Shower Tiles 101, Mission Viejo, CA

Showers are one of the most common areas where home owners elect to install wall tiles. Shower tiles are a great way to enhance your bathroom’s décor – there are endless creative possibilities – and protect the shower wall surface from the damaging effects of continual moisture and heat. There are a lot of choices for shower wall tiling, and the shower tiles you select will ultimately depend on budget, creative and durability requirements. Here are some quick shower tiling tips to help you get started on your project:

Renovation novices take note and avoid a costly and time-consuming mistake: make absolutely sure that you purchase wall tiles for your shower wall. Although they might look similar, wall tiles and floor tiles are not the same thing, and they cannot be used interchangeably in most cases – floor tiles are generally too heavy to correctly adhere to a wall.

• Decide on a budget, and pick a tile material that will allow you to achieve your design of choice while staying within it. Shower wall tiles are usually made of ceramic, marble, stone, glass or porcelain, and run anywhere from $2 to $25+ per square foot. Marble is another option, but not recommended for heavily used showers because it’s too soft and absorbent.

• Durability is also an issue in your shower tile decision. How durable your shower tiles need to be depends on traffic. You may not need to worry about durability when you are tiling the shower in a seldom used guest bathroom, but in a master bathroom, where the shower is subject to daily moisture and heat, durability is an important consideration. Glazed ceramic, porcelain or stone tiles generally stand up to heavy use better than other varieties. Correct installation and care also determine how long your shower tiles last. Using appropriate, high-quality tiles can’t make up for shoddy installation and neglect.

• Some shower tile types and sizes require more maintenance. If you want something you can easily wipe down and forget about, go with glazed ceramic tiles. These tiles are probably the easiest to maintain in terms of time and effort spent. Stone is also a durable choice that can stand up to daily wear-and-tell well and without a lot of fuss on your part, but make sure to seal and re-seal a stone tile surface as necessary – failure to do so could result in a stained and crumbling mess as the surface becomes porous. The size of your tiles also determines maintenance needs. Installing smaller tiles will create more grout lines to keep clean.

• And now for the fun part: design and color. How do you want your shower walls to look? Mint green subway tiles? Mosaic? An Tile Replacement mage? Now is the time to Tile Replacement get inspired and be as creative as you want to be – it’s your space, after all. There are, however, a few constraints in addition to budget that you should be aware of. If you’re planning on redecorating the bathroom periodically and want your tiles to consistently work with your changing décor, avoid trendy designs and colors and go with something classic and neutral in hue. This is also important if you’re going to be selling your home in the near future. Potential buyers will have an easier time imagining the room as their own if it shows no signs of your personal creative flair (as great as it might be!). Also, repeating designs are a popular choice for tiled shower walls, but make sure that your wall is large enough to accommodate your pattern and tiles of choice. If not, rethink your tile size. You always have the option of creating the same repeating design with smaller tiles. Planning is key here. Don’t get halfway through the project only to find that a part of your repeating design has been cut off due to lack of space.

Take your first step toward creating a beautiful bathroom, and contact Mission Carpet and Tile Cleaning, Mission Viejo today for a free consultation. Our tile and grout experts would be happy to give you shower tiling tips and answer any of your questions about tiling your shower, bathroom or any other space within your home. Call now!