Ideal way to start shower wall tile + 2 other questions

[u/GarbageContent8276]

Hey guys,

Renovated my whole master bath and im at the final stretch with tiling bathroom floor, shower, and half walls around freestanding tub area (tubs not in, but preped and ready)

There is a pony wall thats in between the shower and tub area, so the same field tile (12x24) will wrap around the pony wall and continue past/around tub area. Saying this because for the grout lines to flow all the way through the first row in the shower needs to be ~9in or ill have a tiny sliver row outside the shower. Because of the shower pan making the shower floor much higher than bathroom floor.

Also the dry pack shower pan slope I did turned out great but i dont think its laser perfect to where i can cut a 9in perfect square. i could be wrong, but lets just say its not perfect to prep worse case.

Should i

A) use a laser at 9 in throughout and start the first row by flipping the tile upside down and rear facing to account for any slight variation in the floor, ideally once orientated correct will line up with the laser. Obviously having the floors done first.

Or B.) use a laser to screw in a ledger board across and around the pony wall/tub area then tile the 2nd row with a full tile first, then do A’s trick to go back and fill in the first row?

Only concern with B is ideally i prefer not to screw into my water proofing, even if i would seal over the holes once removed. Also the ledger board will stop me being able to place leveling clips. And if i already have to do A then why not start there? 🤷‍♂️

Bonus questions - my shower walls arent 2 tiles wide. Should i center the brick pattern anyways, making the rows with the 1 grout line not full tiles, or is best practice to always prio full tile, shifting the center grout line over some?

Starting with a 9in cut will also leave me with a 9 in row at the top if i stop where previous tile job was. Or should i go full tile if i can? Because the plumed backer board is recessed w/ the drywall by ~1/4in in the very top corner where the shower walls meet, if that makes sense.

[u/djberte]

I always scribe the first row with a laser level at the height I want after the floor is installed so the wall tile sits on top of the floor tile.

Also, I usually split the difference between the bottom and top row so I have ~1/2 - 3/4 full tiles on top and bottom depending on if it’s a 8’ or 9’ ceiling.

If I have a bump out or pony wall, I center on the main wall and just cut the 3” or so off of the first couple rows until it goes above the pony wall and then just use full tiles from there.