Tile Shower Ceiling...Will It Fall On Me?

The tile shower ceiling is done first before the walls. Will the tile shower ceiling fall on your head? That's the problem, right? The thinset likes to fall on your head, but the tile stays up quite well. Here are the details.

Use 1/2 inch Hardi-backer board if you can. Make the ceiling with one piece if possible. Install it with the proper screws. It's good to wipe the cement board with a damp sponge to remove the dust to help adhesion.

Use a straight edge to get some control lines to help you get everything straight. Will the grout lines line up withe wall tiles? If not consider laying the ceiling tile at a 45 degree angle.

Spread your thinset with a notched trowel to a small area at a time. Make the thinset so it just slides off your trowel, not too thin. You can butter some thinset on the tile if you like too. Make sure the thinset is staying sticky. If not spread on a little more. The tile will fuse to the ceiling with the thinset. So don't adjust the tile once it's in place. If you must move a tile, pull it off the ceiling and clean the back of the tile. Then apply some thinset to that tile and put it back in place.

You can use 1/4 inch spacers for grout or even go down to 1/8 inch spacers. Caulk at the edges when finished with the grout.

If the tile does want to come off you can cut strips of plywood to fit each row of tile and prop the tile up with 2 x 4's.

So building a tile shower ceiling is not much different than a wall, except for the thinset falling down your collar!

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