Bathtub Made out of Tile??

[The Boston Dangler]

?

No. The bathtub is going to be made from tile.

too bad, because this will look a lot better, be cleaner, et cetera

 

[khon]

Wouldn't do it if I was you.

Main problem as I see it, is that tiles are flat and square, meaning the bathtub is going to have sharp corners, and who wants that ? Bathtubs should have nice smooth curves, so they're comfortable to lie in.

I mean look at this:

How uncomfortable is that going to be ?

 

[bignateyk]

There was a tiled tub there before too. It was crappy though...not even waterproof. Previous owners were morons and tried doing it themselves.

Tile work is an easy DIY project. Sounds like the previous owners were just dumb.

 

[Vette73]

Tile work is an easy DIY project. Sounds like the previous owners were just dumb.

Laying tile is easy. Making it water tight, completly flat, and that last is not.
My tile is not 100% flat but most "pros" work in this area looks like crap compared to what I and my wife have done. My BiLs house the tile is cracking in the kitchen and its not as old as mine and he paid someone to do it.
My wife paid someone to tile our basment and I took them to task on what to use, how to cut it, etc...

Prep work and knowing what works with each tile type and enviroment is the hard part. Slapping some thinset down and plopping as tile in it is easy.

<-- Laid down hundreds of feet of till natural and man-made.

 

[SSUSeaWolf]

Anybody elses bullshit alarm start chirping after reading that?

What's BS about that? The previous owners took off all the waterproofing because they were morons. They did a ton of the work themselves, but they didn't know what they were doing.

The tile looked decent, but it wasn't totally set evenly. We had / have to rip everything out and start over.

 

[SSUSeaWolf]

Wouldn't do it if I was you.

Main problem as I see it, is that tiles are flat and square, meaning the bathtub is going to have sharp corners, and who wants that ? Bathtubs should have nice smooth curves, so they're comfortable to lie in.

I mean look at this:


How uncomfortable is that going to be ?

That looks uncomfortable. But this tub design would have rounded edges using penny tile. The shape would be very similar to a normal tub.

 

[classy]

Get a regular bathtub. If it has worked before, then it should work this time.

LOL

That is an instant classic :thumbsup:

 

[classy]

Yea I would skip that unless you want the upkeep and/or abilty to tear it out every several years to "update".

I did natural stone in my shower and went the full distance to make sure it would hold up, and paid for it. Our tub was a jacuzzi drop in with natural tile around it.


Also for those that don;t know here is what she is talking about.

That is ugly. Not the color, but the actual tub tile job. And don't think it will be as comfortable as a regular tub either.

 

[SSUSeaWolf]

Tile work is an easy DIY project. Sounds like the previous owners were just dumb.

They laid it mostly well, except they forgot to make it waterproof...kind of important when it comes to bathtubs. Oops!

 

[paperfist]

lol you guys who are thinking corners never heard of 1" x 1" tiles? You can make some nice curves with those. I've seen some titled tubs with some sick looking curved bases you could lay in. If you want to get crazy install a heat mat behind the tile. You'll never leave your bathtub.

Grout leaks no matter what, it's not a way to stop water so if it cracks it cracks. That's why you use something like a Kerdi-board BEHIND the tiles for waterproofing. Usually Kerdi-board + cement board = waterproofing. And then you seal the grout and it won't stain. Even if it does the chemicals you use to clean grout will make short work of clean up.

Also, you know how much a house has to move to crack title that is floating off the wall? Crack free tile jobs have been around since the Romans.

 

[vi edit]

Shower stall - yes
Tub surround - yes
Back splashes - yes
Flooring - yes

Counter tops and tubs for tile? No thank you.

 

[Vette73]

They laid it mostly well, except they forgot to make it waterproof...kind of important when it comes to bathtubs. Oops!

Yep differance between a good tile job and a great tile job is the prep work. That includes waterproofing if needed, correct thinset (there is a reason there is more than 1 type), subfloor setup correct, etc...

Shower stall - yes
Tub surround - yes
Back splashes - yes
Flooring - yes

Counter tops and tubs for tile? No thank you.

:thumbsup:

 

[dfuze]

I would definitely go with a regular tub

 

[SSUSeaWolf]

lol you guys who are thinking corners never heard of 1" x 1" tiles? You can make some nice curves with those. I've seen some titled tubs with some sick looking curved bases you could lay in. If you want to get crazy install a heat mat behind the tile. You'll never leave your bathtub.

Grout leaks no matter what, it's not a way to stop water so if it cracks it cracks. That's why you use something like a Kerdi-board BEHIND the tiles for waterproofing. Usually Kerdi-board + cement board = waterproofing. And then you seal the grout and it won't stain. Even if it does the chemicals you use to clean grout will make short work of clean up.

Also, you know how much a house has to move to crack title that is floating off the wall? Crack free tile jobs have been around since the Romans.

This is pretty much what my contractors said. The problem we're having is that we can't find more than a few pictures online of a tiled tub. We don't know what it would look like at this point.

 

[vi edit]

I would definitely go with a regular tub

And when you say regular, you mean cast iron. Those things just last forever. Nearly every house I've been in has a cracking acrylic or fiberglass tub in it somewhere in the house.

 

[iGas]

And when you say regular, you mean cast iron. Those things just last forever. Nearly every house I've been in has a cracking acrylic or fiberglass tub in it somewhere in the house.

Up here in Canada I haven't seen a crack in the tub yet. It could be that we don't have big bones.

 

[Aharami]

Doing a full master bath remodel, and the contractors are telling me the best option is to have a bathtub made out of tile. I have no clue what this would look like as I can't even find any examples online.

Cost wise it'd be pretty similar. I know keeping it clean would be a little tricky, but otherwise not the end of the world. Any thoughts on this?

Contractors won't make any money off of it. The tile job would be with someone else.

This is pretty much what my contractors said. The problem we're having is that we can't find more than a few pictures online of a tiled tub. We don't know what it would look like at this point.

wait a sec, HelloWorl = SSUSeaWolf? I mean they could be different people with the same exact situation...

 

[ussfletcher]

Price won't be much different. Contractors probably won't make a dime more either way.

General contractors sometimes get a referral fee from the guys they use often.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

wait a sec, HelloWorl = SSUSeaWolf? I mean they could be different people with the same exact situation...

Oops!
Busted

 

[SSUSeaWolf]

wait a sec, HelloWorl = SSUSeaWolf? I mean they could be different people with the same exact situation...

We're a couple. I can see how this might be confusing though...

 

[eits]

don't do it

 

[vi edit]

Up here in Canada I haven't seen a crack in the tub yet. It could be that we don't have big bones.

It's probably due in part to just shitty installing on the contractor/homeowner's part. If you don't brace them properly they sag/flex and eventually will get cracks forming in the bottom. Cast iron isn't really prone to that.

 

[paperfist]

This is pretty much what my contractors said. The problem we're having is that we can't find more than a few pictures online of a tiled tub. We don't know what it would look like at this point.

I don't know if they have a photo archive, but that DIY show Bathtasitc may have some http://www.diynetwork.com/bathtastic/show/index.html

Ah here's an example of mosaic tiles at work forming a curve:

http://shoeblogs.com/2009/05/18/the-shoe-tub/

The company is http://www.sicis.it/index.php?lingua=ing

Damn I can't wait to build a second bathroom now!

After the shoe in this blog is some links to other bath blogs that may help you find pics http://tiletalk.blogspot.com/2010/08/mosaic-tiled-tubs-in-shape-of-shoe.html

 

[SSUSeaWolf]

I don't know if they have a photo archive, but that DIY show Bathtasitc may have some http://www.diynetwork.com/bathtastic/show/index.html

Ah here's an example of mosaic tiles at work forming a curve:

http://shoeblogs.com/2009/05/18/the-shoe-tub/

The company is http://www.sicis.it/index.php?lingua=ing

Damn I can't wait to build a second bathroom now!

After the shoe in this blog is some links to other bath blogs that may help you find pics http://tiletalk.blogspot.com/2010/08/mosaic-tiled-tubs-in-shape-of-shoe.html

Looks nice, but that's just the outside. The inside isn't tile, which is what they want to do with our bathroom.

I think I'm going to try to push to get them to put in a pre-made one and see what we can do.

 

[DrPizza]

This looks nice:

The rest of the examples didn't. Although in this case above, I can't see the access area for the jacuzzi pumps. Wait a second - someone would do that and not go the extra yard?

To the OP: there's no way in hell that it should cost roughly the same amount.