How to Install Black Marble Tiles in Bathroom Bathtubs

The walls around your bathtub must be protected from moisture, and hanging tile there is a common way to accomplish this goal. It can also make for a very dramatic look, depending on the tile you choose. If you have a white tub, and you select black marble, it will be a real conversation piece. This complicates things when you go to caulk, though, because you want the caulk around the tub itself to be white, but you don't want a line of white caulk going up the corners of the marble, so you'll need two different kinds of caulk. Start with firm, flat walls, preferably of cement board.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Level
• Pencil
• Thinset mortar
• Notched tiling trowel
• Black marble wall tiles (sealed)
• Tile spacers
• Wet saw
• Black grout (unsanded)
• Grout float
• Sponge
• White caulk (for a white tub)
• Black caulk

Instructions

1. Measure the first wall, horizontally, above the tub rim. Mark the middle. Make a vertical line through the middle of the wall, from the tub lip to the top, using a level and pencil.

2. Use a notched trowel to apply tile mortar along the base of the wall, just above the rim, from end to end and rising from the rim by 2 or 3 feet.

3. Press a black marble tile to the wall on one side of the vertical line, above the tub rim. Set spacers between the bottom of the tile and the tub.

4. Set additional tiles alongside the first one, working your way out from the middle to the ends. Set spacers between the tiles as you hang them. Use a wet saw to cut the tiles at the two ends to fit, with ¼ inch of space left in the corners.

5. Install the next row above in the same way. Repeat, working your way up the wall course by course, starting each course at the center and working to the sides. Add more mortar as needed. Cut the tiles around the bath faucet and other obstructions as you reach them. Do the whole wall and the adjacent walls.

6. Let the mortar set for 12 hours. Pull out the spacers.

7. Spread black unsanded grout over each wall with a grout float, starting at the top and working your way down. Press the grout into the spaces between the tiles while scraping it off the surface. Use a damp sponge to wipe up the excess grout. Allow the grout to set for 24 hours.

8. Caulk along the joints where the tile meets the tub, with white caulk. Use black caulk in the vertical corners between the tiled walls. Let the caulk dry for 24 hours.

References

• The Tile Doctor.com: Tiling Walls