Tile behind or onto the rim of a bath

[Lamentable]

I want to try and fit a bath similar to this one:

The clearance left / right is pretty tight at 120mm each side and I intend to fully tile the room.

I contacted the manufacturer and they say:

"We recommend installing the bath first and then tiling down onto the rim. A bead of silicone can then be applied around the outside of the bath to prevent water going behind."

If I tile down onto the rim. should I then scribe the tiles each side to fit around the curve of the panel?

Or should I try and tile behind the bath which I think would be easier, then maybe install some sort of strip along the rim to stop water going behind?

Thanks.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

What would be the consequences of water getting under the bath? If under there is fully floored, tanked and has some ventilation then go the easy route (tile the whole wall).
If you have the normal situation under there (big holes for pipes etc) you'll be better off following MIs- their method gives you a double seal.
Scribing to that curve at the visible ends will be challenging, to be honest given the 5" of space you'll get I'd go with a different type of bath- with that small gap you're not going to get any real spacious feel, better off getting a rectangular 200mm longer and boxing in at the head end. Or leave the gap all at 1 end and put the radiator there

 

[Lamentable]

The floor will have have lvt plank or similar. Taps will come out of the wall above the rim. There will be limited ventilation.

Is there some kind of neat seal that can be bonded to the tiles and onto the rim of the bath that actually works?

If I was to tile around the rim and the try to fit the panel I guess it would proud at the front of the bath by the depth of the tile and adhesive.

Can the acrylic panel be cut at all to reduce its depth?

Point taken on the overall look and feel.

Thanks again.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Bit of a gamble then- you're more likely to get leakage round the bath if you fix to tile, will not be gallons but might well be enough to give that wet dog smell (splash leaks will be much less likely if you don't have a shower head there).
There are seals (Google bath splashback seals, see what comes up) but the neat ones hide the upstand behind the tiles. Nowt stopping you continuing the tiles below said seal, just have to set your tiles out carefully and think how you'll handle the transition from top straight edge to curvy side edge.
Low odds you'd be able to trim the side panel successfully, you'd have a better chance of inserting and trimming the tiles to follow the curve. Certainly mistakes will be cheaper (1 tile rather than probably £50-worth of moulded plastic)