Installing Tile On Plaster Walls

If existing tiles are beyond repair remove the tile and install a piece of wallboard in its place.

Installing tile on plaster walls.

Mortar a small spot and then place a tile. If you have a tiling job to do in your bathroom and the walls have been skimmed with plaster you have to follow a few guidelines when installing tile to make sure you do not have a failure resulting in all the tiles coming off the wall. Peel and stick smart tiles won t stick properly on most porous surfaces but with extra preparation they will. Not all plaster wall surfaces will support the tile properly.

Both painted and bare plaster allows for the installation of tile. It used to be very common to put tile up on whatever the wall was and seal the the tile. Remove the tile and prepare the wall according to the corresponding instructions above or tile over the existing tile. Sanding the existing paint helps the tile adhesive stick to the wall.

Loose paint must be scraped. Wavy plaster walls are common and that s part of their charm. Testing the wall for durability. Wash the wall with tsp tri sodium phosphate or an ammonia based cleaner to remove any grease or oil.

Repair any loose or cracked tiles. A wavy tiled wall isn t charming and. Test a tile to make sure the mortar is mixed and spread correctly. For the purpose of installing tile it s a lot simpler.

For the average small wall tiles which are currently popular you will want to use a 1x4 square notch trowel. You need a flat surface. To do so make sure all of the tiles are intact and secure. Can you lay tile on plaster walls.

One handy tip my father in law taught me three years ago was if you plan on tiling a wall and the wall is uneven then the plastering doesn t need to be abs. If the walls you want to tile are concrete walls with paint on them remove the paint before you install tile so the tile adhesive has something to grab onto and hold the tile in the correct place. Firstly check the condition of the plaster skim it should be fully dried out and a light pink colour. I have repaired tile jobs that were over 20 years old that the tile was applied directly to regular sheetrock and plaster walls.