How to Tile a Bathroom Tub Area Only
- 1). Lay heavy construction paper over the tub to protect it from damage and paste duct tape to keep it in place.
- 2). Use a trowel to apply a thick layer of tile mastic onto a section of the bathroom tub surround. A trowel has a handle on one side and a textured surface on the other side for applying materials with a paste consistency. The tile mastic serves as an adhesive. The tile mastic starts to lose its tackiness in 20 minutes, so divide the wall into sections about 2 to 3 square feet each.
- 3). Press a tile into the wall until it sticks to the wall and continue until you cover all the walls. Leave out areas where you meet plumbing fixtures and areas where the space is too tight for whole tiles.
- 4). Hold a full tile in tight areas and use a pencil to mark the line where it overlaps another tile. Place the tile on a tile cutter and cut along the line. Lay the cut tiles on the walls.
- 5). Drill holes with a diamond-grit hole saw in tiles where they meet plumbing fixtures. If the fixtures meet the edges of the tiles, use tile nippers to remove the excess portions. Press the tiles on the walls and let all the tiles set overnight.
- 6). Mix 1 qt. fortified, unsanded tile grout and just enough water to get a mayonnaise-like consistency.
- 7). Use a clean trowel to smear the grout diagonally across the tiles, forcing it into the joints between tiles. Let the grout cure for 15 to 20 minutes.
- 8). Wipe the tiles with a damp sponge to remove excess grout and let it set overnight.
- 9). Wipe the remaining grout film off the tiles with a clean, dry cloth.
- 10
Apply siliconized acrylic caulk to the joint between the tub and the tiles.
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