height of border in tub surround?

Users who are viewing this thread

pipewoe

New Member
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Hey all,

Getting ready to tile. I'm putting in a 6x8 tile oriented vertically in the tub surround which is 73.5 inches from tub edge to ceiling. I plan on adding a 4-5 inch penny-round tile border amid the field tile. Question is: is there a "standard height" at which a border should be laid? Like does it go 2/3 up, 1/2 up or 3/4 up the wall (and is that 2/3 from tub edge or floor?) My tile guy wants to use whole tiles vertically, so that would mean I could start the border @ 32 inches ( 4 tiles), 40 inches(5 tiles), 48 (six tiles) inches, etc off the top of the tub flange. To me, in my bath (and I'm short) an eye level border looks like it would hit about 44 to 48 inches--the 40-44 looks too low, the 48-52 too high. Will it look funny to have one row of tile cut in half (an 8" tile cut to 4" to get to the 44 inches) in the middle of a field of 6x8 inch (high) tiles? Is there a standard, and is it undesirable to cut a field tile row in half? And if I resign myself to whole tiles, should I err on too low or too high?

Thanks!
 

Statjunk

DIY Senior Member
Messages
540
Reaction score
0
Points
0
The question you're asking is an opinion. There is no right way to do it. I tend to like a listello to be about eye level. After all it is the center piece of the tile work. It should be the first thing you see.

You can in most cases get it to fall right where you want it to simply by cutting the first row down.

Hopefully that makes sense.

Tom
 

Jimbo

Plumber
Messages
8,918
Reaction score
18
Points
0
Location
San Diego, CA
I believe the correct answer is that the border goes wherever the lady of the house says it goes!

I have mentioned that earlier this year, I helped my son in law redo his bathroom. We did the tub, lav, and did all the prep for the tile. THEN , my daughter picked out the tile, designed the border, etc. She decided she wanted 4X4 tiles on the diagonal, which added about a day to that job! But the lady is the boss on these issues!
 

Jadnashua

Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx
Messages
32,770
Reaction score
1,190
Points
113
Location
New England
I would rather not cut a tile in the middle of the field to get the boarder exactly where you want it...as Jimbo indicated, if that is critical, try adjusting the first row's height. It really is up to you. If you have any features in the shower like a niche, you may want to avoid going through it. The showerhead is likely higher than you'd want it also.
 
Top
Hey, wait a minute.

This is awkward, but...

It looks like you're using an ad blocker. We get it, but (1) terrylove.com can't live without ads, and (2) ad blockers can cause issues with videos and comments. If you'd like to support the site, please allow ads.

If any particular ad is your REASON for blocking ads, please let us know. We might be able to do something about it. Thanks.
I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks