Bathroom Tiling in Co. Meath

3 businesses offering bathroom tiling across Co. Meath.

Tiling a bathroom is judged on the finish and fails on the background. Tiles are rigid and the things behind them are not, so the surface has to be flat, dry, sound and stiff enough not to move before anything is stuck to it. On a timber floor that means overboarding to stop deflection, since a floor that flexes underfoot will crack grout lines and eventually tiles. In a shower, standard plasterboard is the wrong background: tile backer board, or a board system designed for wet areas, is what belongs there.

Waterproofing is the part nobody sees and everybody eventually pays for. Tiles and grout are not a waterproof layer; grout is porous and every joint is a route. A tanking system applied to the shower area before tiling is what actually keeps water in the room, and in a level access wetroom the whole floor is tanked and formed to falls towards the drain. The junctions matter more than the field of tiles: internal corners, the joint where wall meets floor and the perimeter of a bath or tray move slightly and should be sealed with flexible sealant rather than grout, which will crack there every time.

Sequencing catches people out too. Tiling happens after first fix plumbing and any electrical work is roughed in and after the tanking, and before the sanitaryware goes back on. Any electrical work in a bathroom, including a shower circuit or an extractor fan, is restricted electrical work needing a Safe Electric registered contractor and a Completion Certificate. Cost follows the area, the tile itself, because large format porcelain, mosaic and natural stone all take far longer to lay than a standard ceramic, and how much preparation the background needs.

Bathroom Tiling in Co. Meath

Common questions

Does a shower area need tanking, or is tiling enough?

Tiling is not waterproofing. Grout is porous and joints let water through over time, so a shower enclosure or a wetroom needs a tanking system applied to the background before the tiles go on. It is invisible in the finished room, which is exactly why it is worth confirming in writing that it is included and which system is being used.

Can tiles go straight onto plasterboard?

Outside wet areas, on sound and properly fixed board, generally yes within the weight limits for the board. Inside a shower or wetroom, no. Standard plasterboard degrades once it gets wet, so a tile backer board or a purpose made wet area board should be used there instead. It is one of the more common corners cut and one of the more expensive to undo.

Why does the grout keep cracking where the wall meets the bath?

Because that junction moves. A bath deflects slightly when it fills and empties, and grout is rigid, so it fails there repeatedly no matter how carefully it is applied. Internal corners, wall to floor junctions and the perimeter of a bath or shower tray should be finished with a flexible sealant rather than grout. If yours were grouted, raking them out and sealing them properly is the fix.

When in the job does the tiler come?

After the plumbing first fix and any electrical work is roughed in, after the background is prepared and tanked, and before the sanitaryware, taps and shower are fitted back on. Getting a tiler in before the plumber has finished first fix is a reliable way to have tiles cut back out again, so agree who is coordinating the order before anyone starts.

Looking more broadly? Browse all tilers in Co. Meath.