Hey, I've been tasked by the boss to place tile on the walls surrounding some of the toilets in our house. Any tips on how to do that? I've never tiled anything. Do I need to mess with the drywall? Do I need to buy a tile saw, or just a blade? Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

if it is going to get wet it needs to be on backer board, not plain drywall.

otherwise, fill any holes or gaps in the drywall with joint compound, prime the drywall with a primer sealant, then you're ready for your thinset mortar.

depending on what tile you're putting up, you may be able to do all of your cutting with an angle grinder instead of a tile saw. usually only works with small tiles, though.

Sounds like it's something you need to pay someone who knows what they are doing to do.

I paid a neighbor who did tiling for a living to tile a kitchen floor for me and it was worth it, I'd never try to mess with trying to get that right.

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
if it is going to get wet it needs to be on backer board, not plain drywall.

otherwise, fill any holes or gaps in the drywall with joint compound, prime the drywall with a primer sealant, then you're ready for your thinset mortar.

depending on what tile you're putting up, you may be able to do all of your cutting with an angle grinder instead of a tile saw. usually only works with small tiles, though.

Pretty much what he said. I would make real sure that the dry wall is water proof before putting tile on it.

Regarding tile saws, they can be rented or purchased. We ended up buying one (try Harbor Freight if you have one near). But we had a crap load of tile to set, floors, walls etc etc. We did baths as well but stripped off the drywall and put up backer board, which comes in various thicknesses.

You can get a tile cutter that uses a diamond type scriber which you then crack along the scored mark. Just leaves a rather sharp edge which we then cleaned up a little bit with appropriate abrasive.

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If it is going to get wet it needs to be on backer board, not plain drywall

Wouldn't just be easier to work on his aim? I'd suggest a five gallon bucket in the back yard for zeroing in.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

If it is going to get wet it needs to be on backer board, not plain drywall

Wouldn't just be easier to work on his aim? I'd suggest a five gallon bucket in the back yard for zeroing in.

It's mainly due to her grandma who's living with us

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
Sounds like it's something you need to pay someone who knows what they are doing to do.

I paid a neighbor who did tiling for a living to tile a kitchen floor for me and it was worth it, I'd never try to mess with trying to get that right.

Naa, can't pay someone else to do it. I'll learn, I've done much more complex stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
if it is going to get wet it needs to be on backer board, not plain drywall.

otherwise, fill any holes or gaps in the drywall with joint compound, prime the drywall with a primer sealant, then you're ready for your thinset mortar.

depending on what tile you're putting up, you may be able to do all of your cutting with an angle grinder instead of a tile saw. usually only works with small tiles, though.

Would it really need a backer board if it only occasionally get's wet? It's not like it'll be in a shower or something. Mainly for ease of cleaning purposes.

quote:

Originally posted by matai:

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

If it is going to get wet it needs to be on backer board, not plain drywall

Wouldn't just be easier to work on his aim? I'd suggest a five gallon bucket in the back yard for zeroing in.

It's mainly due to her grandma who's living with us

My apologies, I assumed it was for looks. I'm going to go sit in the corner now.

I wouldn't bother with backer board, it isn't for a shower. Just thinset it right on the drywall and seal it good after. Use large tiles and it will go a lot quicker.

quote:

Originally posted by matai:
Hey, I've been tasked by the boss to place tile on the walls surrounding some of the toilets in our house. Any tips on how to do that? I've never tiled anything. Do I need to mess with the drywall? Do I need to buy a tile saw, or just a blade? Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Just re-read your OP. If you are just going to tile around the toilet (over drywall) then just put a couple coats of good shellac over the dry wall, let it dry and then apply the tile. In the interest of a nice looking job, use a level to scribe some vertical and horizontal lines to start the tile application.

Maybe it is just me, or Mrs. Elk, but crooked grout lines in tile are annoying.

The scribed starter lines apply to rectangular as well as other more decorative tile.

I've done this in a shower and a backsplash. Other than the backer board in shower, pretty straightforward. If you are doing any significant area I STRONGLY recommend renting a saw and doing it all at once. My first backsplash, circa '90, I did with a hand scorer machine and not only did it take a long time, I made the mistake of setting that up on the floor. After a zillion up/downs I couldn't walk after two days.....

Just make sure you get squared up the earth, not whatever cabinet/counter you hope is level. And plan where your cut ends are going to be vs. where having full tiles at the end or outside trim pieces will matter from an appearance standpoint.

I've done tile on greenboard drywall. It is more moisture and fungus resistant than regular drywall. While backer board is MUCH better I never had any issues with the few tile on greenboard projects I have done.

I know our neighborhood houses all had greenboard behind the tile in bathtubs. When I'm doing a shower or tub it is cementboard or nothing. Did manage to rip the soap dish off greenboard once

If you're in it for the learning curve part, both Lowes and Home Depot offer classes that teach the basics. If you've never done any of it, I'd start there.

quote:

Originally posted by matai:

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
if it is going to get wet it needs to be on backer board, not plain drywall.

otherwise, fill any holes or gaps in the drywall with joint compound, prime the drywall with a primer sealant, then you're ready for your thinset mortar.

depending on what tile you're putting up, you may be able to do all of your cutting with an angle grinder instead of a tile saw. usually only works with small tiles, though.

Would it really need a backer board if it only occasionally get's wet? It's not like it'll be in a shower or something. Mainly for ease of cleaning purposes.

no, if it's not regularly getting wet, it doesn't need backer or green board. but it needs to ventilate well because if it doesn't, just the humidity can get to the sheetrock.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: YellowJacket,

In my limited experience.

If you're going to lay a pattern start in the middle and work your way out. The outside will stay symmetrical this way.

Cheers~

They've pretty well covered it above. I would DIY. Most of the expense of farming it out is the labor. Tiles, materials, tools, etc., aren't very expensive. It's not difficult and doesn't require a lot of skill. Also, there's an infinite number of videos on YouTube about this.

Around here the contractors just throw it right onto the drywall. No backer-board.

I've been through 2 home inspectors, and 5 contractors...they all give me the blank stare when complain about this in a shower application.

If you ever find a good tile guy who knows what he's doing, and does things to code...use him. Good luck in your search.

Everything I've read and researched says that you should replace the drywall with a tile backer-board. Apparently, in practice...you don't "have" to.

How humid does the bathroom get? If it's a small bathroom with poor ventilation, you'll want to waterproof things before puting on tile. Take a look at Kerdi membranes which while designed for showers will work great as underlayment for any tile in a bathroom -- even over drywall.

Rent a tile saw. An MK saw is about $40 per day at Home Depot and worth it. Less messy, cleaner cuts, and works much faster than anything you can buy within a DIY budget.

If this is not in the shower/tub and just around the toilet just tile over the drywall.