Just finished tiling first floor bath. Wife picked out the tile and help me set by handing tile into the small bathroom. With 2 tiles left to install she pointed out the box which indicated “Wall tile only”. I hadn’t paid any attention to what she selected, and went about installing without looking things over…
So the question is… rip it all out before we go any further, or take our chance than it won’t crack? Anyone have hands on experience with a floor that was tiled with wall tile?
Replies
At this stage, what have you got to lose?
The tile is probably not as strong as floor tile, and more apt to scratch, but if it's well bedded in thinset and the pieces aren't to large it's not too apt to crack.
carloa
While the tile may be not as strong-
The concern I would have is that the glaze on the tile might be too slick when wet. In a bathroom you want tile with some gription stepping out of the tub/shower.
Glaze
My first thought was that the glaze might not be as durable, and wear/scratch quickly.
I think this is the right answer.
We have pretty much the same tile on the wall and floor but the floor tile has a slightly rougher texture.
Yeah, likely it's a CYA statement as much as anything -- the wall tile may be too slippery and could lead to lawsuits if they didn't declare it to be unsuitable for floors.
The type of clay used to make wall tile is less dense than floor tile (think angel food vs pound cake). If you only walk in bare feet and don't set anything heavy in there, you may be o.k. Avoid high heels and furniture feet.
The glazing on them is less durable ( as previously mentioned).
You could tile over the tile with the correct type.
Wall tile on floor.
I purchased some tile from a real tile store for an accent border in front of bathtub once. Tile store said all of the above, could be slippery, scratch and not as durable...... but said since I was not cover the entire floor in the main traffic area, border only, it should be ok. Since your that far into the game, I agree with others, wait and see what happens.
Wall tile on floor.
I purchased some tile from a real tile store for an accent border in front of bathtub once. Tile store said all of the above, could be slippery, scratch and not as durable...... but said since I was not cover the entire floor in the main traffic area, border only, it should be ok. Since your that far into the game, I agree with others, wait and see what happens.
Residential tile gets used so gently I doubt you'll ever have any problems if the floor is stiff and you did a good job of installing the tile.
don
except for the slip factor in a bathroom. If the glaze is slick, getting out of the tub's gonna be treacherous.
Maybe too late already, carlo hasn't been back since..................
Well, decided to grout and see how it goes. So far so good. The floor is in a 1/2 bath and the only time it gets wet is when the kids make a mess. The glaze has somewhat of a matte finish and does not feel slick or slippery even when wet. The kids play in the room every morning climbing in and out of the furniture style vanity. drivnig trucks etc. Dragging their stool around hasn't caused any chips or scratches.... yet.
Hopefully the floor holds up and the warning on the box was just a CYA as some have suggested. Time will tell. That and if the two year old takes the drill/driver to the joints again...
Thanks for the suggestions and comments.
Get that two-year-old a nail apron and put him to work!