Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - shower tiling for the first time

After having a plumber come out and rip out the tub and surround from my ugly bathroom and put in just a shower basin my husband and I have put up hardiebacker and are ready to tile the new shower. I have only tiled floor, so I am a little nervous about this. I have been searching online for tips and tricks. Anything you can share with me that will make the job go easier? Also is there a proper way to have your corners tiled? Should they be cut tiles in the corners or full tiles? Or does it just depend on what I feel like doing?

Any help would be great! Thanks tons!

where you cut corners depends on how much needs cutting. If you ony need a small cut, do it at the corners, if more than a 1/2 tile, cut front and back the same.

Make sure your first course is level!!! Use tile spacers as you work your way up, they will keep your tile rows staright, in case there is some sag in your thinset mix.

Heard/seen of this..but never done it. Measure up from the bottom where your second course would start. Screw in a level 1X then start setting tile on top.

Somehow this doesn't seen right to me since you might penetrate the liner..just passing on what I've heard.


Oh...before anything..was the pan constructed correctly? Presloped bed, liner, pan, weepholes clear on the drain? Moisture barrier behind the hardie?

As they said in My Cousin Vinney....Are You SURE?

The plumber did the basin part. I assume it is done right...I know what happens when we assume. He knows that stuff better than I do so I will trust him. Barrier is behind the hardibacker. I think I am good to go.

Thanks!

Heard/seen of this..but never done it. Measure up from the bottom where your second course would start. Screw in a level 1X then start setting tile on top.

Somehow this doesn't seen right to me since you might penetrate the liner..just passing on what I've heard.

Gunguy

This would be ok for 12"x12" tile but maybe not for something smaller. What you do with smaller tile, say 6"x6", is start with a ledger board where you want the third row of tile to start. Then when everything above sets up, you remove the ledger board and fill in the bottom 2 rows. You can set the second row of tile with spacers and blue painters tape, "hanging" the tile off the third row that has already set up so that it won't slide down the wall. Then you can fill in all the cut pieces as necessary in the first row.

An alternative to this is to use non sag thinset mortar. With this type mortar, the tiles stay where you put them and dont slide down the wall. Expensive stuff though.

Ahhh...so I missed it by one course with the smaller tile..thx Johnny..least I wasn't crazy off base.