Hi,
I laid down 13"by13" tile for my bathroom floor, and it looks pretty good. I have enough tile left over to make a tile baseboard. The width could be anywhere from 3 inches to 6.5 inches. What would be best? Would the finish edge at the top look strange? How could I make it look best? Thanks for your help!

Just my opinion. But, I think that a squared off edge at the top of a baseboard for tile might not be as attractive as one the has a bullnose or slant to it. Plus, dirt and debris are going to collect more easily on top of a squared off edge.

You could possibly put a wooden edging on top of the tile baseboard that would make it look finished and then paint it the same color as the tile.

Just an idea.

I agree with Clough... especially if you used porcelain tile, because the color does not go all the way through. Your cut edge along the top will be a totally different color (the substrate) unless you buy bullnose pieces. There's no way to machine it yourself because of the color problem. On the other hand, if you used natural stone, granite, etc, then the material is the same throughout and you CAN grind and polish it to a nice edge. This is extremely intensive work and requires great skill to not look shoddy.

I'd go with a wooden edge treatment or bullnose tile, or some other kind of edge.

Oh, one other option is to create an edge with your Grout. You can round it off, hiding the color difference with the cut tile edge. This is MUCH more difficult than it sounds, believe me. Grout doesn't cooperate with this idea. It can be done, but it's lots of patient work.

Anyway, best of luck!


PS - I forgot, one more option: Metal. Tile stores (and even home depot but with limited color choices) sell metal tile edging. I've used this a few times and it really makes a nice edge. But it is FLAT, so it's going to collect dust and stuff. Aside from that drawback, it comes out nice. Buy the correct thickness for your tile and it fits right in tight.

I've also used metal tile edging (transition piece) on the top of my tile baseboard, as well a plastic (though it doesn't look as professional).
Personally I have also used simple caulking to finish off the tops of my tile baseboards. It actually comes off looking pretty good and is easy and inexpensive. There are many choices, you just need to pick what works best for you.

Here's an example of the plastic edging that Easy was talking about...



One of the things that makes the job look better is the use of the inside and outside corner pieces so you are not trying to make miters that might not line up just right. They are worth the added expense to make it look that much more pleasing to the eye. Schluter probably has the largest color pallet for pvc and metals in 1/4", 5/16", 3/8" and 1/2".