Not sure I think too much about this. I recently saw a newly renovated condo with very nicely remodeled bathrooms, with matching tiles on all three walls, the floor, and the ceiling of the shower space. It looks to me the ceiling is covered with the same sort of tiles as the shower walls and floor.

I keep thinking perhaps having such big, heavy pieces of tiles on the ceiling is a bad idea. Heaven forbid if one of those big heavy tiles should fall off and hit someone’s head. Last I had my shower space remodeled, I picked tiny tiles for the ceiling just because of that worry.

So ... how common is it for big heavy tiles to fall off from a shower stall’s ceiling? Does this really happen or do I just worry too much?

Depends on how good the tile setter is. If there isn't enough adhesive they can fall down. Risk is higher with large format tiles.

We had 4"x4" tiles (certainly not very big nor heavy) on the ceiling of the bath enclosures in our 1960s vintage bathrooms, and not a single one fell down before we finally remodeled the baths around 2008. The mastic from that era had to be pretty dried out so it's not uncommon for them to start falling off. The relatively small size/low weight of the tiles meant they stayed in place anyway.

We used solid surface material for our shower enclosure on the walls and the ceiling when we remodeled. But that's a single piece for each surface, and the ceiling is held up by three walls plus the glue they use.

Why tile the ceiling.
Just looked at the shower ceiling in the $$$$ condo we are in. No tiles. This is in the tropics where tiles are popular.
Not sure I have seen ceiling tiles.

quote:

Originally posted by CHAS:
Why tile the ceiling.
Just looked at the shower ceiling in the $$$$ condo we are in. No tiles. This is in the tropics where tiles are popular.
Not sure I have seen ceiling tiles.

Popular in older houses around here. You hardly see tiled shower ceilings in newer houses.

Very unlikely to get moisture in the mastic as water does not travel up. If you had a light in the ceiling that might be a different story. I wouldn't tile the ceiling myself, but I like a light in there to shave in the shower.

We just redid our bathroom and tiled the shower ceiling. Our tiles are 6" square ceramic, so not super heavy, but I guess it would still hurt if one clocked you in the head on its way down. Still, having dealt with mold and mildew on the painted shower ceiling in my last house and in the non-remodeled bathroom in this house and knowing that this shower would probably be more prone to that because it's like it's own enclosed room where the ceiling doesn't connect to the rest of the bathroom ceiling, I figured tiling would be wise. We do have a light - we just tiled around it.

We finished the ceiling in the shower/tub area for the same reason that Lisa did. We've seen too many peeling paint situations in shower surrounds.

And we have recessed lights, too.

Every time I see this thread title I think "...and pink champagne on ice."