You always needs a level surface to work off of when wall tiling. Up until now that has been achieved by nailing or screwing a wooden batten to the wall for both DIY tiling and professional tiling. Tiles have been around since BC and yet this practice prevails when leveling tiles. So here are my top ten reasons not to hammer or nail anything into a bathroom wall.

1)      Bursting pipes. Most professional tilers at some time have probably burst a pipe this way. It can cause a lot of damage.

2)      Electrocution. If you put a nail through an electrical conduit you might get a shock. If the water penetrates the wall you just might electrocute the unfortunate person in the bath or shower, resulting in death, not good.

3)      Cost. Buying all the tools requires to do this process is expensive a good spirit level alone can cost you up to €50.00 and you may need two. Not to mention all the rest of tiling tools and materials needed.

4)      They don’t sell wooden battens in tile stores. So another trip to a builders provides is usually required to get the difficult to transport wooden battens before you start wall tiling.

5)      Time. This method is very time consuming.

6)      God did not make wooden battens straight. Wood is rarely straight, so great care and attention has to be paid when hammering them to the wall to straighten them out.

7)      Juggling levels, wooden battens, and screw guns all at the same time is an art in itself. Why bother?

8)      Creating more work. If you are unsuccessful in getting a good fix onto the wall and you have to keep re trying the plaster can start falling off or becomes lose due to successive undermining by nails or screws.

9)      Lintels over doors are often used as a support walls over doors. These are reinforced concrete are notoriously hard to get a fixing into and even with a high powered drill can take ages to fix a batten to level tiles.

10)   Water vapour barrier. There are various brands of specially manufactured wall boards for use in wet areas. They are generally waterproof and or have a vapour barrier to stop any water damage in bathrooms, if a leak accrues. Using nails or screws undermine their use and can cause damage over time.