lay the tiles out on the wall to check the positioning. In order to calculate the position of full tiles, you will need to mark a strip of timber in widths.
You can then adjust the position of guidelines to ensure even lines of cut tiles along edges (Also see Figure 3A and 3B in Floors section).
3. Draw a plumb vertical line from the centre point to the top of the area to be tiled using your spirit level. Then, using a spirit level, identify the lowest point of the wall. Often floors and baths run off a little. Place an upright tile against the wall at that point and, using a spirit level, draw a perfectly horizontal line across the wall from the top of the tile.
4. Nail a support strip (piece of straight timber) up to and beneath the edge of the line to support the tiles. This will form the second row of tiles which will be applied first.
5. Then start with a full tile from the centre vertical line. If you are tiling around something that has an obvious outside corner or edge (eg a bath recess) then start from the outside corner and work in.
6. Depending on the room, all but one of the bottom row of tiles may need to be cut.
7. When tiling only part way up a wall, it is ideal if the height can be achieved using only full tiles. If you need to make cuts, it is normally best to finish along the top with a full tile.
8. If you take your time to set out correctly, the tiling will flow.
Preparation – Laying Out
1. You may need to make some 50mm wide support strips from straight timber to use as guides and supports to hold up the tiles until the adhesive sets.
2. Although the layout out process is similar to floors, you will not be able to lay the tiles out on the wall to check the positioning. In order to calculate the position of full tiles, you will need to mark a strip of timber in widths.
You can then adjust the position of guidelines to ensure even lines of cut tiles along edges (Also see Figure 3A and 3B in Floors section).
3. Draw a plumb vertical line from the centre point to the top of the area to be tiled using your spirit level. Then, using a spirit level, identify the lowest point of the wall. Often floors and baths run off a little. Place an upright tile against the wall at that point and, using a spirit level, draw a perfectly horizontal line across the wall from the top of the tile.
4. Nail a support strip (piece of straight timber) up to and beneath the edge of the line to support the tiles. This will form the second row of tiles which will be applied first.
5. Then start with a full tile from the centre vertical line. If you are tiling around something that has an obvious outside corner or edge (eg a bath recess) then start from the outside corner and work in.
6. Depending on the room, all but one of the bottom row of tiles may need to be cut.
7. When tiling only part way up a wall, it is ideal if the height can be achieved using only full tiles. If you need to make cuts, it is normally best to finish along the top with a full tile.
8. If you take your time to set out correctly, the tiling will flow.
Installation – Laying the Tiles
1. Starting at either the vertical centerline or from a full tile edge, apply tile adhesive to a small part of the wall using a notched trowel ensuring adhesive is evenly ribbed. If there are hard to reach areas, you can spread the adhesive directly onto the tile before placing it.
2. Using your level to check horizontal and vertical lines, work on one side of the centre line working across and up until all full tiles are in place using a timber support strip if required. To avoid too much adhesive in the joints, it is recommended that the tiles are not slid into place, rather they are flipped from the bottom or pressed into place.
3. Once all full tiles have been laid, do not allow excess adhesive to dry, instead wipe it away immediately.
4. If you need to cut curves or notches, you can mark the tile with a pencil and use tile nippers to nip away those areas not required. This process works best if you only nip away a small amount at a time. Decide how tidy you need the cut to be – if it will be hidden between fixtures or fittings, then there is no need to be too accurate. However, you will need to spend more time if it is to be in a highly visible spot. To tile around pipes, it is easiest to cut the tile in half and then nip out the space for the pipe. If you need to cut irregular shapes, you may need to use a contour gauge or make cardboard patterns to transfer onto a tile.
5. Alternatively, if you choose to have the cuts made for you, call your Heritage Tiles store to find out about getting them professionally cut.
Installation – Grouting and Sealing
Refer to the grouting and sealing parts of Floor Tiling section. Note, further to Step 5, you will also need to remove grout from wall/wall joins and fill with silicone.
Heritage Tiles recommends the BRANZ publication "Good Tiling Practise" for a full in-depth guide to all aspects of tiling.
Floor Tiling < > Tile Calculator
