Replies

1. 
   CTI | Jun 17, 2004 10:07am | #1

   "peach tile with brown trim is unbearable"

   Oh I feel the pain g, but the fullblown tearout would be a bear and expensive, and you are right that colors come and go.

   There are some paints that can go over tile but I haven't investigated. Can you place some accents on the offenders and redo portions of the room in a new accent color until you find the perfect color combo? Speaking from experience, you can paint over tile and it does wear off :) (I did say I didn't investigate  - just attacked a color). I'd rather repaint than retile any day.

   I bet you'll get lots of ideas but the layout of the offensive colors will help generate more. For example, if the brown accent is a horizontal stripe, between knees and shoulders, and in the shower - you can install a pocket of sorts over that field for holding useful (shampoo, soap) or decorative (flowers, candles) things and it can completely obscure the brownness. If you know you will eventually demo the tiles then you can screw into them without worry, and tack these pockets in any way that works best. The "pockets" can be vinyl, wood with slats for water to escape, you name it.

   Are there any artists in the house? Let them go wild on the peach tile - the worst that can happen is that your toenails get a weird color if it washes off on to you. Can you scrape or etch and paint it to make it somewhat resemble brick (adding some red to eliminate the peach)? Add tiles on top? If the tile install is sound  - and I'd suspect it is if installed back then - I'd do backflips to not tear it out. Tell us what it looks like and we'll give you more ideas.

   If the rest of the house is sound then the bathroom is probably as sound or more so. When (and you are likely to) you remodel, you can leave this room for last, but use it as an experiment until then.  I don't know where all the offensive colors are but brown looks ok with wood or raffia or grasscloth or that sort of thing. Peach, well, I'd go with some very strong magenta and green to drown it out, or an acid wash so it's more like a sunrise or sunset background etc. Try to convince your DW that she can have everything else. "How much time do we spend in the bathroom anyway?" Redo the walls and lighting using wall hangings and portable lights until you both decide what you like.

   When you do remodel, consider side-by-side above counter sink bowls. Positively lovely! I look forward to learning whatever you do.

1. 
   user-464566 | Jun 17, 2004 05:33pm | #2

   C,

   The tile is stuck. It's a thickset on metal lath. Demolition would be disastrous to the plastered wall board on the opposite side and probably the brick veneer at the exterior wall. The brown is at the base along the floor and the cove at the top of the shower surround and wainscot outside the shower. I have painted the wallboard and ceiling, installed an oversized mirror, replaced light fixtures and painted over the dark stained wood trim / luan door. I even scrubbed the grout on the inch tiled floor. It did wonders to soften the tile colors. The bathroom is in great shape. Finally, the DW is opposed to clutter, so no daisy flowers will be hand painted on these tiles. A simple "antique white" would make her day. Wish me luck.

   G_ranch

1. 
   CTI | Jun 19, 2004 09:17am | #7

   Definitely paint! It's something that you always know will have to be redone one day and is a relatively inexpensive way to see which colors you like.

2. 
   aimless | Jun 17, 2004 07:34pm | #3

   I'm gonna disagree with the posters both here and at break time and say paint the tile. No, it won't last that long. But you get a happy wife for a little bit longer while you stall, and you can experiment with colors a little more cheaply than by installing new tile now.  What's the worst that can happen? The paint starts to peel and you end up with peach tile again. You were going to have to break it out anyway to replace it.

   According to what I've read, tile can be painted if you first wash it correctly and then use an appropriate primer. Try Zinsser or Krylon for these products. Google on TILE PAINT to get a bunch of diy instructions for this task.

1. 
   user-464566 | Jun 17, 2004 07:58pm | #4

   A,

   Thanks for the help. I can definitely by some time by painting. It's always fun listening to someone else's horror story. Thought there would be oodles of folks that had tried this tile cover up before me. I'll post back later and let ya'll know how it turns out.

   G_ranch

1. 
   Tish | Jun 18, 2004 07:18pm | #5

   You can lay new tile over old tile if the old tile is sound.  BJ, a regular on Over the Fence and Knots, has done it.  The bathroom he redid was of the same vintage as yours.  I'll ask him to come by here and share his experience.  You can also  ask on the Breaktime forum and see if anyone there has advice.

   I have that color tile in my bathrooms too. The last owner turned one bath into a pit by painting the walls and ceiling brown, and the other bath into a cave by over-applying some sort of do-it-yourself stucco gook.  I'm gritting my teeth and living with it for now, but when I can afford it, I'm ripping out the stuccoed drywall and over-tiling the bath and shower.  Just because platform shoes came back doesn't mean 50s bathrooms will come back.  In fact, bathroom design is better than ever.  If you can do it, I think it's worth updating bathrooms.  It improves the livability and the resell value of your house. 

1. 
   user-464566 | Jun 18, 2004 09:01pm | #6

   T,

   No shortage of advise over at breaktime. Look under construction techniques - "Pain and Suffering". I got plenty of info - none of it was as encouraging as yours. Most involved decorating around it as a distraction - the rest would launch me into a major renovation. It has been an extremely educational discussion. The best advise so far sounds expensive. I'm interested to hear your friends experience with the over tile technique.

   G_ranch