ᐅ Tiles first or base coat first?

Hello everyone,

What did you do first? Tiling or applying the fine/top plaster?

My approach: Advantage of tiling first is that I expect a nicer finish when plastering afterwards around the baseboards to get a better fit.
Advantage of applying the top plaster first: well,... the plasterers can’t cause as much damage since they have to work on scaffolding due to the room height. Less dust overall as well.

I’m curious to hear your opinions! :-)

First plaster, then walls and ceilings, followed by the floor, then doors, and finally baseboards. Baseboards always last!

Some say to install baseboards only after a year, due to settlement cracks.

If the tiles are not going all the way to the ceiling, first attach the tiles to the wall and then apply plaster to level out to the thickness of the tiles. That’s how I do it, and it simply looks better. Tiles are durable. If you’re worried, you can tape them off.

First there was plaster, then the screed, followed by the tiles. After that, we applied filler, sanding, fiberglass mesh, and latex. In the end, the doors and skirting boards were installed—only the ones for the tiles were already in place, as he cut those directly from tiles. He then sealed everything; he was an expert at that.

With us, the tiling was done first, followed by the plastering. The plasterer was absolutely excellent and carefully masked everything, which of course was charged by the hour. However, the cost was worth it. There was not a single defect on the tiles, and the advantage was that the plasterer was able to neatly plaster the baseboards.

Typically, the plaster is applied first, followed by the screed, and then all the floor coverings. This is the simplest and most cost-effective method. Any other variations require more precise work and will incur additional costs.