Tiling a bathroom

DeVlaeminck

Maybe this should be in workshop but I'm about to tile our bathroom, or more likely make a mess of it, waste a load of money, leave it for a year and then get a professional in. Anyway the electric shower (above the bath) is dead so I'm going to get someone in to replace it - does that need doing before I tile or do I do the tiling first or at least tile up to that bit and then get someone in to do it?

The old one is fitted on top of tiling - I'm not going to try and fit the new one but I don't want to tile underneath it and then find it needs pipes or wiring channelled into the wall.

gethinceri

Do the shower before tiling.

arran77

Assuming that the new one is going to be installed in the same place as the existing one it will just be a case of pretty much using the existing CWS connection and electrical connection so theoretically there is no issue but as said above do it before just to be safe

me-109

At least buy your shower (or select it) so that you know where the water and electrical connection points are. Most showers have several options for each, but necessarily in the configuration you have. Ensure you have enough pipe poking out of the wall so that you can make a connection and you should then be ok to do your tiling.

sheffsimon

Definitely buy your shower first and definitely confirm that the existing cable is big enough to supply the new shower. From your OP, it sounds like the existing cable isnt buried in the wall but runs down the outside of the wall instead??

alan_sherman

i'd suggest asking your electrician.

DeVlaeminck

Without looking I think the cable may come through from the other side of the wall as that is where the power switch is.

Yes sounds like I should ask the electrician first rather than getting on with the job and then having to do it twice.

Thanks

Crankbrother

I'd leave it to the professionals given the amount of water that gets splashed about ... Even a small leak will cost you thousands in repairs ...

Different if it's a kitchen wall, it only gets the odd splash and there's not many places for it to leak to ...

homers_double

It isn't that hard to do it all yourself, wiring is just a case of wiring the right coloured bit to the right terminal and plumbing is the same but with the added amusement of it soaking you when it leaks.

me-109

homers double wrote:

It isn't that hard to do it all yourself, wiring is just a case of wiring the right coloured bit to the right terminal and plumbing is the same but with the added amusement of it soaking you when it leaks.

…as opposed to electrocuting you when it leaks? Don't mention what happens when you get both wrong … :-/

thistle_

Drill new holes for the water pipe and electric cable if needed to suit the new shower. Tile the whole wall, leaving holes or notches around the holes the wall.
Fit the shower on top of the tiles and seal around it properly to stop the water getting in?

If you leave a big gap in the tiles around the shower, when you next replace the shower and find its a different size/shape you will need to take some tiles off the wall or have to fill bits in. At least if it's fully tiles you can just grout up any unused pipe/wire holes.

Like someone else said, if you're going for a higher kW shower, check the wire is big enough. Check it anyway because the last person might not have checked.

If you are doing the tiling yourself, small tiles are easier. I got someone in to do mine (1.5m x 2.5m x 2.7m high) and it looks good but took 4 days

Cutting tiles with a score and break tool gives neater edges than a saw, but you risk breaking whole tiles and you can't cut some shapes without a saw.

Sawilson

Unless the cable providing power to the shower has been changed recently it will only be 6mm limiting you to getting a 8.5kw shower, 9.0kw at a push dependant on cable run, any more and you will need a 10mm supply running straight from the consumer unit.
There are many retrofit type showers now with multiple water and electrical inputs to make the job easier, tile the wall first leaving gap for water and electrical cable to emerge under footprint of the shower unit make sure both are long enough to connect once the tiles are on.
The electrical connection is not difficult only three wires, but you could be opening up a can of worms in the legal dept, is the consumer unit up to date is it RCD protected, if you connect up and a fire results your insurance could be null and void. If you not 100% confident or willing to take the risk get a sparky in its not a big job.
Have you still got a system boiler, if you have changed to a combi at any point you would be far better off fitting a mixer vale with hot and cold feed you would get a far more powerful shower.

DeVlaeminck

I've done some tiling before (ok so it wasn't getting soaked with a shower) so I don't mind giving it a go, not planning on installing the shower though so no worries about electrocuting the kids.

veronese68

Tiling around the shower will be a nightmare. Remove the old shower, get whoever is fitting the shower to confirm everything he needs is there, then tile before the final fitting of the shower.

DeVlaeminck

Yes will do that ta.

mega9

First get a sparky in
8kw and above showers should ideally have 10mm cable and a 40amp mcb and be on there own circuit.
Also check how many litres of water a minute come from the tap this will effect what shower you can put in
if like me you only get about 8ltr a minute a 9.5kw shower will struggle just changed to a 8.5kw and is a better job.

graham.

Don't tile, use this stuff. http://www.bathroommarquee.co.uk/installation.htm
Very quick and easy to install, no grouting (to go moldy.) easy to clean.

ballysmate

Graham. wrote:

Don't tile, use this stuff. http://www.bathroommarquee.co.uk/installation.htm
Very quick and easy to install, no grouting (to go moldy.) easy to clean.

Looked at this stuff or something similar, but missus announced that they didn't quite have the right shade so we had to have the tiles which were apparently the perfect colour. Grrrrr

bernithebiker

Even using 9kW, I've always found electric showers to be crap. You just can't heat enough water quickly enough.

Interestingly, French houses all have a power limit imposed on them by EdF, and most are 9kW for the WHOLE house.

So just turning on the shower would make the whole house trip.

(You can buy more power limit (up to 12 or 15kW), but it costs a lot more).

Don't try tiling in mosaic, it ain't easy.

arran77

bernithebiker wrote:

Interestingly, French houses all have a power limit imposed on them by EdF, and most are 9kW for the WHOLE house.

That's not a problem in the UK where we have a proper power supply :P

bernithebiker

arran77 wrote:

bernithebiker wrote:

Interestingly, French houses all have a power limit imposed on them by EdF, and most are 9kW for the WHOLE house.

That's not a problem in the UK where we have a proper power supply :P

It means that, person for person, the UK has to keep at least another power station up and running to cope with peaks in demand. EdF knows that such a peak can never happen in France, so can far better control how many power stations to run.

Great for them, not so good for the consumer.

diamonddog

Veronese68 wrote:

Tiling around the shower will be a nightmare. Remove the old shower, get whoever is fitting the shower to confirm everything he needs is there, then tile before the final fitting of the shower.

^^ This one, it has always worked for me.

crescent

bernithebiker wrote:

Even using 9kW, I've always found electric showers to be crap. You just can't heat enough water quickly enough.

This^
Never found an electric shower that was any good. Better buying a pump and use your normal hot and cold water supplies if this is an option. If you are not sure do not fit the electric shower yourself, it is potentially very dangerous and probably illegal under current regs (no pun intended).