Discussion
Tilers are the new Plumbers
must be a massive shortage out there, cause what used to cost £25-30 per sq/m now costs £45 upwards.......& thats before you start on porcelain, extra cuts etc etc
A good/reasonably priced tiler is like gold dust these days, thats why ive got one & wont recommend him to anyone..............that is, until hes finished my place
must be a massive shortage out there, cause what used to cost £25-30 per sq/m now costs £45 upwards.......& thats before you start on porcelain, extra cuts etc etc
A good/reasonably priced tiler is like gold dust these days, thats why ive got one & wont recommend him to anyone..............that is, until hes finished my place
If your walls are anything other than flat and square then save yourself a lot of swearing and get somebody else to do it. If you're just doing a tiled splashback or bath surround then DIY.
If you are DIY inclined and patient then the tools can be bought very cheaply from B&Q;
£15 for a reasonable quality cutter
£25 for a diamond wheel cutter
Just bear in mind that the tiling is a decorative finish that you;ll be stuck with for a long time.
If you are DIY inclined and patient then the tools can be bought very cheaply from B&Q;
£15 for a reasonable quality cutter
£25 for a diamond wheel cutter
Just bear in mind that the tiling is a decorative finish that you;ll be stuck with for a long time.
wedge girl said:
Those tiny mosaics are a pain though, even if they are mesh backed, so I'd avoid those for your first attempt.
Tiled my bathroom recently, first time I'd done any tiling so I used nice large tiles and it seems to have worked out pretty well 
Had some smaller ones for adding some detail and those were much more fiddly. Used one of the cheap electric cutters from B&Q and didn't break a single tile... Cut a few the wrong size due to my own stupidity though
Oh I didn't bother removing the existing tiles either, tiling over them seemed easier and I could get away with it - no exposed edges. I found tiling large areas dead easy and really fast. Corners and other narrow bits were more time consuming, but still not overly difficult. Don't rush here and I'm sure you'll be fine... Can't be too hard if I can do it
I'm in the middle of tiling a bathroom using those Travertine marble tiles - the ones like stone (well, they are stone, aren't they...) but with lots of holes in. they look great, but you can't grout like glazed tiles - it's more like tiny repointing! takes forever to do a small section! Look great though...
Take your time, and step back frequently to see if you're happy with the pattern/alignment. Use panel pins to hold up the weight of tiles, if you're using quarry tiles or other "heavy" tiles. Use spacers if you prefer to get the gaps right. Although it's time-consuming, I prefer to butter the back of the tiles, rather than the wall - a lot less messy!
Oh, and don't be tempted to finish the grout off with your fingers - use a proper plastic grout shaper tool - that way you don't (**ahem**) get sore finger ends the next day!
Take your time, and step back frequently to see if you're happy with the pattern/alignment. Use panel pins to hold up the weight of tiles, if you're using quarry tiles or other "heavy" tiles. Use spacers if you prefer to get the gaps right. Although it's time-consuming, I prefer to butter the back of the tiles, rather than the wall - a lot less messy!
Oh, and don't be tempted to finish the grout off with your fingers - use a proper plastic grout shaper tool - that way you don't (**ahem**) get sore finger ends the next day!
in general not too bad, but invest in a diamond cutter. I had to tile with mosaic tiles in out last house. Not the mesh backed oned , large solid ones, but due to the design there were natural week points which made the score and snap method of tile cutting a complete Bstard.
Bear in mind if you take the old tiles off it may make a hell of a mess of the wall
Bear in mind if you take the old tiles off it may make a hell of a mess of the wall
bor said:
Yup, I'll second that. I regrouted the bathroom last week and the skin has peeled off my fingers. It bloody hurts too.
How did you remove the old grout ? Should re-do the shower at some point.
It had pretty much removed itself. TBH it was just a quick touch up whilst I sell the house. Cue cries of "Bastard". But you could use an old knife or knackerd screwdriver.
nubbin said:
I prefer to butter the back of the tiles, rather than the wall - a lot less messy!
Yep I did my kitchen using that method worked really well.
I just purchased a metal ruler and a carbide tipped scorer then just used a match to break the tile. Worked fine for me but depends what size, thickness, type you are using.
As for plug sockets, unscrew them a bit put the tile under the edges of the plug then screw plug down so it sits on the tile. Looks neater than trying to tile round it and you dont have to worry so much about the edges.
miniman said:
Oh - and don't assume you need to remove the old tiles first. I did when I fitted a new kitchen. Removing tiles from plasterboard walls is a right royal pain in the arse. I should have just tiled straight over the old stuff.
Old tiles (as long as they're reasonably flat) are one of the best surfaces for tiling onto!
In our old flat I was re-tiling the small bathroom and decided to remove the existing tiles as they were only on 2 walls whereas I was putting new ones on all 4. What a ****ard! Whoever had done them had tiled straight onto bare plasterboard rather than sealing the surface, so there was no way they were coming off. Ended up having to re-build most of an entire stud wall. Added just a little bit of time & effort to the job!
In answer to the original question, tiling's pretty easy. Suitable spacers such as matchsticks or those little plastic crosses make for a neat finish (remove them when the adhesive's set before grouting).
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