Tiling around the base of a bathtub

dustbunnydiva

Oh boy...just about the same as what I am in the middle of. I replaced the tub here with a deep one and it's been months trying to get it all finished.

I assume you haven't put the tub in yet, if notand you have an old tub there, be prepared to have to cut it out. In my house that meant about 6" all around the tub including part of the floor in front. Now this can be a good thing as it allows you to see what you subfloor and walls are like and they are key to tiling I've discovered.

I have also discovered you can get 10 different opinions on whether they are okay for tile or not depending on who you talk to, what type of tile you want to use, etc. and so on. Really confusing sometimes.

What I have learned is the bigger the tile, the more stable your base has to be as any flexing in the base can cause the tiles to fail or break down the road. Meanwhile the more joints/grout you have, the more chance for moisture to seep through.

If by the 'front of the tub' you mean the vertical, you still have to make sure the base is absolutely solid.

Today was the day I finally had someone prep around my tub for me (I was going to try it myself but decided it was just too important to be a learning experience). They used a product called fibrerock which he felt was the best base as it's not moisture absorbing at all. Some cement boards are and aquaboard is not recommended at all now (except at places like Home Depot I guess). he's going to seal the joints (which have been taped and mudded) with redguard and then it will be 100% moistureproof and solid.

If you want to really get some info on tiling of all types, take a look at [url]http://johnbridge.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=11[/url] and go to the advice forum. There is also a pro forum and some other places for gathering info there so you can get ideas and experience from both DIYers and pros.

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