How to restore laundry splashback after plumbing removed, tiles chipped?

Pipp

Hi, hoping this very knowledgeable community can point me in the right direction.

The old laundry tub had to be removed to fix a water leak and I naively asked for replacement to be a bench and small sink so I could put the washing machine underneath. ( yep totally no idea what this entailed) Now I need to fix the splashback area and would welcome some ideas please. It’s only a small area so I was thinking-

- a large tile or a Bellessi acrylic splashback? 
- do I need to remove tiles or can I go over the top?

- if I don’t have to remove tiles how to fill the space where there are no tiles so the new surface can go all the way to the wall? And what do I do about the chipped tiles on the bottom?

Appreciate any advice 😊

EricL

Hello @Pipp 

It appears that you have standard 150x150 white tiles on your wall. If they are, the quick way to repair your wall would be to carefully remove the damaged bottom tiles and the single one located at the top. You can then patch the remaining wall with the same type of tiles, this includes the old tap outlets. This is of course on the condition that the old outlets are now disconnected and that there is no possibility of water coming out of them.

Can you tile over existing tile? The quick answer is yes, but when you get to the part of the wall that is not tiled it will be necessary to pad that area so that it will be at the same level as the old tiles. A good example would be to use ordinary plasterboard that is 10mm thick.

What about an acrylic splashback? This is possible as well, but my best advice would be to remove the tiles and refinish the wall before putting the splashback on. This will provide a nice background for the splashback, and you won't get dark shadows behind the acrylic.  

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric