Half tile bathroom walls or just paint

amother

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 12:19 am

I am making an addition to the house and really trying to keep costs down. The contractors estimate says floor to ceiling tile around tub and rest of bathroom tile halfway up. My current kids bathroom has floor to ceiling tile around the tub and paint on all the other walls. I’m thinking to save money on tile and labor I’ll tell contractor to lower the cost and not tile anything besides bath area. Is there any downside to that other then it not looking as nice?

Rappel

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 12:21 am

Mold? Dirt? Bathrooms need to be washable

SweetMouse

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 12:53 am

A contractor once explained to me that bathrooms are exposed to a tremendous amount of moisture. The tiling protects the walls. The more you can do, the better.
I live in a house that doesn't have tiled bathrooms. The walls of the bathrooms are crumbling and peeling. My guess is that the sheetrock will need to be replaced sooner or later, which is much more costly than tiling.

shabbatiscoming ↓

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 5:09 am

amother OP wrote:

Mold, mold, mold. Tiles mostly protect from that.
We have floor to ceiling tiles. We joke that we should have even done the ceiling because we have mold on the ceiling.

amother

Honey ↓

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 6:42 am

shabbatiscoming wrote:

Mold, mold, mold. Tiles mostly protect from that.
We have floor to ceiling tiles. We joke that we should have even done the ceiling because we have mold on the ceiling.

This. My mom has tile on the ceiling as well.

amother

Tulip

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 6:52 am

amother Honey wrote:

This. My mom has tile on the ceiling as well.

My landlord did it, but with a twist, they are mirror tiles!
Great for getting the kids to look up when washing the hair, not so much fun when you are lying in the bath and look up to see your nak*d reflection.

Amarante ↓

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 9:27 am

Have you asked what the actual cost will be for the half tiles up the wall.

Once the tile person is there installing tile that is absolutely necessary around the tub and shower, I suspect the additional cost for installing the tile on the walls would not be that significant.

If you are using subway tile, then the cost of the extra tiles also isn't that significant.

I did a gut remodel and I know how easy it is to slide into budget "creep" and adding a bit here and there.

However, have at least half tile really adds to the functionality of a bathroom for years and years.

When I was making decisions I generally tried to spend money on items that weren't easily changed down the road versus an item that could easily be changed.

FWIW I wouldn't personally add tiles to the ceiling as it would make the room seem completely institutional Very Happy

amother

Azure

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 9:27 am

Tile everything in the bathroom

amother

Moccasin

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 9:35 am

For a kids bathroom tile it all the way up. We redid a master bath on a budget and tiled till the ceiling around the tub but near the toilet and sink we tiled only half up. I would not leave exposed sheetrock. Another option you might consider is wainscotting. Not sure it's cheaper than tile but it also somewhat protects your walls.

↑ shabbatiscoming

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 9:38 am

amother Honey wrote:

This. My mom has tile on the ceiling as well.

We regret that we didnt. Maybe one day we will add it.

amother

Amaryllis ↓

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 9:50 am

amother Honey wrote:

This. My mom has tile on the ceiling as well.

I grew up with tiled bathroom ceilings and really wanted to do it too but dh didn't and contractor also said "no one does it anymore" so I went along with paint.
My bathroom ceilings are DISGUSTING! All moldy.
I'll probably have to reshotrock when I fix it and if I end up tiling it I may not be able to get the same tile anymore so that will be a problem too.
In a bathroom with a bath/shower I would tile as much of it as possible. I believe in the long run the extra expense pays off.

amother

Firethorn

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 9:52 am

First of all, tile is by the square footage so there's no such thing that it'll be cheaper because he's already coming down. It's going to be the same price per sf.

I actually tiled all my bathrooms half up and fully tiled the bath and behind sink area. It saved me a very significant amount of money. This used to be a pretty standard way of saving money but recently I have done an addition and was told that nowadays everyone does it up to the ceiling. (considering the amount of things that have changed from extra to standard over the past 5 years, it's not a wonder that construction costs have gone up the amount they have)

No mold problems because I have an extra strong exhaust fan.

Reason why I like the tile at least by the floor is because I find the kids sometimes squirt & miss. You definitely want something waterproof like tiles instead of something absorbent like a regular painted sheet rock or your bathroom will smell like urine & mold.

Tzutzie

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 9:57 am

Amarante wrote:

Have you asked what the actual cost will be for the half tiles up the wall.

Once the tile person is there installing tile that is absolutely necessary around the tub and shower, I suspect the additional cost for installing the tile on the walls would not be that significant.

If you are using subway tile, then the cost of the extra tiles also isn't that significant.

I did a gut I know how easy it is to slide into budget "creep" and adding a bit here and there.

However, have at least half tile really adds to the functionality of a bathroom for years and years.

When I was making decisions I generally tried to spend money on items that weren't easily changed down the road versus an item that could easily be changed.

FWIW I wouldn't personally add tiles to the ceiling as it would make the room seem completely institutional Very Happy

It depends on the design.
I have one bathroom tiled to the ceiling.
I regret not doing the ceiling too for 2 reasons. 1 is because of regular reasons. Mold/moisture. The second is because my kids, not unlike myself at that age. Love mischief. I'm not sure how they knew I did this as a kid because you can be sure I never told that to them. But they love bending over, grabbing a handful of tissues, wetting them in the bath, and yeeting them onto the ceiling.
Now, in my mother's house, we had tiled ceilings. So it was no big deal. Wait till it dries, take a stick, and knock it off. On my bathroom ceiling that has paint.... well, it's got some very unique designs now....
The second bathroom is just tiles on the floor and a tile baseboard. We don't use that shower often at all. So it works. But the paint is very delicate. And once my kids put paper tape on the walls (same creative kids!) in a pattern. And when I took it off, the paint came along with it!!!!
It's still there, and it's still ugly. One day, I'll get someone out here to fix all the little blemishes that happened since we moved in 7 years ago. But until then, I've got dried tissue stains on the ceiling, nicely designed missing paint (at least it was white underneath!), and some other stuff bh that kids are amazing at.

There are cheaper tiles to choose from so that can help with cost. But to be honest, the most expensive part of tiling a bathroom is not the material. But the labor.

When we redid the upstairs bathroom (the downstairs one was in immaculate condition), We just took down the old-fashioned wallpaper and painted the walls) we chose super cheap tiles. We went with large white tiles that were $2 a sq ft. The standard at that time was $2.50 - $2.75 a sq ft. Then, we chose a different tile for the floor that has texture (so not to slip. It really does work!!!) And another one coordinating to the floor we put on the wall by the bathtub.
It does NOT look like an institution. It's actually super duper pretty. The white tile is extremely easy to clean and very practical, too. The floors are the same easy to clean but colored/textured. Now the back wall has texture, and it's harder to scrub soap scum away, but it's still not too bad.

The bathroom is actually the nicestly done room in the house. Lol.

↑ Amarante ↓

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 10:20 am

Your bathroom shouldn’t have mold or mildew if you have a good bathroom fan that vents properly.

I have a Panasonic Whisper Fan that runs automatically based in ambient moisture levels. It turns on when someone showers and then runs until the ambient moisture level decreases to the set level.

I used to have some black mold before I remodeled but with this fan never.

amother

Celeste ↓

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 10:40 am

If you tile the ceiling, you do the same tile as the wall or as the floor?

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 10:47 am

Another vote for tile.
Also,re preventing mold : I have trained my kids that before they turn on the water for a bath/shower they turn on the exhaust fan , and leave the fan running for at least an hour after they finish bath or shower.

amother

↑ Amaryllis

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 11:32 am

Amarante wrote:

That's true if you have the fan running before and while the water is running. I, personally, can't handle that. It cools the bathroom and I need a hot, steamy bathroom.

amother

↑ Celeste

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 12:15 pm

I’m doing a new bathroom now
It’s in a basement so I’m thinking to just tile the ceiling even if it’s not the most current look
Do I choose a special ceiling tile or just continue the wall tile?

↑ Amarante

Fri, Jul 19 2024, 12:41 pm

amother Amaryllis wrote:

That's true if you have the fan running before and while the water is running. I, personally, can't handle that. It cools the bathroom and I need a hot, steamy bathroom.

My fan doesn't cool the bathroom - it isn't a fan - it is just an exhaust system so it doesn't bring any cool air in.

Also once I am in the shower the steam is pretty much contained in the shower - either by the glass or even a shower curtain. My shower is comfortably cozy in about 1 minute even with the "fan" working - it is really a vent and not a fan.

The fan is AUTOMATIC - you don't have to train anyone to turn it on or to turn it off. It goes on automatically when it senses that the ambient humidity is at the specified level.

It then turns off when the moisture is gone.

amother

↑ Honey ↓

Fri, Jul 19 2024, 1:23 pm

amother Celeste wrote:

If you tile the ceiling, you do the same tile as the wall or as the floor?

Same as the wall.