Tiling DIY Style

trotter_inc · 16-05-2006 2:43pm #1

Just bought a house and am thinking of doing a bit of tiling myself to save a few quid.

Some of my firends have said they've done their own tyling but dont believe some of them

Many ppl here do their own tiling?

I would like to be able to do my own but am afraid I'll mess it up, looked up some sites describing how its done and they all describe as "easy once you know what you're doing".

What do ppl think here?

trotter_inc · 16-05-2006 3:09pm

How much do tilers charge these days? Per square metre?

Thanks

Litcagral · 16-05-2006 3:12pm

trotter_inc wrote:

Just bought a house and am thinking of doing a bit of tiling myself to save a few quid.

Some of my firends have said they've done their own tyling but dont believe some of them Many ppl here do their own tiling?

I would like to be able to do my own but am afraid I'll mess it up, looked up some sites describing how its done and they all describe as "easy once you know what you're doing".

What do ppl think here?

Yes I do all my own tiling. It's reasonably straightforward if you're fairly 'handy'. It's can be time consuming especially where there are lots of cuts to be made. You would be better to begin in an unconspicuous area such as an en-suite bathroom, to build your confidence. A modern house is relatively easiy to tile as the walls will be reasonably straight in comparison to some old houses.

I do it myself because I think I do a better job than professional tilers. They always seem to be rushing, take short-cuts and can generally be sloppy.

trotter_inc · 16-05-2006 3:17pm

Litcagral wrote:

Yes I do all my own tiling. It's reasonably straightforward if you're fairly 'handy'. It's can be time consuming especially where there are lots of cuts to be made. You would be better to begin in an unconspicuous area such as an en-suite bathroom, to build your confidence. A modern house is relatively easiy to tile as the walls will be reasonably straight in comparison to some old houses.

I do it myself because I think I do a better job than professional tilers. They always seem to be rushing, take short-cuts and can generally be sloppy.

Good points, I was planning on doing just the floors, get someone to do the shower walls and any other walls.

How would you cut around round shapes like the toilet and wash basin? I've seen tile cutters (non-electrical) but they look like they'd only cut the tiles straight. WOuld you need any electric type to cut circular tiles?

Litcagral · 16-05-2006 3:25pm

trotter_inc wrote:

Good points, I was planning on doing just the floors, get someone to do the shower walls and any other walls.

How would you cut around round shapes like the toilet and wash basin? I've seen tile cutters (non-electrical) but they look like they'd only cut the tiles straight. WOuld you need any electric type to cut circular tiles?

I have both electrical and manual. Manual is OK for straight cuts on wall tiles and it's much cleaner than the electrical cutter but it's not suitable for floor tiles which are generally much thicker. Some people use an angle grinder with appropriate disc. You can also use manual pliers type snips to break off small pieces.

trotter_inc · 16-05-2006 3:48pm

Litcagral wrote:

I have both electrical and manual. Manual is OK for straight cuts on wall tiles and it's much cleaner than the electrical cutter but it's not suitable for floor tiles which are generally much thicker. Some people use an angle grinder with appropriate disc. You can also use manual pliers type snips to break off small pieces.

how much did the electric cutter cost you?

is this the only option for cutting circular pieces, I will be doing mainly floor tiles...

AdrianR · 16-05-2006 4:51pm

I've done a lot of tiling, walls and floors.

Last price I heard tilers were charging around Dublin was €20 sq yd for straight tiling, could be more now. Cheaper "down the country".

Also, don't know where you are but tiles are very expensive in Dublin, much cheaper "down the country".

Some tips:

Tile under the toilet and sink pedistal not around if at all possible i.e. take out the toilet and sink pedistal first.

Avoid porcelene tiles, these are a completly different beast than ceramic, extreamly hard and very difficult to cut and drill.

Get a tile cutter which is big enough to fit the tile into (corner to corner if required). I bought one in Aldi for €18 to try out, I figured as it was so cheap that if it was crap so what it would have cost me more to hire a tile cutter for 1 day. I ended up tiling 4 bathrooms with it and I still have it, The Aldi tile cutter also has a hole cutter which was excellent, I cut one 110mm hole for an air vent, and several smaller for rad pipes (rads weren't installed when I did the tiling)

A small 4inch grinder with diamond blade is very handy for cutting awkard bits.

If I think of anything else I edit here.

Litcagral · 16-05-2006 5:08pm

trotter_inc wrote:

how much did the electric cutter cost you?

is this the only option for cutting circular pieces, I will be doing mainly floor tiles...

I think it was about £50 a few years ago - closing down sale in Rocca Tiles.

Litcagral · 16-05-2006 5:13pm

AdrianR wrote:

I've done a lot of tiling, walls and floors.

Last price I heard tilers were charging around Dublin was €20 sq yd for straight tiling, could be more now. Cheaper "down the country".

Also, don't know where you are but tiles are very expensive in Dublin, much cheaper "down the country".

Some tips:

Tile under the toilet and sink pedistal not around if at all possible i.e. take out the toilet and sink pedistal first.

Avoid porcelene tiles, these are a completly different beast than ceramic, extreamly hard and very difficult to cut and drill.

QUOTE]

Yes the price of tilers varies greatly - I would have thought about €30 per sq metre as a ballpark figure.

Good point about removing the tiolet bowl and pedestal. I also take off the door in a small bathroom - makes things much easier.

sapper · 16-05-2006 5:26pm

Yeah, tiling is fine - I do all my own, but that's not to say I didn't make mistakes along the way! These include

- spending money on those silly manual tile cutters - just spend the EUR50 on an electric one. They make a lot of noise, and look pretty mean at first, but once you get the hang of them you won't need anything else.

- trying to tile in a straight line "by eye" - it might look okay for the first row, but once you get to the 4th row you're all over the place. Use spacers, battens, straight edges etc to guide you - just like it says in the books

- trying to fix wall tiles directly on to wood/plasterboard - seal it with PVA first

- trying to tile on uneven surfaces - the tiles will crack

- not buying edging trim for outward facing corners - if you don't use them, the job will look amateur

- using the adhesive/grout mix. Buy a bucket/bag of adhesive and a separate bucket/bag of grout

- not finishing off grout properly - use a rubber spreader, and once applied run your wet finger lightly in between the tiles, this finishes it off nicely

- buying small tiles - they may look good, but you won't be saying that after you've cut one for the 200th time. If you can get away with it buy big tiles- less grouting and less cutting

- also, go over to www.diynot.co.uk - they've got a huge forum with it's own section on tiling. Just like here you normally can get an answer pretty quickly

ctrl-alt-delete · 16-05-2006 10:55pm

sapper wrote:

- spending money on those silly manual tile cutters - just spend the EUR50 on an electric one.

The manual ones are the best for straight cuts alright, but only if its a good tile cutter e.g. a Sigma one, mine did cost me about €300 but it was worth it.

Id only use the wet saw for cutting "L" shaped tiles, but id still scribe it on the plate cutter, gives you the line to follow, then you only have to cut one of the lines, then snap the other on the manual cutter.

Agree with all your other points. Spacers are a must, and planning is essential.

As for grouting, i wouldnt rub my bare finger down the joints (if thats what you meant) wear a glove or something, as the grout will eat away at your skin and break it open.

To the OP, to be honest, in my opinion id say tiling walls are much easier than floors. Could just be me though

Salem · 17-05-2006 7:26am

Hey tilers,
I'm about to start a tiling job meself ... In lifting the jacks to put tiles under as opposed to around, would this not effect the mounting of the cistern and the water pipe if I'm raising all by about 3/8" ??
Sorry lads ...

trotter_inc · 17-05-2006 8:28am

Salem wrote:

Hey tilers,
I'm about to start a tiling job meself ... In lifting the jacks to put tiles under as opposed to around, would this not effect the mounting of the cistern and the water pipe if I'm raising all by about 3/8" ??
Sorry lads ...

I was thinking about that the same, sounds a bit messy lifting the toilet and sink out, would be afraid that I wouldnt get it back in and secured properly!

trotter_inc · 17-05-2006 8:30am

sapper wrote:

b

- not buying edging trim for outward facing corners - if you don't use them, the job will look amateur

do you mean those white (usually) plastic edging that goes up against the corner of the skirting and on top of the tiles?

Litcagral · 17-05-2006 8:33am

trotter_inc wrote:

I was thinking about that the same, sounds a bit messy lifting the toilet and sink out, would be afraid that I wouldnt get it back in and secured properly!

Yes it can be awkward and would probably neccessitate the use of a plumber. If the toilet is the only one in the house it may not be worth it as it will be out of action for a couple of days. A close coupled toilet is more difficult than the traditional type as the bowl and cistern need to be moved. That said, it does look better when completed.

trotter_inc · 17-05-2006 8:35am

Seen this tile cutter here (http://www.lenehans.ie/lenehans/Main/product2.asp?ProdID=71) - anyone know if its any good? Its cheap so Im a little weary...

Litcagral · 17-05-2006 8:50am

trotter_inc wrote:

Seen this tile cutter here (http://www.lenehans.ie/lenehans/Main/product2.asp?ProdID=71) - anyone know if its any good? Its cheap so Im a little weary...

I'd say it would be fine. I disagree with sapper about the manual tile cutters. They are perfect for straight cuts. With a wet electrical cutter you will probably need do the cuts outside or in a shed which means a lot of running up and down stairs. It is also very noisy so you can't really work late at night (in a built up area). The manual is much more straightforward, quiet and clean (for straight cuts).

sapper · 17-05-2006 9:01am

trotter_inc wrote:

do you mean those white (usually) plastic edging that goes up against the corner of the skirting and on top of the tiles?

Yup sounds like you have the right thing - they all sold in strips about 5ft long and cost about EUR12 these days. They have them in Lenehans as well...

Re. the tile cutter, don't mind me, the electric one is noisy and does mean you can only really tile at weekends with a lot of running up and down. It's just the only time I tried using the manual ones I kept cracking the tiles instead of getting a clean cut - seems like I still have some stuff to learn!

Regarding the toilet, you might be unlucky in that there is not enough give in the cold water feed pipe to raise it up 5mm , (try it though - copper pipes can take a good bit of stress). But if you're taking the toilet out, you have isolated the water feed anyway and it really is a simple job to replace/add on to the piping if you have to. Also try just replacing the fixings back where they were (you will have to get a special tile drill bit to drill through the tiles) - if it doesn't work your bog will be a bit wobbly until you get longer screws - no big deal.

I took out my close couplied toilet last Sat to re-tile and I still haven't got round to fixing it back in place! I fixed the four tiles underneath, left it for 2 hours, applied the grout, left it for another hour and then re-hooked the toilet to the soil pipe and the cold water feed. You're supposed to leave both the adhesive and the grout for 24 hours to dry/cure - but I only have one toilet, so I had to do it quickly. If you have to put your only toilet out of action, then I would concentrate on that and aim to get that finished in one day and worry about the rest later

I would recommend that if you're getting into doing-it-yourself you buy the Collins DIY book in any good book shop - I find it has much better detail then anything you can find on the internet and all this stuff is covered in detail...

trotter_inc · 17-05-2006 9:10am

sapper wrote:

Yup sounds like you have the right thing - they all sold in strips about 5ft long and cost about EUR12 these days. They have them in Lenehans as well...

Do you glue them on or nail them to the skirting?

Also, would you put this around the bath also? I just want to make sure that I can get access underneath the bath in case there is a problem...

Thanks a mill for all these replies lads, is giving me more cofidence in doing it myself...

sapper · 17-05-2006 10:56am

Actually - not sure we are on the same page re tile trim/edging. Here is what tile trim looks like

http://www.tilerite.co.uk/CatPage.asp?CategoryCode=73

The first two are the most common type. You use these whenever you can see the side of a tile (ie. an outward facing corner or a top row of tiles halfway up a wall). You pop a length of this stuff under the tiles before you fix them with adhesive, and they hide the edges. Go have a look at your nearest bathroom - you should see this somewhere.

Leave the bottom of the bath alone - you are right in that you might need to take off the panel to access underneath someday

The bath trim is a good idea fpr the top rim of the bath after you after tiled around it, but you should run a bead of silione around the bath before fixing it, as the bath trims aren't water tight. That reminds me - you should always use silicone on top of grout on inward facing corners - that's were the moisture collects

If you are tiling above skirting, you shouldn't really need to use trim, as you won't see the tile edges. But you should perhaps think about getting rid of the skirting board altogether in the bathroom. The bathroom will be damp after showers etc and also when skirting gets dirty it can be pretty hard to clean. Tiles all the way down to the floor looks a lot less minging

trotter_inc · 17-05-2006 11:26am

sapper wrote:

Actually - not sure we are on the same page re tile trim/edging. Here is what tile trim looks like

http://www.tilerite.co.uk/CatPage.asp?CategoryCode=73

Ah ok I see what you mean, I had something similar in mind alright but I didnt realise that you could get ones especially for tiles... thanks... makes it a lot clearer now...

ctrl-alt-delete · 17-05-2006 7:03pm

sapper wrote:

The bath trim is a good idea fpr the top rim of the bath after you after tiled around it, but you should run a bead of silione around the bath before fixing it, as the bath trims aren't water tight. That reminds me - you should always use silicone on top of grout on inward facing corners - that's were the moisture collects

I heard what seems like a good tip on here before im sure (seems as in i havnt tested it) but when you are tiling the bath area fill the bath up and leave it full. this way if there is any movement in the bath it will be down near enough to its lower limit. This should stop any movement causing breaking of grout joints in the future.

Litcagral · 17-05-2006 7:07pm

ctrl-alt-delete wrote:

I heard what seems like a good tip on here before im sure (seems as in i havnt tested it) but when you are tiling the bath area fill the bath up and leave it full. this way if there is any movement in the bath it will be down near enough to its lower limit. This should stop any movement causing breaking of grout joints in the future.

Or even better - get into the bath with herself.

ctrl-alt-delete · 17-05-2006 11:55pm

Litcagral wrote:

Or even better - get into the bath with herself.

yeah could work either

trotter_inc · 18-05-2006 8:45am

trotter_inc wrote:

Seen this tile cutter here (http://www.lenehans.ie/lenehans/Main/product2.asp?ProdID=71) - anyone know if its any good? Its cheap so Im a little weary...

Is there a way of telling if this is run from the mains? It doesnt specify... would it need to be plugged into one of those yellow converter boxes?

Thanks

Litcagral · 18-05-2006 8:55am

trotter_inc wrote:

Is there a way of telling if this is run from the mains? It doesnt specify... would it need to be plugged into one of those yellow converter boxes?

Thanks

Probably be OK as it's advertised as "DIY". (I always think it's a bit strange that professionals are subjected to more safety procedures that amateurs)

trotter_inc · 18-05-2006 9:14am

Litcagral wrote:

Probably be OK as it's advertised as "DIY". (I always think it's a bit strange that professionals are subjected to more safety procedures that amateurs)

Ah ok - nice one - thanks!

trotter_inc · 21-07-2006 3:06pm

hey guys...

just about to start tiling my en-suite floor... its a brand new house and the floor is already covered with wood, not sure what type or anything (its not wooden flooring or anything)... is it ok to tile on top of this, or should I put anything else on top of it??

thanks for the help...

delly · 21-07-2006 3:28pm

Have never tiled in my life, but I do remember being told if you are going to tile an upstairs floor you need to screw down a fixed wooden base (possibly marine plywood?), as if its not screwed down fully, the floorboards underneath may expand and crack the tiles. Not sure if this is the case, but what you propose may conflict with this theory.

squire1 · 21-07-2006 3:49pm

Basically if your timber sub floor moves then your tiles or grout will crack. You need to have a waterproof timber floor screwed down (use loads of screws). You will also need to use special adhesive which is used for tiles on timber bases. After that its easy.

trotter_inc · 24-07-2006 7:36am

squire1 wrote:

Basically if your timber sub floor moves then your tiles or grout will crack. You need to have a waterproof timber floor screwed down (use loads of screws). You will also need to use special adhesive which is used for tiles on timber bases. After that its easy.

ok cool, thanks squire1...

Tiling DIY Style

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