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Short Summary
Main recommendation: install inexpensive ceramic tile in a shower by mapping the layout first, choosing whether to start from a centered tile or a centered grout line so you avoid slivers, and using a cement-based setting system (the speaker uses Schluter) that allows tiling over a wet waterproof membrane. The video walks through a single-day tile installation on a shower back wall and side walls, with grout and sealing done the following day.
Key Points
- Plan the layout before setting any tile: decide whether to start from a centered tile or a centered grout line, then map it out to avoid tiny slivers at the finish points.
- Start the layout on the back wall and work outward, and on side walls start at the edge and work inward so the leftover cut pieces end up on the inside wall where they look better.
- Use a cement-based setting system that the speaker says allows tiling directly over a wet waterproof membrane, which many other products do not permit.
- Use tile spacers to keep grout lines consistent, and use a standard 50 percent offset (half-brick) pattern for a simple, pleasing layout.
- The tile is thin ceramic, not porcelain, and its strength comes from the cement bond rather than the tile itself.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions:
- Map the wall before starting: determine whether a centered tile or a centered grout line leaves the larger finishing pieces, and switch to a grout-line center if a tile would end in a sliver.
- Start the back wall first, since most tile is made so the back of a standard tub finishes with nearly full pieces.
- On side walls, pick the pattern, starting point, and stopping point, and start from the edge working inward so cuts fall on the inside wall.
- Apply the waterproof membrane and let it be wet when using a compatible non-modified cement, then set tile directly over it.
- Use spacers throughout to keep lines even, and cut tile with a hardware-store rental or a personal cutter (about $30 and up) for small, simple ceramic tile; use a different tool for hard stone or large porcelain.
- Next day: move spacers, clean excess, wash the tile, grout, let it cure with a fan running for a couple of hours, then apply the silicone seal and screw on the fin trims.
- The speaker estimated about three to four more hours of work after tiling to finish, roughly a day and a half overall.
- The speaker said that with Schluter, a job that would take three days with another system took two days, including demolition, a new tub, new water supply, a new shower foam-out, waterproofing, and tiling.
- The overhang on the ceiling made the finish point uncertain, so a quick visual map was used to estimate it, leaving about a third of a tile at the end.
Bottom Line
Careful layout planning and a cement-based setting system that tolerates a wet membrane are the key to an inexpensive ceramic shower tile job that finishes cleanly in a short timeframe.
