Help!: Tiling the ceiling in a shower

[crippo2]

I want to fully tile my new shower, including the ceiling. I have Marble tiles, 406mm square and 15mm thick. The shower structure is timber frame, covered with Aquapanel, screwed at recommended distances. the roof to the shower is similarly covered and is fully capable of supporting the weight of all the 12 tiles I would need to install.

I have spoken to both the BAL technical help line and to the tile supplier. For obvious reasons (legal) neither is willing to recommend tiling a shower ceiling, unless the tiles are mechanically locked (presumably by screwing?) to the structure above them.

However I have seen tiled shower ceilings as well as large slabs of ornamental Marble apparantly suspended from structure without mechanical support.

any thoughts/hints/tips? on methods and materials - presumably an industrial strength adhesive is a good starting point?

thanks in advance

[deanotile]

If you do what you are thinking of doing you are taking you life and the lives of your family in your own hands. There is a good reason why the people you have spoken to will not recommend tiling a shower ceiling and that is because it is unsafe.

[whitebeam]

Got agree with deanotile, Would not take the chance, I have seen heavy finishes on ceilings and all have heavy duty metal framework and are well fixed

[grumpygrouter]

I want to fully tile my new shower, including the ceiling. I have Marble tiles, 406mm square and 15mm thick. The shower structure is timber frame, covered with Aquapanel, screwed at recommended distances. the roof to the shower is similarly covered and is fully capable of supporting the weight of all the 12 tiles I would need to install.

I have spoken to both the BAL technical help line and to the tile supplier. For obvious reasons (legal) neither is willing to recommend tiling a shower ceiling, unless the tiles are mechanically locked (presumably by screwing?) to the structure above them.

However I have seen tiled shower ceilings as well as large slabs of ornamental Marble apparantly suspended from structure without mechanical support.

any thoughts/hints/tips? on methods and materials - presumably an industrial strength adhesive is a good starting point?

thanks in advance

APPARANTLY may well be the operative word. You may well find they were mechanically fixed but you couldn't see the fixing.

[365drills]

Whats wrong with a bit of plaster-board and white paint?

I stuck an extract fan in mine.

[faithhealer]

Sorry Crippo but even my wife laughed a that one. Not a laughing matter though!
If you don't want a plasterdoard ceiling there are hundreds of marble effect PVC cladding out there. Don't put your family at risk mate.

[Varley]

Sorry Crippo but even my wife laughed a that one. Not a laughing matter though!
If you don't want a plasterdoard ceiling there are hundreds of marble effect PVC cladding out there. Don't put your family at risk mate.

That would be my best solution to the problem.

[365drills]

This is my ceiling.... With a spotlight and extract fan. I believe the ceiling should not be the focus of any attention.



Also plasterboard is a doddle to fit and skim, plus its easy to cut holes in for putting in the lighting and fans.

If I were ever to do anything fancy with the ceiling it would be to have them strobe lights that make it look like stars at night.

But not tiles on a celing... Mind you if you fancy a chuckle there is a post about putting a mirror on a ceiling after someone saw it on film Basic Instinct. Thread has a lot of the same fixing advice as for tiles but with some obvious inuendo.

[Fekin]

If I had fitted the 15mm Marble tiles to my bathroom ceiling just by adhesive, I would be wondering wether this was going to be my final visit everytime because if one of those fell away and hit you on the head, odds on I'd be dead, or in a very serious way

[wetdec]

No amount of adhesive is going to hold that weight 100% the down force is too great. If you have seen marble etc then it will be a cladding and mechanicaly fixed from behind.

How big is the ceiling area in this shower ??


tiler

..

[365drills]

I have seen tiled ceiling but to be honest.

Not great! Its too clinical.

Reminds me of a hospital morgue (thats my opinion ! )

[MICK the Tiler]

Putting thick marble tiles onto a ceiling can be done, but require you to screw plywood onto the ceiling at 100mm centres then this is covered in hardie backer glued and screwed NOT PLASTERBOARD. The heavier the tile then they will need some sort of fail safe safety wire epoxied to the back of the marble this wire in turn needs to be drilled up through the ceiling sheets then fixed with screws from the top or inside the ceiling. This type of work is very specialized and SHOULD NOT be attempted by someone who has little or no experience in this type of work.

If you feel you would like a tiled ceiling why not do it in mosaics tiled onto hardie backer NOT PLASTERBOARD? Less weight equals less risk.

[bobbin]

Another downside of a tiled ceiling is it makes the room look a lot smaller, brings the walls in and makes it cramped.
If you are painting the ceiling though, make sure you use silk or eggshell, do not use matt in areas that have levels of condensation or water, over time you will get a horrible smeared effect. Silk and eggshell do not absorb the moisture like matt does.

[R Montgomery]

In the states steam shower ceilings have to be tiled by code and this is very often a heavy stone.So it can be done but with serious heavy duty wood framing and mechanically fixed render along with specialized adhesives and if the bal man said no they might not exist here.Don't attempt it.What you could do is go with Mick the Tiler's plywood and cement board method.Then go and find the same stone but 10mm thick and cut them down to maybe 100mm x 100mm then install them with the correct adhesive and a hard hat.Looks good put in diagonally with say a 100mm border.

[marc1106]

Gravitys a bitch! aint it.
i wouldnt even want to use a shower that had a tiled ceiling! from a different angle why not look at a formica laminate sheet epoxyed to the ceiling! if you contact them direct they can send you samples to match your tiles !

[sus]

If you had access from above you could tile a sheet of ply with aquapannel and screw it in from above you would have to do a dummy run with the screws to make sure you don’t hit the tiles but a lot easier than doing it up there on the celing that’s how it did it or use plaster board supports and screw in the tiles with mirror screws.

[uptonboy]

Got called to look at leaky shower some time back as some tiles had come loose, sure enough 2 or 3 had above the shower tray but 2 where missing from the ceiling. They were 6in white. Asked the customer if they had fallen whilst she was there but said it was already like that when she moved in and hadn't got round to sorting it out. Some people............. ended up ripping all out and starting again