Subway Tiles: A Practical Guide for Bathroom Walls

What makes a tile a subway tile

A subway tile is a glazed rectangle, traditionally twice as long as it is high, laid in a brick pattern. The name comes from the early twentieth-century underground railway stations where the format became famous: hard-wearing, easy to wipe down, and bright under artificial light. More than a hundred years later it is still one of the most common bathroom wall tiles in Australia, because it suits almost any house, from a Victorian terrace to a new apartment.

What has changed is the range. A subway tile now comes in dozens of sizes, glazes, edge profiles and colours, and those choices decide whether the finished wall looks crisp, soft, period or contemporary.

Common sizes and what they do

• 75 x 150mm. The classic proportion. It suits period homes and small rooms, but it means more grout lines and more cuts, so it takes longer to lay.
• 100 x 200mm. A little larger, with the same two-to-one ratio. A good middle ground for a standard bathroom.
• 75 x 300mm and 100 x 300mm. Longer, four-to-one or three-to-one formats that look more contemporary and give fewer joints across a wall.
• Slim or "finger" formats. Narrow tiles, often laid vertically or in a stack, that read almost like timber lining boards.

Larger is not automatically better. Long, thin tiles show any bow in the tile or any hollow in the wall more readily than short ones, so the wall needs to be properly flat before they go up.

Laying patterns

Half (brick) bond. Each row is offset by half a tile. It is the traditional look, and it forgives a little variation because the eye reads the pattern rather than individual joints.

Third offset. Each row moves along by a third of a tile. With longer tiles this is often preferred, because a slight bow in the middle of a tile lines up with the joint above rather than the centre of the next tile, which reduces uneven edges (lippage). Tile makers often print their recommended maximum offset on the box — follow it.

Stack bond. Tiles sit directly above one another, either horizontally or vertically. It is clean and modern, but every joint lines up across the whole wall, so any error in set-out is obvious.

Vertical bond. The brick pattern turned on its side. Useful for making a low ceiling or a sloping skillion feel taller.

Herringbone and chevron. Striking as a feature on one wall or a shower back wall. Both take noticeably longer to set out and cut, and they work best where the wall is clear of fittings.

Basketweave. Pairs of tiles laid at right angles to each other. Occasionally seen on period-style floors in a floor-rated tile.

Glaze and edge

Gloss. Reflects light, which helps in a dim bathroom with a small window. Gloss also shows water marks and any unevenness in the wall more readily.

Matt or satin. Quieter and more contemporary, and hides water spots better. Some matt glazes need slightly more attention to cleaning because soap film can sit in the surface texture.

Handmade-look. Tiles with a wavy face, uneven edges and variation in colour from tile to tile. They look soft and forgiving, but the variation is intentional, so shuffle tiles from several boxes as you go to avoid patches of one shade.

Bevelled edge. A chamfered edge that catches light and gives a traditional look. It collects a little more grime at the joints and makes clean cuts at corners harder to finish neatly.

Flat edge. The simplest option and the easiest to cut and finish at corners.

Ceramic or porcelain

Most wall subway tiles are glazed ceramic: lighter, easier to cut and perfectly suited to walls. Porcelain is denser and absorbs less water. It is the better choice where a subway-format tile is wanted on a floor, a hob or a bench, where it will take knocks. On a wall, a good ceramic tile is entirely adequate.

Grout: width, colour and type

Machine-made subway tiles are usually laid with a narrow joint of about 1.5 to 3mm. Handmade-look tiles need a slightly wider joint to absorb variation in size. Your tiler will set the joint to suit the tile, and it should stay consistent across the whole room.

Colour changes the look more than most people expect:

• Matching grout (white on white) gives a soft, even wall and hides small imperfections.
• Light grey grout still reads light but stays cleaner looking over time.
• Contrasting grout (dark on white) turns the wall into a graphic grid. It is a strong look, but it exaggerates any wandering joints.

Standard cement-based grout is common on walls. Epoxy or high-performance grouts resist staining and are often chosen inside the shower. Whatever the grout, internal corners and the junction with the bath or shower base should be finished with a flexible sealant rather than grout, because those joints move.

Trims and finishing the edges

The edge of a tiled area is where a subway wall looks either finished or unfinished. The main options are:

• Tiling to the ceiling, which avoids an exposed edge altogether and is the neatest result in a small room.
• Bullnose or rounded-edge tiles from the same range, for a traditional finish at a half-height wall.
• A pencil round or chair-rail tile to cap a wainscot height, which suits period houses.
• Metal or PVC trims, which are quick and durable on external corners but more visible.

Decide the finish of every edge before tiles are ordered, because matching trims are not always stocked and may need to be ordered in.

Set-out: the part that matters most

With a simple repeating tile, the layout does all the work. A good set-out usually means:

1. Starting from a level line, not the floor or bath. Floors fall toward the waste and baths are rarely perfectly level, so the first course is set from a laser or level line.
2. Centring on the focal point. The window, the vanity or the shower back wall is the most visible surface. Balance the tiles on it so cuts at each end are equal.
3. Avoiding slivers. A thin cut at the ceiling, a corner or around a window looks careless. Moving the starting line by half a tile often fixes it.
4. Planning around fittings. Tapware, niches, shower rails and mirror cabinets should land sensibly within the tile pattern rather than in awkward cuts.
5. Checking the wall is flat. Render or a new lining board may be needed first, especially on old masonry.

Quantities

Measure each wall, subtract only large openings, and add around 10 per cent for cuts and breakage — more for herringbone, chevron or handmade-look tiles where you need to blend boxes. Keep a few spare tiles after the job. Glazes change between production runs, and a replacement tile from a different batch rarely matches.

Where to go from here

Subway tiles are one part of a bathroom's tiling plan. Our bathroom tiling page covers floors, falls, movement joints and working with walls that are out of square, and bathroom renovations explains how tiling fits into the full rebuild. For what shapes the price of a renovation, see the renovation cost guide. If you're in Sydney's Inner West, we can measure the room and quote it.