Home Q&A: Should I tile my bathroom up to the ceiling?

Answer

WHEN tiling or retiling a bathroom, shower room or wet room, tiles are obviously a key inclusion. That said, there are several looks available using a ratio of tiling while preserving plastered/painted areas. We can apply complete or dedicated areas of wall tiling tipping the ceiling at 2.6m or more, which is termed full tiling. Alternatively, we can pull the wall tiling back to waist or shoulder height, or even just use a floor tile matched to a skirting beyond the “wet” areas. This is termed half-tile or part-tile. Let’s look at the pros, cons and possibilities.

Tiling to the ceiling, or fully tiling, is the best choice for wet areas within any bathroom or shower room. If the entire room is tanked and intended as a wet room, tiling seamlessly covering the walls and floors will be crucial to protect and waterproof the room. 

In the bath and shower area, wall, floor tiles and trays will be set over a waterproof membrane and tape system called tanking, which is expected in any bathroom build or renovation today. Once you add a shower to a bath, the tanking and tiles should be at the same standard and height as they would be for any showering area — to the ceiling.

Wet areas would include the shower and the surroundings of the bath or shower/bath. In a busy family bathroom, you might include the area behind the basin too as that wall can really get a hammering with flying toothpaste and make-up. 

Tiling to the ceiling throughout a bathroom or shower room is not completely necessary for the dryer areas if the walls are suitably protected in the wet areas, the floor is fully waterproofed, and the ventilation is appropriate to wick away humidity from the room.

The overall look of fully tiled is regarded as hotel luxury chic by some, and oppressive, public bathroom practicality by others. A canyon of tiles is a bit of a marmite, but you can expect your tile supplier to encourage you to take the tiling all over the room. 

The look can be starkly contemporary (with the exception of subway tiles in an art deco take) and relies on the right tile choice for aesthetic success. Fully-tiled bathrooms can work really well in small bathrooms with sufficient lighting and ventilation, removing the visual stutter of changes in materials, and there’s more.

The walls in a fully-tiled bathroom will always be easier to clean and will not require surface redecorating. Any moisture in the air, will settle on the cooler tile, bead and run off without damage. There should be mechanical ventilation in place to handle the high humidity of any bathroom or showering area to reduce the problems surrounding condensation and accumulating damp. 

The physical heft of tiles, well installed and grouted, offers ultimate collision protection to both plastered block and plasterboard over stud. If you fancy wall niches beyond the full tiling in the shower, full tiling is perfect for a sleek finish.

So, when tiling to the ceiling, you won’t have to worry about redecorating, but that’s because you won’t be able to redecorate without tearing the tile out. Otherwise, what’s left is changes to the suite and hardware, pimping the ceiling colour and raking out and replacing the grout. Keep a few tiles when you do any project — even porcelain can crack. 

More tile means more expense, but (as we’ll explain in a moment) it’s swings and roundabouts unless you are choosing a screamingly expensive tile.

So, let’s say we take the tile up the wall to 90cm plus in a half-tile finish, and keep areas of the wall in plaster skim and paint in those dry areas of the bathroom. 

This can also be done over the bath if you are not having a shower installed with the bath. You might choose tile or panelling products applied over a water-resistant board and matched to wood-look skirting, using paint or even wallpaper over dado height. This is great for a period Edwardian feel but is used in modern, styled bathrooms too. The advantages are largely subjective and aesthetic. Some householders just use skirting in dry areas, a splash-back to the basin, or a column of high tile and leave a lot of wall in plaster.

When you have remaining wall on show, it can of course be painted again, transforming the bathroom in perhaps five years’ time when you just get a whim. What you will need is skirting of some form (wood or tiling). Feature areas of tiles could be entirely different designs from your wet area tiling. 

Talk to a seasoned in-house designer and pour over Instagram for ideas. Any plastered and painted areas of the bathroom will be protected by dedicated bathroom paint with anti-fungal properties, and an extraction fan should operate at a sufficient rate to prevent any moisture from gathering on the walls. Your plumber or electrician can advise.

The practical issues surrounding partial tiling really hinge on renovations rather than new builds. When you tear down tiling in an existing bathroom (that’s quite likely taken right to the ceiling in a home decorated from the 1960s forward), the walls are going to suffer the attack. The plaster will likely be gouged here and there, and with sufficient force, the plasterboard will tear, crack and break. 

 Tiling adhesive is tough stuff that will require scraping back. This is far less of a big deal if you’re having the whole room gutted and the walls re-tiled to the ceiling. Yes, the wall will be levelled, filled and repaired where needed, but not left on full show, it won’t require a full re-plaster. 

With plasterboard, new boards may have to go in, but this is an opportunity to ensure that water-resistant materials are used and that everywhere needing tanking gets treated — so, not all bad news. You might even stuff more insulation in the frames to cut back on airborne noise. More trades, equal more expense.

It’s a matter of weighing up the cost of the materials and labour to repair those walls back to the point they can be painted again. This could be compared with the price of the extra labour and square metres of tile to take tiles right to the ceiling in a full tile. Once you determine the look you’re after, it’s time to lick the pencil and work it out.

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