We will assume that you have already tiled your laundry room floor. After you’ve cleared the wall, your next option is to put up a sturdy backer, cement board, or leave the wall bare.

We recommend using a tile called porcelain. The reason is simple, it was made with a 5% water absorption rate. This means that the tile will resist water quite well. The downside of porcelain tile is how difficult it is to work with. With the right tools, you can cut tiles to your needs.

If you are going to use some type of back plate, it is time to install it on the wall. Use the heavy duty backing screws to secure it to the wall, making sure to drive the screws into the wall studs. Once this is complete, it is now time to lay out your tile and get a rough idea of ​​how it will fit together.

When we build a tile wall behind the washer/dryer, we always plan it so we don’t have to cut the top row. If you want a 4 foot tall wall then 12×12 inch tiles make it really simple. If you choose 8×8 inch tiles then you can also make your wall height 4 feet, you’ll just use 5 tiles instead of 4. Others like to run up to 56 inches high and that’s pretty good. Just don’t forget to use bull nose tile for the top row.

Once you have decided on the height of your wall, you need to decide how wide you want to go. Many people choose to run from one corner of the wall to the other. Others want me to pass the washer/dryer and that’s it. Again, this is a personal choice.

When choosing a height that allows you to use full tiles, you only need to make tile cuts on the horizontal tiles. Many people like to exercise from the midpoint of the wall.

Finding the midpoint is simply measuring the height you want and dividing it by 2. Then measure the width of the wall and divide by two. Once you mark those two points, you have the midpoint. Work from the middle to lay the tile.

We generally like to work from the most exposed wall. That means we’ll start with full tiles and work our way to the other wall, knowing that wall will have all the tiles cut out. We can get away with it because one of the machines will hide the cut tiles.

In our neck of the woods many people are replacing their laundry room floors with tile and building tile walls behind their washer/dryers. It looks great and if water is spilled it will easily wipe up and wring out.

Don’t forget to seal the tiles and grout lines 48 hours after laying the tiles.