Notching Studs for Romax

[Snipe Hunter]

I will get a picture of the 2 types of tile side by side.
The thickness of the  accent band of tile is 1/8" thicker than the Wall tile thickness.
Grout lines are thin.
Mayve it would look OK to install it as us and have the accent tile stand proud of the wall tile by 1/8"

Thinset.
1/4" notch trowel for field, butter the wall and tile.
1/4" notch trowel for accent, butter wall only.

[Dusty Workshop]

Here ate some pics of the 2 tiles side by side

[Robert Adams]

Here ate some pics of the 2 tiles side by side

Thats a much bigger difference than i thought.. Usually its not much but thats a tile thickness different. So yeah your plan would be fine.....

[Dusty Workshop]

The tiles are 1/4 " and 1/8" thick

[Snipe Hunter]

Wow, 1/8" is thin.

Does it need to be the same height?

[Dusty Workshop]

It is indeed thin. Both types are mounted on a mesh backer.

To answer your question ;no they don't have to be. I had thought that leveling the 2 would be more pleasing to the eye.

I have been looking online and I guess that having the accent tile stand out from the field tile is an acceptable technique. As is the reverse ; having the accent recessed.

If it were a shower I would probably opt for flush so that water would shed better.

I think that I am going to have to make a mock up board for LOML to get a "visual". Sure would be easier to install it as is.

[ez-duzit]

Hardboard is not waterproof. 1/8" epoxy-glass could be used for this small area.

[efmrrt]

Dusty,

First off, I appreciate the links in your signature.  Now for the rest of the post - NEVER NOTCH A STUD! The best way is to pull an area of sheet rock off and drill holes in the center of the stud. If that is just an impossible task, Use a 
Forstner bit just slightly wider than the Romax and drill slightly deeper than the thickness of the Romax. Cover the notch with a steel plate designed for that application. Check with local building/code laws in your area to see what they call for.

For the sheet rock, use green board which is moisture and mold-resistant gypsum board. Usually do everything in the bathroom this way with the exception of the tub area. Cement board (Wonder board, etc) for the shower/tub areas and flooring. Make sure you use screws designed for the cement board. Fiberglass all joints and apply mortar over the joints (pretty much just like sheet rocking) Once the mortar is dry apply Red Gard, which is a Waterproofing and Crack Prevention Membrane. Usually apply 2-3 coats. Once that's dry you can start the tile.

Painting - forget the BORGS, go to Sherwin-Williams get the best quality primer and paint designed for bathrooms.

The only time you will have to redo the bathroom is when your bride grows tired of the decor.


If you really want to bombproof it, replace the wood studs in the shower/tub area with metal studs.

[Snipe Hunter]

Not sure if you've installed tile on a mesh backer before but it likes to sag under it's own weight. It can look pretty crappy if you aren't careful. Keep plenty of spacers on hand to insert between the individual tiles to help support them. I know you are using mastic and to be honest, I've never used it so I don't know how it performs with small accent tiles.

I mix my thinset fairly dry for this application. When I say "dry". I man thick. More like thick peanut butter as opposed to thin tile grout. There tends to be a bit more maneuvering into place with backed small tiles which tends to cause the thinset to squeeze trough the tile gaps. Thickly mixed thinset helps prevent it. Buttering the tile generally is a bad idea with the small tiles as it pushes the thinset through the tiles. You probably won't have an issue with those larger tiles. Also use a small notched trowel like 1/4" or less. It helps.

Again, I've never used mastic so I don't know how initially tacky it is. I'm generally setting in wet showers and tubs.But it really might be the perfect stuff for your application.

The different height of the tiles should look fine. It's OK if tile work looks interesting. It's actually in style right now.

[Dusty Workshop]

I find that the mastic is stickier than thinset and does better at holding the tile in place on a wall install, without sag. For this application or a kitchen backsplash it is great but not good for wet areas. I used thinset on our kitchen backsplash b/c the tile there is glass and I could only find thinsets that were approved for glass, no mastics.
I am cool with the 2 tiles being of different thicknesses, and it looks like that is the way we are going to go. I had a piece of 3/8 metal tile border left over from the kitchen backsplash job. The thinner field tile lines up perfectly with the groove in the metal edge, and the thicker accent tile lines up perfectly with the upper edge of the metal border. Should look good.