I am trying to figure out how high to set the tile in a new bathroom.
The shower area will be floor to ceiling.
The rest of the room will have the tile about halfway up the walls and then be painted – sort of like wainscot – not sure of the correct term.
I am running the electric now and want to set the switches and outlets in the un-tiled area. Easier to cut sheetrock than tile.
How high is the tile normally set?
I have an old bathroom in the house and the tile is about 49″ from the tiled floor.
Is this standard? Or close to it?
The tiles I will use are standard 4″ squares and I will cap them with a bullnose.
I guess I could calculate it if I decide on a grout width but it is easier to ask for opinions/preferences.
The ceiling height is 8ft and 4ft seems to look “right”.
Thanks.
Replies
Up to the window stool.
up to vanity top
up to back-splash
49" wiil get into the switches/outlets unless you raise them, but you need to make sure they won't interfere with a mirror or medicine cab.
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"After the laws of Physics, everything else is opinion"
-Neil deGrasse Tyson
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If Pasta and Antipasta meet is it the end of the Universe???
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according to statistical analysis, "for some time now, bears apparently have been going to the bathroom in the woods."
Window stool is too high, the countertop is too low (sounds like Goldilocks and the 3 bears). There is no electric yet so I can rough it wherever it needs to be.
What I usually do in cases like this is just measure what was done in other people's houses and see what looks good.
I assume there is no "standard" for the tile height.
Thanks.
You certainly want it to be an even increment of tile so you are not cutting a whole row. (assuming your floor is level).
That means you need to look at your tile to see how they stack on the wall.
Back in the olden days it was going to be 4" tile and a 2" bullnose so you ended up at 42, 46, 50, 54 etc.
Now days you can get tile in just about any size and most will be a metric number, perhaps rounded off to an inch size.
Whatever makes sense. Generally you want to go several inches above the countertop -- eg, two full 4" tiles plus bullnose. Try to plan things so that you don't have to cut tiles to less than 3/4 of a tile above the countertop -- looks bad. At the floor try to have at least a half tile, and never less than 1/4.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
I assume there is no "standard" for the tile height.
Only that you want to use whole tiles--a condition I have spent years teaching intern architects to appreciate but slowly . . . same as using whole brick of whole CMU dimensionally.
If you get close to the cover-plate dimensions (easy to forget those and only measure to the box), run a single course around the fixtures and then back to the wainscot.
Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
Edited 10/12/2009 3:10 pm by CapnMac
If you want you can look at this bathroom I did some months ago..the slide show, shows the pic well. Top left once you open the link.
http://picasaweb.google.com/andybuildz/KAYLINMASTERBATH?feat=directlink
PS...I see you're from LI too...howdy neighbor..
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The Woodshed Tavern Backroom
The Topics Too Hot For Taunton's Breaktime Forum Tavern
10 tile courses = 42 1/2" + 2" +/- cap/chair rail = 44 1/2" assuming the coursing is +/- 4 1/4". Just above standard height for switches and outlets (48") should be just fine. Make yourself a little story pole or mark on the studs.
A nicer look than gridded tile, even in 4 x 4, is running bond (more often seen in subway tile).
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Also elegant is using a taller tile for a base - even if the same color. Adjust coursing if you use, say a 6 x 6.
Make sure you check the chair rail/cap projection vs. the window and door casing projections and pad them accordingly if necessary. Also check where chair rail passes behind fittings (faucets) for clearance and double-check any potential medicine cabinet clearance required.
Jeff
Edited 10/12/2009 11:10 pm ET by Jeff_Clarke
I like to set the tile about chest high, and actually prefer the look of switches and plugs in the tile field. It's not that hard to do with 4x4s if you do the electrical rough so the boxes are centered vertically in a course of tile. Standard cover plates are 4.5" tall, so all you have to do is score-and-snap a tile vertically to fill the space(s) to the side(s) of the box, and the cover plate will hide the voids above and below it.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....
Also decide if you want your towel bars on tile or on the untiled wall.