One Weekend Project: Organic-Looking Shower SurroundExpert ContributorFriday, March 16, 2018 - 14:08Friday, March 16, 2018 - 14:12When you're contemplating a home improvement project, a DIY tiling job for your shower is a great choice. In our family's case, this DIY project is in the new master bathroom in the addition we've been building. My husband is disabled with some mobility issues, and it's much easier for him to use a stand-alone shower. We also have a tween beauty diva turning 13 this spring, so a second bathroom was an absolute must for our family.We've got a strong love of organic and natural materials. In keeping with the farmhouse's Craftsman cottage origins, I use natural materials wherever possible. Though I loved the look of the few wooden shower surrounds I've seen, they're very high maintenance. The emergence of wood-look ceramic plank flooring made me wonder if this material would work well for a shower surround.Organic-Looking Shower Surround with Ceramic Wood-Look Plank TilesMaterialsKeep in mind that thicker wood-look ceramic tiles can be rather heavy, so if you're not certain if your wall system is sturdy enough, you may want to upgrade to a 1/2-inch or thicker cement backer board. For this part of the process, I'm going to assume you've looked at the different substrate options available and have chosen the best one for your situation.Materials_300px.jpgWe selected ceramic tile, but you could also use porcelain, glass, mosaic tiles or natural stone with good results. The tiles were installed using a rapid-set thinset mortar, as it sets up more quickly than other mortars. When selecting your mortar, be aware that, as its name suggests, thinset can't be applied in too thick of a layer, with the maximum thickness depending on the brand and formulation. I wanted to minimize the grout spaces in this project to provide a more realistic appearance of actual wood planks. For that reason, I chose a grout a bit darker in color than the tiles to set apart the gaps the way older wood panels would.Planning the ProjectStart by measuring the space you'll be tiling. Ours was a corner shower with two partial walls, for a total of 11 linear feet. Most showers are tiled to between 6 to 6.5 feet. Consider your spacing and how well the tiles will distribute across that space when planning your layout. Unless you find the perfect tiles for your space or want to do a lot of mosaic work in the spaces, you'll need to consider how to cut tiles to make them fit. If you'll be making many cuts, you may want to invest in or rent a tile saw, tile splitter or similar tool.I selected tiles that are 9 inches by 36 inches, allowing me to stack them directly across one wall that was 3 feet long and to cross-cut the tiles to reach across the 4.5-foot wall. The other two walls were shorter, requiring me to cut down the wood plank tiles to fit. Don't forget to account for the thickness of the tiles in the corners as it will easily eat up 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch of your adjoining wall length at each corner.The 9-inch width laid out in seven rows along the entire wall, with a 6-inch tile baseboard layer at the bottom. Because I wanted the wall to reach 6.5 feet, I filled in the remaining space with smaller mosaic and bullnose tiles. I also created a niche, incorporating baseboard, mosaic and bullnose tiles from a previous project.ToiletiesCutout_300px.jpgAre you adding any niches or other fixtures? If so, those features and the space for plumbing fixtures passing through the wall system need to be taken into account when planning your layout. If you're changing shower components and piping, lay those areas out as well before you start tiling to account for tile cuts or mosaic layouts. To cut out the area for the shower valve, I ran two cuts into the tile, placed a piece of scrap lumber directly behind the end of the cuts and tapped the cutout with a hammer to knock out the unwanted piece.Cutout_300px.jpgMortar and Tile AttachmentIn this DIY project, I used a rapid-set thinset mortar, so I completed all my cuts in advance so the tiles were ready to go. When working with larger plank tiles, be aware that they can cup slightly in the middle. You may want to butter the back side of the tile with mortar to level out any cupping and then use an appropriately sized trowel on the wall to ensure the tile has good mortar contact. You'll also want to mix smaller batches of mortar. I could effectively use a third to a quarter of a 50-pound sack of mortar at a time. In this photo, you'll see where I marked the wall for the position where the shower valve would come through.PlankPlacement_300px.jpgBecause of the cupping issue, your edges may not line up perfectly, protruding or receding slightly. I liked this effect as it kept with the natural variations you'd see in wood planks, but the worst protrusion I had was about 3/32 of an inch. With all my tiles ready to go, I could apply mortar to an entire wall, then quickly butter and apply the tiles in one go.I had to work fairly quickly to make this happen before the mortar set. If you're concerned about tiling speed, you can measure up the wall the height for half the tiles, including grout spacing, then draw a horizontal line to estimate the top of that run. Then mortar the area below that line, lay the tiles, and then work the area above the line. At the top, I added a 3 and 1/2-inch row of mosaic tile and a row of bullnose tiles. For the top row, I buttered the back of the tiles with the trowel rather than applying the mortar to the wall to avoid excess mortar above the tiles.Grout5_300px.jpgUse a grout sponge or green scrub pad to remove any mortar that lands on the front of the tiles within 20-30 minutes, as the mortar will set up faster than regular thinset. You'll also want to clean out your grout gaps if you have mortar squeeze through in about the same time period.Grout3_300px.jpgGrouting the GapsOnce your thinset has set up, you can install your plumbing fixtures, adding a layer of tape where they go past the surface of the tile to protect it from being scratched by the grout. You can then start applying the grout.PipeCutout_300px.jpgI was working with a variety of gaps around mosaics, plumbing and the niche, so I used a poly-based grout that could handle that range. Mix the grout per the directions on the package, apply it with a grout float held at about a 45-degree angle from the work surface and work from the bottom up on a diagonal. Then go back across it with an empty float at a 90-degree angle to scrape off the excess and reduce cleanup later.Grout2_300px.jpgGrout4_300px.jpgFollow the directions on your grout package to determine when it should be initially cleaned off and again for the final cleaning.Grout_300px.jpgSealing, Caulking and FinishingOnce the grout dried per its instructions, start sealing the shower surround. You can use a sealant that only seals the grout lines, but I decided to use an all-over sealant as another layer of waterproofing for the surround. Once the sealant was in place, I applied a silicone-based caulk for bathrooms around the plumbing fixtures where the tile meets the greenboard drywall and between the bottom of the wall and the shower base. You can use a tool to shape the caulk and remove the excess, or simply use your finger in a neoprene glove for the same effect.After this point in the home improvement project, take care of any finishing work that's needed for your shower. For me, this involved painting the greenboard with a semi-gloss paint, allowing it to dry and then adding a tension rod, shower curtain, robe hook and a few other oddments to make it easier to use. Here's where we ended up.ShowerFinal_300px.jpgA project like this can seem difficult, but the large format of the tiles makes the installation go quickly. With a little planning, you can finish most of the work in a weekend, with the final sealing taking place per your grout and sealant instructions, or you can take the steps a few hours at a time over a work week. This DIY home improvement project is beautiful and provides you with a long-lasting investment in your home and life. 4404-1n63wiw.jpgCathleen Vought is a dedicated DIYer, writer and artist living with her family on their sheep farm in southwest Missouri. With over 26 years of experience in contracting and advanced DIY, she loves helping people find their inner artist and style. She's an active member of the local arts scene creating beautiful glass and fiber artwork, and also volunteers in a range of emergency response roles in the community.Read about some of Cathleen's other projects:Mosaic Tile Table
