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How to decorate a bathroom with tiles yourself

Bathroom renovation is one of the most time-consuming undertakings: a lot of operations that take time. Completes the entire bathroom with tiles. It is also not an easy task that requires knowledge of technology. In addition, it is necessary to develop a layout scheme, but not somehow, but beautifully. And also - count the number and not be mistaken.

The content of the article

1 Technology
2 How to tile a bathtub - rectangular, rounded
3 Bathroom tiling: photo ideas

Technology

According to modern requirements, the tiles are laid on a flat base. Smooth is with a maximum height difference of 5 mm per 1 sq. m. If the walls or floor do not meet this requirement, the walls need putty - with a deviation of up to 3 cm - or plaster for more curved surfaces. In this case, the floor is leveled with a screed.

The walls must be flat

If there is already a tile on the floor, but you want to replace it, you will have to knock down the old one, level out more or less all the drops and fill it with concrete, align it along the beacons. Self-leveling mixes can be used, but they also need to be leveled, although not as carefully as regular concrete.After the concrete has gained about 50% of the design strength (about 7 days at a temperature of + 20 ° C), work can be continued.

Sometimes the tiles on the floor are not removed in any way (usually small). In this case, a 2-3 cm screed can be poured over and then a new one can be laid.

What composition to level the bathroom walls

How to level / putty the walls in the bathroom? All compositions are made on the basis of two binders: gypsum or cement. Since the bathroom is a room with high humidity, the use of gypsum plaster or putty is undesirable. No, you can use them, especially since in many high-rise buildings the bathroom walls are also made of plaster. But gypsum is very hygroscopic and will absorb moisture from the air, from the walls. Neither tile nor glue will interfere with this. So that it does not "pull" moisture, fungus or mold does not appear on the walls, the surfaces will need to be well impregnated with compounds that reduce hygroscopicity. And preferably several times. And this - additional costs, and considerable. Therefore, it is better to immediately use cement-based compositions - they initially have low hygroscopicity.

Rotband is a popular gypsum plaster, Vetonit is a cement

Rotband - popular gypsum plaster, Vetonit - cement

Primer

Before starting plastering or plastering, before laying tiles, all surfaces are primed. We must not forget about this stage. Primers improve the adhesion of one layer of materials to another, which positively affects the quality of the finish. If you put the finish on walls without a primer, chances are good that the finish will bounce, sometimes with putty, sometimes just with glue - where the weakest adhesion is found.

Several primer options

When choosing a primer, pay attention to its additional properties. In the bathroom, antifungal additives will come in handy, as well as hydrophobic additives (repelling water).

How to lay tiles

Actually, after all these stages, the decoration of the bathroom with tiles begins directly. First of all, lay it on the floor. Use a special tile adhesive for wet rooms. They start from the door, move to the far wall. There is usually a bathroom along the opposite wall, so all the trims will be underneath.

A layer of glue of about 4-5 mm is applied to the leveled floor, the excess is removed with a notched trowel, the tiles are laid, they are leveled on a horizontal surface, checking with a level. All subsequent ones are laid in the same way, maintaining the gaps with the help of plastic crosses.Large-format tiles are usually used on the floor, therefore the crosses are taken thicker - 3-5 mm.

After the glue has dried (the period is indicated on the package), you can start finishing the bathroom walls.The technology is simple and very similar to the one described above:

a 3-5 mm thick layer of glue is applied to the primed flat wall, the excess is removed with a notched trowel, which forms recesses;
the tile is immersed in water for a few seconds, set in place, pressed and tapped with the handle of the trowel, achieving its even position in all planes;
check the position with a building level, checking the horizontal and vertical installation;
put the second next;
the gap between adjacent elements is set using special plastic crosses (2-3 mm depending on the format);
vertically and horizontally are checked.

Bathroom decoration with tiles: put on the walls

There is another way - the glue is applied not to the wall, but directly to the tile, removing the excess with the same notched trowel. They apply it to the wall and align in the same way. This method is neither better nor worse. Choose the one that seems more convenient to you.

The first row is gradually filled - from wall to wall. The second is exposed on it, and so on, already up to the ceiling, then they move to the second wall. Do not forget to remove the crosses while working. The glue sets quickly, making it difficult to pick them out. Also, keep the tiles clean. All traces of glue, even the smallest, must be wiped off. You can use a sponge or rag, or both. Pay attention to the fact that the adhesive does not protrude from the seams. They should be half empty - they will need to be trimmed - rubbed.

The seams are rubbed with special colored compounds, which are matched to the tone or made contrasting. After the glue has dried, the grout is diluted to a paste state, applied to the seams with a small rubber spatula, and the excess is removed with it. The remains are wiped with a soft, non-fading cloth.

Grouting tiles

There are many more features and nuances - in terms of layout, bathroom design, doorway, etc., but in general, bathroom decoration with tiles is done using this technology.

Layout features

To get a high-quality and beautiful bathroom, you must first think over the layout of the tiles. Let's say you have already looked after several options in different colors or sizes. Now you need to decide which one is better to buy and in what quantity. The difficulty lies in the fact that today bathroom decoration with tiles is sharply monochromatic from floor to ceiling. Usually two or three colors are combined, and there is also a certain number of fragments with a pattern or decor. And we need to accurately count their number in order to purchase immediately from one batch and not be mistaken in this (due to the peculiarities of the technological, process, the colors of different batches may have significant differences).

An example of drawing a tile for finishing a bathroom

To solve this problem and, at the same time, develop a tile layout scheme, you will need a large sheet of squared paper or graph paper, a pencil and colored pencils. On the sheet, draw a scan of the room, accurately observing the dimensions and proportions. On the corresponding walls, mark the location of the doors, bathroom, plumbing, mirror, washing machine. Draw all objects on the same scale. It is better to make a drawing large - it will be easier to draw the details, as well as count the tiles by the piece.

An example of a tile layout in a bathroom

On the prepared plan, on the same scale, draw the tile, painting it with the appropriate colors. So it will be possible to more accurately imagine how everything will look, test several layout options - in horizontal stripes, vertical stripes, shifting them, making them wider / narrower / higher, etc.

When you decide exactly how you want to lay out the bathroom (in terms of the arrangement of different colors, the width of the stripes and other nuances), you will need to redraw the selected layout again, but this time taking into account the trimming to size.

Cut tiles are placed in one of the corners

If you start laying tiles just from one corner, you will have to cut them in the other. Since large-format tiles are in trend today, these scraps on one side greatly spoil the overall impression. Therefore, it is laid out relative to the center of the wall, "accelerating" the trim in two corners. The result is a symmetrical picture, which looks much better.

Only here there are nuances. For the wall to look normal, the clipping width should be more than half. Too narrow inserts look scanty. This is controlled by the position: along the center line, you can place a seam or the middle of a tile. Draw so that only narrow stripes are not in the corners.

Redraw the chosen styling method taking these moments into account. Then you count the amount, taking into account those that need to be cut. Yes, there will be more tiles, but the look of your bathroom is much more attractive.

The principles of creating a bathroom design with your own hands are described here... Features: the design of combined bathrooms is described here.

How to tile a bathtub - rectangular, rounded

One of the important points when decorating a bathroom with tiles is how to decorate the front of the bath. Most often, it is also pasted over with tiles (another option is to sheathe it with plastic panels). But you can't just hang it, you need a foundation. It is made either from bricks (better than ceramic, not silicate, although it is cheaper) or from moisture-resistant drywall.

From both materials, you can lay out the wall even or rounded. With bricks, everything is more or less clear, just ask and steal along the drawn arc, creating a slightly broken line. She then scares at the plaster.

To bend drywall, it is cut from the inside into strips 3-5 cm wide, depending on the bending radius, the floor is broken with gypsum lines and bent as needed. Having laid out the base of a suitable shape, it is primed and it is already possible to lay the tiles on the glue in a standard way.

This is how they lay out the brick base

There is one more subtlety when decorating a bathroom: there can be a decent distance between the side of the bathroom and one of the walls - from 5 to 15 cm.This distance must be covered with something, otherwise water will flow down and the greater the distance, the more problematic it is to close it. The way out is to make a shelf of drywall, on which you then glue the tiles. The procedure is as follows:

set the bath horizontally;
transfer the line of the upper edge of the bathroom to the wall (with a square or a ruler);
from the resulting line, you retreat down to the thickness of the planned materials (tile thickness + drywall thickness + board thickness on which all this will be based);
attach a bar or profile along the resulting line (the upper edge coincides with the drawn line);
a wide board (treated with antiseptics) is attached to the profile, which reaches the side of the bathroom;
the gap between the board and the bathroom is filled with sealant;
a piece of moisture-resistant drywall cut to size is laid on top;
primed;
later, when decorating the walls, we lay out this shelf with tiles cut to size.

If you decide to install a shower stall in your bathroom, you can read about the assembly process here.

Bathroom tiling: photo ideas

In recent years, there are two main trends in bathroom decoration:

Use of large format tiles. Rectangular or square - it doesn't matter, the main thing is that the dimensions are solid.
Mostly the bathroom is finished with large format tiles
The use of mosaics - glass or ceramic. These are small squares with a side of 1.5-3.2 cm, glued to a polymer net.
Mosaic - small tiles glued to the grid

There is also a third option - combination. Such options, by the way, are especially interesting.

Tile and mosaic combinations are the most interesting

Another nuance regarding the design - rectangular tiles are increasingly being placed not "standing", but "lying" - in length. This is justified as it makes the room visually wider.

Most often, rectangular tiles are placed lying

The location "in length" visually makes the room wider

You've probably noticed that more and more stripes are used - horizontal or vertical - of different widths. They are made on different walls.

Stripes and fragments of different sizes - one of the design directions

Stripes and fragments of different sizes - one of the modern trends in bathroom decoration

Not spared fashion and drawings. Although flowers or monochromatic options are still popular, tiles have appeared that imitate different natural materials: stone, wood of different species, leather. It turns out quite interesting: it looks like wood (imitations are of sufficient quality), but it feels like ceramics.