curved wall

[baht'at]

Hi All.
I am in need of some assistance/advice again if any one can help please.
Just been asked to quote for tiling a shower but after inspecting the job it
is not as straight forward as I had expected.
Firstly the tiles have been on since the 60’s and are on brick cement rendered
walls, and after the plumber had struggled to remove some to get at the pipe work
the customer doesn’t want the added expense of removing all the others and
skimming the walls before retiling.
I have managed to find some earlier threads on the subject of tiles on tiles which
has given me the confidence to tackle the job,
Thanks to all those that posted information .

The shower is enclosed with an external wall which has a curved centre section
The tiles are from the 60’s also and are roughly 155x155mm and are on the inside
and outside walls.
The curved part is made up of a step/sill at floor level but also this curve is coming down from the ceiling creating an archway to a depth of 3.5 tiles.
There are 52 cut tiles on the step/sill and 134 on the top section.(inside and outside)
The total area to be tiled is just under 10m2
Can any one offer any assistance on the following questions please.
1 what tiles would you recommend as replacements .
2 How do you work out how many tiles for the curved part
3 How do you work out at what width to cut the tiles so form a nice smooth
curve.
4 Would you use plastic trim on the corners of the external wall
5 What time scale is it likely to take
Thanks in advance
Richard

[Dave]

Mosaics are worth thinking about , they will follow them curves no probs...

Other wise if you get tiles to big you will have to split tiles to form the curve...

[baht'at]

Thanks Dave.
I made that suggestion but they had some 150x150 tiles as samples and wanted to stay with that size or slightly larger if needed.
Richard

[Dave]

Best thing to do then richard is to set out so that you can minimise splitting the tiles...it will be unavoidable but done right it will look ok...
If you can post some pics we might be able to give you some better ideas..

[Leatherface]

Did a bathroom last year - soundsexactly the same - Tiled using rapid set. worked out length of curve and divided into strips. Slightly back mitred the strips so that they would fit closer. Don't think it looks bad for my first ever attempt on a curved wall.
By the way - there is a trick of the light reflecting off the shower screen at the top - makes one of the tiles look like it isn't cut straight - it is before anyone says anything

[baht'at]

Thanks Dave,
Ill try and get some tomorrow
Richard

[davyh50]

Whoa, try and get some pics of the job mate.

[Proper Job]

Mosaics on top of tiles your having a laugh mate, walls need to be spot on for mosaics and are excellent for curves. Tile on top of tile is not really recommend due to the fact you don't ever know how well bedded they are further a more i would not use pre mixed adhesive even D2 or triple AAA, you need to use a cementious based adhesive which will give a better bond and will not fail in a wet enviroment. Bal mosaic fix is pretty dam good, great pot life and sticks like S*** to a blanket. Oh you must clean the exsisiting tiles down and give them good scrub you never know what might react with the adhesive or grout.

[Leatherface]

As I previously mentioned, last year I did what may be a similar type of bathroom - house was Art Deco Style - all bathroom tiles original, including specially curved tiles for window reveal edges and what looked like specially made tiles for external corners. All bedded in with what looked like sand and cement - no way they were going to come off.
Cleaned all tiles with solution of sugar soap, then cleaned witha few changes of water. Fixed tiles with rapid set.

[baht'at]

Hi all,
My original question seems to have had a lot of intrest from the number of viewers but had hoped some of the more experianced might have been able to offer guidance on the technical side on measuring and laying out .
Thanks to those that have answered but I do need more information before I can provide a quote
I am trying to get back to get some pictures which might help to understand my problems along with lack of experiance.

[Leatherface]

Have you read my posts ?

Have done a bthroom with curved wall

What specifically do you need to know ?