Bathroom wall tile and baseboards - or NO baseboards?

5 years ago

We are remodeling and will have 2 walls tiled from floor to ceiling. The tile for the wall is 6"x24" white subway tile set in a horizontal stacked bond pattern. I envision it meeting the floor tile and no baseboard; husband says baseboard (which would be a 5" square edge baseboard). If it matters, floor tile is 12"x24".

First, aesthetically, I think I prefer tile meeting tile, so if we go that way, grout or silicone caulk where the two meet?

Second, if we do baseboard, do we tile floor, then baseboard, THEN butt wall tile to baseboard? Or does baseboard go on top of wall tile (how do you attach base over tile?)

Thank you folks in advance!!

Featured Answer

Susie .

5 years ago

No baseboard. Just tile. If you don’t do wall tile, you can do a baseboard or you can do a tile baseboard.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (13)

PRO
HALLETT & Co.
5 years ago
The whole idea of wall tile is to have a waterproof low maintenance surface. The baseboard negates it. Baseboard only or tile the wall.

That said, start the wall with ‘sanitary base’ it’s a tile designed to transition from floor to wall with a small cove at the bottom. I like getting the 6” x 6” so it dimensionally matches standard subway tile.
Related Discussions
Baseboard heat in bathroom: tile around or behind?
Q
Comments (9)
My first thought is to tile the wall and surface mount the heater. We're talking 1/4" of added wall thickness here right? If that won't work and you have to tile around it, hold the tile away from the baseboard so you can remove the end caps, and paint the sliver of exposed drywall the same color as the register. You'd then have the cut ends of the tile to deal with; bullnose, or what have you. But I'd tile the entire wall. Future-proofing. Well, I need to go be productive and build something. Wish me luck...
...See More
Bathroom baseboards caulk color
Q
Comments (4)
I don't typically caulk there. I only caulk between the top of the baseboard and the wall. If you use caulk at the floor line and don't paint over it, it will look grimy pretty quickly.
...See More
Bathroom tile wall with LVP flooring. Baseboard or bare?
Q
Comments (0)
I am planning out my bathroom remodel right now. I have settled on Lifeproof scratch stone LVP as this is the same flooring I am using through the entire house. I do like the look of large format floor to ceiling tile in the bathroom, but as this room is smallish and odd shaped with 2 outside corners, the larger tiles are kind of out of the questions for me. I am not looking at smaller, 12x12 and do like the simplistic minimalist look. I will include a picture to illustrate. The issue I am having is with the idea of mating the floor to the walls, and also the walls to the ceiling. I could just throw up some baseboard, like will be in other rooms of the house. But I don't know that I have seen people lay wood baseboard on top of tile. Most of the time, the tile goes down to the floor. However this is usually done with tile floors too so the space is just grouted. If I am using the LVT, I will not be able to do a grout line. Does that only leave me an option to use a color matched silicone, kind of like I will be using around where the freestanding tub sits on the subfloor? Since it is a floating floor, I need to not put things on top of it and leave an expansion gap. As for the ceiling, I would assume I should do the same thing up there? Or would a crown moulding be a better choice? Seems to fall outside of the minimalist vibe.
...See More
bathroom baseboard with pattern floor
Q
Comments (1)
My contractor did wood baseboards in all our bathrooms that match the rest of the home. One of them has a similar tile.
...See More
cpaul1
5 years ago
If you're going to tile a wall, then I would not do baseboard on that wall. I would tile all the way to the floor. I would only use base board on any painted walls.
PRO
Dragonfly Tile & Stone Works, Inc.
5 years ago
We do base on most every job but with the tile. We'd use the wall material as you need the transition between wall or floor since you have 2 different patterns meeting each other.
PRO
JAN MOYER
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
No base trim. Make sure you are in a cohesive whole with the look and FEEL of the entire bath. By this I mean:

What are the other selections

What is the vanity

Where is the layout?

What does the shower look like

Is there a tub?

What are the fixtures?/Plumbing ?

And BY all that, I mean don't just slap tile on a full one or two walls UNLESS that makes sense in the bath and within the entire context. Don't be offended by that, I ask only because we see a lot here, that should never happen : ) At all. That's the "yanking" of very disparate elements that never ever create the whole. So I must ask...........
PRO
Steel Roots Home Decor
5 years ago
I vote for tile.
Fori
5 years ago
I'd get a tile which has the sanitary/cove base available. It just looks better (unless you want something very fancy like Dragonfly's examples).
Margaret Keckler
Original Author
5 years ago
Thank you everyone!!

@Jan Moyer... Its a rather contemporary feel bath.

When you walk in, the shower is a medium size curbless walk in with the same 6"x24" white porcelain tiles in a horizontal stacked bond throughout. There is an accent of Oceanside glass hexagon tiles in "Tide" (a teal color) running vertically down center of long (72") wall. There are 3 shower heads, one on the short wall, a rain head directly over the accent strip, and a handheld on a rail next to the bench at the back short wall (42"). Clear glass frameless shower door. All showerheads controlled by a Grohe controller at entrance.

Directly in front if you are standing at door is a linen cupboard, floor to ceiling.(24"x98"). this is the wall we want to tile, it is only 60" from the edge of the cabinet to the corner. in that intersecting wall is the toilet, we wanted the toilet are tiled.

Next to the toilet, and to the right as you enter is s 68" floating vanity, flat slab doors. The cabinet is maple, with a smoky-taupey stain. Countertop is Cambria Montgomery. Fixtures are Riobel Zendo. There will be a mirrored medicine cabinet above the single sink, Kohler Verticyl lav sink.

We want to tile this vanity/toilet wall with the white large subway tiles and a horizontal accent on the Oceanside tile at about 52".

The floor is "White Hot" by...now the mfg. has slipped my mind. 12x24" tile.
PRO
JAN MOYER
5 years ago
Okay. My brain just fried trying to paint myself a pic.......BUT EASY TO SAY NO BASE!!!! LOL

Just waned to be certain you are in a sleek/non traditional feel. If you want more sound off from anyone, load a drawing...the finishes, the tile the whatever. Most of us would need coffee or wine to keep reading and re reading the text : )
Margaret Keckler
Original Author
5 years ago
yeah, I got carried away.
Nancy in Mich
5 years ago
Here:

Kohler sink and then Riobel Zendo

Cambria Montgomery

Yes, with this modern look you can get away with not using tile baseboards and just having the wall tile meet the floor.

Whenever you have two different surface materials meet, or a change in plane (vertical meets horizontal), the joint between must use caulk, not grout.
Margaret Keckler
Original Author
5 years ago
Thank you Nancy!!!

here are additional finishes and cabs
kl23
last year
What did you do? Baseboard or not? What do you think?