We‘re renovating an old house, and the ceramic tile on the bathroom walls is just awful. I‘d like to replace the wall tile with beadboard. The tiles appear to be mortared directly onto the drywall. Is it a good idea to install the beadboard directly over the ceramic tile? Or should we chip of the tile or remove the lower portion of the drywall? I‘d like to do this as easily as possible, but not at the risk of shoddy workmanship.Also - all the beadboards I‘ve looked at are either painted or primed on the front surface, with a bare wood surface on the rear (glued to the wall). Is it advisable to paint/prime the rear surface as well before installation? With all the steam and moisture in a bathroom, I can envision the panels buckling. Is there a particular paint/primer that seals off from moisture particularly well?
Do the tiles look awful because some are missing, cracked or what? The reason I ask is because, there are companies who can come in and change the color of your tiles and renew the grout--which is a lot simpler than trying to pull them down or covering them with wood. If you cover them with wood there will be many airspaces between the wood and tile that can collect moisture which leads to mold--I don't think you want to do that. So, if the tile is in good shape, why not contact a company that refinishes and ask for an estimate? My best friend had aqua and black in one of her bathrooms and pink and gray in the other, when she bought her fixer upper house. She had the tiles refinished and I was so amazed at the results! She has lived in the place 9 years and the tiles still look like brand new.
It's better to remove the tile altogether, including the old backer board. We did that as insurance, we found there was no insulation in the wall so it was good that we did. Cover the entire wall with sheetrock (green board, meant for a wet location) then glue the beadboard in place with water proof adhesive (applied with a caulk gun). It's worth the extra time and effort for your own house and you'll know it's done correctly and will last for many years to come. Good luck, been there done that and still in the process. It's a labor of love, I guess! :o)
I'm just a DIYer but I've laid some tile and installed beadboard (both the panels and the planks). I am getting ready to do exactly what you ask about.. vering tile with beadboard. In my situation I have a single row of tiles along the floor and then they run up and around the tub into the large field. That field is staying, for now. My issue is if I leave the tiles, which I am leanng towards, how do I frame out arund them. The tiles along the floor aren't a big deal, I'll just fir out from the top but along the vertical row I need to figure out a good looking transition and trim....but there's no reason you can's cover the tile if the surface is sound, and the area is dry. You are probably using the panels because you need to glue directly to the tile...and there may be some buckling, not because its a bathroom but just because this material can buckle. The panels are a better choice, imo, because the are thicker and have some adjustment to them. They aren't hard to cut or install and I think they just look better. You probably don't need to seal the individual boards, but as others have noted, a coat of something, anything really, on the backside of the panels won't hurt. Balance that, however, against the loss of adhesion for your glue.
This Site Might Help You. RE: Installing beadboard over ceramic tile? We‘re renovating an old house, and the ceramic tile on the bathroom walls is just awful. I‘d like to replace the wall tile with beadboard. The tiles appear to be mortared directly onto the drywall. Is it a good idea to install the beadboard directly over the ceramic tile? Or should we...
