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As a novice in tiling, I'm seeking guidance on a project I'm tackling.

We're planning to tile a portion of our lounge wall as a feature wall. I'm researching the job and encountering conflicting advice regarding the process and the wall's suitability.

The property is a new build and is approximately six months old, the wall in question is an exterior one.

I intend to use 1200mm x 600mm x 9mm thick porcelain wall tiles, with an approximate weight of 14.6kg each or 20.2kg / m2 and around 24kg / m2 with the adhesive and grout included. I've linked it below for reference.

Currently, the wall is painted. Our question is whether this painted surface requires reinforcement to bear the weight of the tiles, or if it's adequately supportive as is. We plan to score lines into the wall, sand it down, and sugar-washing it before starting.

Tiles: stiled-twyford-grey-9mm-porcelain-tile-1225496

I cannot help feeling that this is a big error in judgment. You must always look to the future and you may well want to move on in a few years. Not many people would look at a feature wall in any other way than as to what it will cost to remove and make good. This will depress value or make it hard to move. The house is an investment and you need to keep it in good shape and to conform normal appearance. The second point is that a new build is more likely to have dot and dab plasterboard walls which would not take heavy weight loading. This is probably not what you want to hear but I have your best interests in mind.

DWD