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Hi

I'm looking for a bit of advice. I've not done tiling before but thinking of giving it a try. I like the look of these sort of tiles https://www.stonetilecompany.co.uk/deol ... iles-large and looking at tiling one wall in my lounge. I've been watching a few youtube clips and seen some people using grout and others using self-adhesive.


I know my exist wall is a drywall and having watched this https://youtu.be/td4t6eyxJRY?si=EGjHvZXsY_7YvZSd I had a few questions.

1. Would I need to board up the existing wall? It is in fairly good condition but it is painted
2. If I were to use self-adhesive, I'm assuming it would be a hassle to try to remove the tiles and fix up wall. Is this correct?

It looks easier to do with self-adhesive compared to mixing up grout and then layering it on the wall.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Have you thought about this clearly? I would suggest that this is a mistake as a wall like this will make the room darker, it will act as a heat sink, and you will have lots of remedial work a few years down the line when you decide it is old hat and pull it off. If you come to sell your home it will be a huge turn-off for most people and could lose you views or a sale. Now you might think I am missing your trendsetting point but if you live long enough, these things all come around in a circle. A chap I knew built a feature wall back in the 70s, it looked stupid in his house and a couple of years after, his wife insisted on change. It was a right mess getting rid of the spoil and making good. Others went in for the Yorkstone fireplaces at the time with similar remedial on the inevitable rip out.

You must do what you want but you may wish to think about the points I have made.

DWD

The tiles in your link look similar to some I used on a job a couple of years ago. In that case it was a media wall that I was building for a customer and had recesses for a huge tv , speaker bar and a fancy fire unit. The customer actually decided to tile it after I'd started which if nothing else really highlighted the need to set things out properly. It caused me extra work and I had to rip some tiles down their length to keep it looking right. So if you do tile your wall decide exactly what you want , set it out and check it and recheck it and probably check again.
To be honest I've not used self adhesive tiles , always gone down the conventional adhesive and grout route. I'd probably rough up the paintwork and maybe apply a bonding agent of some kind , your tile supplier could recommend a product for that. It could even be possible to overcoat the wall with 1\2" plasterboard if you wanted. I have seen backer board fixed to a wall with screws and then tiled.. Not the cheapest option but should you want to change the wall all you'll have is screw holes to make good.
I'm a bit indifferent about the look and agree it's a bit of a fashion ( but that said our house has a fair few art deco features which our daughter just sees as old fashioned) but it's your house and you can do as you like , you're living there after all. If you do go ahead I can only emphasise to spend time on the setting out. Just a thought but it's not cheap especially if you don't like it. You might be able to get wallpaper in a similar design which you could put up and see how it is to live with unless you are 100% certain you want tiles.
On a related note I also got tasked with tiling a bedroom wall with acrylic mirror tiles. If anyone asked me to do that again I'd advise against. The wall has to be as flat as glass in the first place as even a millimeter out results in distortion.

Thanks, both for your input, very much appreciated.

I've had a rethink of the initial design and have decided against going through with the changes. I will still make it a feature wall but give it a good lick of paint instead of tiling or wallpapering

Thanks for coming back, I would say you have made a good decision. I hope your new scheme turns out well.

DWD

If nothing else I think you've saved yourself some money and effort. My daughter wanted a feature wall in the room she uses as an office. We achieved that by pinning 2" wide strips of hardboard diagonally and painting it all in one colour. Seems to look simple but contemporary and not difficult to remove.