Wood Over Tile?

Beverly Cravath
by Beverly Cravath
I am so tired of the boring white tile on our bathroom walls! Is there any way of updating without ripping out the tiles? Would love to put bead board or board and batten over the tiles. Has anyone ever attempted such an endeavor? I've even considered the bead board wallpaper. Thanks for any advice!
  9 answers
  • Emma Santoro-Adkison Emma Santoro-Adkison on Mar 14, 2014
    Our home is over 100 years old. I have come up with the idea of using a RUSTIC Barn Board to make a "outhouse" look. As far as removing the tiles, Just guessing, "Masonary screws" seems like you could use 2x4 to hold the the bead board on. I love the bead board look. We redid another home in Arkansas that was a true GREEN home built by my husbands brother. We used bead board there right over the existing walls. Good Luck. I love keeping things looking true to the period it was built.
  • Beverly, Not knowing how old the house is and what is behind the tile makes it a bit more difficult to offer advice... but that hasn't stopped me before.. What you want to install obviously makes a difference as well. Seriously, I see three possible options. (1) remove the tile and start over; (2) Install the final product over the tile, either with or without some sort of backer. If the tile is stable, there are adhesives available that will work. If you choose to go the mechanical fastener route, that may be a little more difficult getting it thru the tile or hitting a grout line between the tiles; and then it becomes an issue of what the fastener is fastening into; (3) paint the existing tile. Do a search here on Hometalk for "painting tile" and you'll get quite a few responses.
  • Beverly Cravath Beverly Cravath on Mar 14, 2014
    House was built in 1979. The tile is just plain old white 4x4" ceramic tile. Still looks good, though a couple are cracked and the grout needs replacing in a couple of areas. Guess I'm just wanting a different look. I've always had tile and would prefer wood. Thanks for the responses.
  • Moxie Moxie on Mar 15, 2014
    If it was mine and I wanted to change the tile, without changing the tile, I think I would consider painting select tiles with a modern stencil. If I wanted to go over tile without taking them out I think I would selectively demo some tile to find the studs beyond and then put up furring (horizontal boards every few feet from bottom to top of wall) and then apply the new wood to the furring strips. This would decrease the size of the room slightly but you would have good attachment and broken tile would be hidden.
  • Have you considered Resilient Vinyl Planks? They come in various styles and colors most people like the look of wood flooring as in the picture, and at around $3.50 -$4.50 installed it's hard to beat.
  • SK on Elderberry SK on Elderberry on Mar 15, 2014
    I have covered old tiled walls several times. I have done a beadboard and a batten board look. Used crown molding to top it off at the ceiling and painted. LOVED IT! sk
    • See 1 previous
    • SK on Elderberry SK on Elderberry on Mar 16, 2014
      @Beverly Cravath Hi Beverly. Depending the the thickness of the tile. I use a self tapping 1 1/2 " wood screw. Place your glue and paneling and then drill screw the holes and finish with the screws. On porcelain tile you will go through many bits. Because some porcelain is very hard. I use a glue such as liquid nails behind the wood. I always use as small a screw head as I can I set them a bit deeper so I can then cover the holes with wood filler. Sand so the hole will disappear under the paint. Have fun. sk
  • Dee Dee on Mar 16, 2014
    If you are sure you don,t want the tiles anymore i would try liquid nails and put what you want up then top with crown molding.
  • Bonnie Lewenza Bonnie Lewenza on Mar 16, 2014
    If you put wood in your bathroom you are going to have to seal the wood to prevent it from buckling due to the humidity. We did this to the kitchen as it had old tile half way up the walls. We started popping tiles once you pop one or two off the rest is easy. The wall of course will be a mess because of the glue but you would have to use glue anyways so this isn't a big deal. Mine has been up for over 10 years and no problems.
  • Ltt834476 Ltt834476 on Jun 30, 2015
    You could just use a wooden frame to get your beaded wall up and hide the tile.