Comparison guides
Half-height or full-height tiling: where to stop the tile
What separates them
- 1
Full-height tiling in the shower and bath zone is the only sensible waterproofing choice; splash zones elsewhere in the room have more genuine flexibility.
- 2
Half-height tiling with a painted upper wall costs less in materials and labour and is far easier to redecorate or change colour later.
- 3
A tiled dado line needs a neat trim or bullnose edge, which is a small detail that makes the difference between looking intentional and looking unfinished.
Questions to ask any fitter
Half-height tiling with a painted upper wall costs less in materials and labour and is far easier to redecorate or change colour later.
Common questions
Where should full-height tiling stop being optional?
Anywhere water regularly hits the wall directly, inside a shower and around a bath's splash zone shouldn't be treated as optional.
Does half-height tiling date faster?
The painted section can be refreshed cheaply, which arguably makes half-height age better than a fully tiled scheme that's harder to update.
Want this scoped properly before you commit?
We look at the room, check the services, and put the scope in writing so you can compare like with like.