Is it OK to use wavy-edged tile for a tub deck?

12 years ago

I'm nearly convinced to use the same tile for the tub deck as I have for the floor - I have enough. Surround looks like it will be wood, as will be the apron material, or I'll just do a deco and a bullnose. I just haven't found a square tile I like with my floor.

Here is the floor tile:

Here's the tub - only have 4-5" to tile along the edge at the widest point (plus enough to slip under the rim since the tub is foamed in place), roughly a foot at the ends, of course more than that along the curves. The tile is 11.75" (roughly)

Will this look OK with a rustic barn board apron (and maybe low surround)? Is there any reason not to use this tile on the deck (other than the edges having to be squared off along the front and where they meet the walls - but since the corner of the deck sticks out 1.5" past the linen closet (see 2nd and 3rd photos), the drain end of the deck will have to have all the tiles cut at the wall to keep the grout lines straight, I could cut an extra 1/4" off each to get the wavy edge off the corner piece. The front and back pieces will have to be cut anyway - probably use a little less than 1/2 tile on each side at the narrowest point. So that really only leaves the right-hand wall that would have to be squared off, I'll have to make sure that I don't have a tiny corner then at the ends of the tub but I think it can be done.

But should I keep trying to find a square-edged tile so I have the smallest, straightest grout lines possible on the deck?

I am definitely using this tile on the floor, I have a similar tile in the other bath and love it!

Thanks

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Comments (4)

2ajsmama
Original Author
12 years ago
Bump - any comments?
hosenemesis
12 years ago
I don't know why, but I don't like the idea of the same tile on the floor and the deck. I think it would look funny- like you were trying to make the tub blend in with the floor or something.

I don't know what the difference is between an apron and a surround. If it was my bath, I would put up plywood before attaching barn wood across the front because I have a lot of spiders, and I would not want them crawling out between the barn wood slats. Will you attach the wood on the front before tiling? Will the edge of the top be wood molding or v-cap? I love your floor tile. Have you considered a large plain white porcelain tile, shiny, with teeny grout lines, that would match the tub? It might look like the whole deck is one material.

Renee
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Thanks - I know it's strong, I've stood on it before! Not much room for screws, there are so many nails, but I'll try to put some in (wherever I'm not putting a fixture!). BTW, mongo, I didn't get any responses of the structural nature when I started an earlier thread on faucet/grab bar placement. Since there is a pocket door to the right, only places I have to put the grab bar (19-20" high finished deck and a 30" inseam!) are on the corner of the linen closet to the right, or on the deck itself. Getting a little tight with faucet having to go on front of deck for access (by code), and I really prefer on the drain end (left). I think the handshower is going to have to go on the acrylic "bumpout" in the middle. So am I going to have to enter/exit from the right? How to put a grab bar there with the pocket door sliding into that wall?
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A couple of things to think about. First, that 15.5" is unfinished. For a mor accurate measurement you should hook your tape in the lip of the tub, because when all is said and done, that's where the deck face should be. Secondly, if you're going to use a listello, you don't want to be cutting into it. If I could make a suggestion, You said you're using 6x6 tiles? What about using 1 course of tiles, the listello, which I assume is 3", and a piece of bullnose, which should also be either 2" or 3" which means you'd have a finished height of 11-12", which would put it just below the window. From the picture it looks like there's about 1 1/8" give or take between the tub and rough framing. You may want to make sure so as to be able to fit a layer of (minimum 1/2") plywood, 1/4" cement board, and the tile under the lip.
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You need either a natural stone tile or through body porcelain that the cut edges can be polished. The deck has to be built very carefully to the correct height where the installed tile barely hangs over the lip of the tub and then that joint is caulked with the sanded caulk that matches your grout. Or you pick a tile that has V-cap trim. It's a PIA for the contractor/carpenter and tile installer way and will cost you more in labor. It might be enough labor difference to pay for a solid surface deck. You should check out a Corian deck. No seams to collect gunk, and it looks nice and smooth for an undermount. You could coordinate it by using the same material for your shower walls and vanity top. Corian has a lot of new colors with movement that are yummy. I'd love to see Elderberry used in a bath. I think it's perfect for someone! Here it is used as a vanity top with a custom "wave" sink out of the translucent Blueberry Ice and then backlit. Corian Rain Cloud Corian Rain Cloud (used above)
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I plan on getting that exact tub. I just did a search to see how other people felt about theirs and here was your post! I fell in love with it when I laid in it at the showroom. I had a 66" area on the paper plans for a tub. I want a 66" tub. (A 60" tub is just too small to be useable for me and we're going through a lot of this addition/remodel just to have a separate, nice tub the master.) I told my GC the tub I wanted, and he said it HAD to have a tub deck around it. You need someplace to put the faucet and whatever other structural issues. (And remember, since it is a two-person tub, you can't put the faucet centered at the short end.) The minimum for a tub deck is 3" on each side. Therefore, because I now really love this tub, we are going to bump out the addition another 6" so I can get a 3" deck on each side. I can't wait for my new tub!!
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2ajsmama
Original Author
12 years ago
Well, originally I planned on granite tiles on the deck and granite countertop. But the vanity was too small for granite for some reason (Lowes came out to measure), and I was concerned about the weight, the granite tile at Job Lot sold out so the bathroom has just been sitting waiting for me to find the right tile for the deck (and get around to tiling it and the floor). Now my design has taken a new direction thanks to my cousin's DH gutting the old farmhouse to put in insulation, wiring and drywall.

The "barn board" is actually wide plank tongue and groove chestnut (?) roughly handplaned that was used as the original interior walls in the one room (and pantry) that was the whole house built in 1743. Later when the house was added onto, it was covered with lathe and horsehair plaster. I helped tear down all the old plaster (broke my heart) last year and scrape linoleum off the old wide pine floorboards that he is now ripping down to make door and window trim. He was going to use the beadboard as wainscot but my cousin just wanted this room done (it's going to be their master BR, they keep moving as they finish rooms) so he just drywalled everything. He would have painted it white b/c she didn't want a dark room (it's got 3 windows in it!) so I'm glad he didn't use it, said I could have it.

Even though it was all around the room, he didn't seem to have much of it and westiegirl suggested that it be highlighted more in my bath by just using it on the apron (front of the tub going down to the floor) and maybe a little on the surround (where the deck meets the walls above the tub). Also on the countertop of a "farm table" vanity I will build to drop my sinks into. The rough boards will have to be planed for the countertop to get rid of the plaster streaks and to make them smooth, that will get rid of the bead but the tongue and groove will still fit together (I'd also use pocket screws I think for strength underneath the countertop).

I was hoping just to sand the planks to use in the tub area by hand (orbital sander) just so they're not rough enough to scrape my legs, but keep the bead. I don't mind if some plaster streaks (embedded in the grain, not sitting on top) still show, think that gives it character. The top edge will be routed down in an eased profile to cover the edges of the tile.

No, I hadn't considered white tile for the deck - never thought of making it look like a big rectangular tub, since there is a high rim, it's not undermounted.

I don't know whether it's best to tile the floor and deck first, then put the wood on the apron or not. Might be - last house we built the apron first, made sure it stood proud of the deck enough for tile and thinset, but then when the guy tiled it we had a few spots here and there that were lower than the wood edge, and 1 spot that was higher.
2ajsmama
Original Author
12 years ago
OK, if I am doing wood on the walls, or just a very short section of tile (like just deco and bullnose 6" high), I do have enough of this tile to do the deck ONLY.

What do you think? Still have to pick a paint color, if one chip stands out let me know that too! Thanks

Is it OK to use wavy-edged tile for a tub deck?

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2ajsmama
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hosenemesis

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Is it OK to use wavy-edged tile for a tub deck?

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