Tile Trim, No Grout Gap..... And A Rant To Finish

[JonesP]

Ok I am fitting the tile trim L shaped aluminium profile around the window, Dave you are right, no grout gap against the tile looks better. I did put a bit of coloured silicone between just to seal the gap and it looks good, But do I have a grout gap in the reveal up against the tile trim ? I hope you know what I mean, or another pic is coming.
Ok my Rant. I am busting a gut to keep the tiles level, lippage wise, it's my first time tiling, I have a trade, Mechanical Engineering, a Fitter & Turner 40 years working to fine tolerances. Half way through the tiling I Google tile lippage to find out some tiles are f#####g warped. No wonder I am struggling. I am now checking the tiles and yes 50% are warped, I will keep them for cuts, bit late now but how the hell do warped tiles get through quality control ? Can you take warped tiles back to the shop and replace for straight ? I bought these online, a tile I seen in Topps found them online a lot cheaper, Wave Mist or something, Are they seconds ? So many bloody questions, this tiling game is a minefield. I am stressed, Tile Trim reveal, Grout ?

 

[JonesP]

Ok I am fitting the tile trim L shaped aluminium profile around the window, Dave you are right, no grout gap against the tile looks better. I did put a bit of coloured silicone between just to seal the gap and it looks good, But do I have a grout gap in the reveal up against the tile trim ? I hope you know what I mean, or another pic is coming.
Ok my Rant. I am busting a gut to keep the tiles level, lippage wise, it's my first time tiling, I have a trade, Mechanical Engineering, a Fitter & Turner 40 years working to fine tolerances. Half way through the tiling I Google tile lippage to find out some tiles are f#####g warped. No wonder I am struggling. I am now checking the tiles and yes 50% are warped, I will keep them for cuts, bit late now but how the hell do warped tiles get through quality control ? Can you take warped tiles back to the shop and replace for straight ? I bought these online, a tile I seen in Topps found them online a lot cheaper, Wave Mist or something, Are they seconds ? So many bloody questions, this tiling game is a minefield. I am stressed, Tile Trim reveal, Grout ?

What I meant was I am a tradesman, not this trade but I am fussy, good but bloody slow tiling lol

 

[Dave]

Welcome to our world 😂😂😂.
Use tile wedges and gaffa tape to ease out and pull in the trim the odd micro mm to get flush.

 

[Joe8189]

Ok I am fitting the tile trim L shaped aluminium profile around the window, Dave you are right, no grout gap against the tile looks better. I did put a bit of coloured silicone between just to seal the gap and it looks good, But do I have a grout gap in the reveal up against the tile trim ? I hope you know what I mean, or another pic is coming.
Ok my Rant. I am busting a gut to keep the tiles level, lippage wise, it's my first time tiling, I have a trade, Mechanical Engineering, a Fitter & Turner 40 years working to fine tolerances. Half way through the tiling I Google tile lippage to find out some tiles are f#####g warped. No wonder I am struggling. I am now checking the tiles and yes 50% are warped, I will keep them for cuts, bit late now but how the hell do warped tiles get through quality control ? Can you take warped tiles back to the shop and replace for straight ? I bought these online, a tile I seen in Topps found them online a lot cheaper, Wave Mist or something, Are they seconds ? So many bloody questions, this tiling game is a minefield. I am stressed, Tile Trim reveal, Grout ?

Hey JonesP

Like you I came from engineering (aviation) and I feel your pain 🙂. I take it you are doing this for a living now?
Tile trims should be bread and butter for you.😆 I found that there is a massive selection of different quality and styles its hard to choose. I tend to take the tile the customer is using and choose the trim that best suits both for looks and practicality. Some trims are designed with a grout stop and it gives a perfect gap. The ones without this gap definitely look better butted up to the tile but it can be difficult to achieve a good edge if the tiles are not perfectly aligned.
Regarding the lippage there are a good choice of levelling systems on the market. I tend to use a combination of 3 types. Large wedges 2mm, small yellow wedges 2mm with a curved base. These are quite good on an uneven wall. the last being a wind on reusable system, again great for twisted tiles or uneven walls.
Regarding the tiles you need to look out for rectified or non rectified. This can also cause a fair amount of pain as I've discovered in the past. The first batch of floor tiles laid perfectly but when I broke into the second batch, as I was laying the tiles they started to creep quite badly i.e not squaring up with the levelling pegs I was using (3mm) on checking the tile dimensions some of the tiles were 2mm out even with the directional arrows.
The only other advice I would say is prep and planning is the key to a good.
Good luck👍

 

[JonesP]

Hey JonesP

Like you I came from engineering (aviation) and I feel your pain 🙂. I take it you are doing this for a living now?
Tile trims should be bread and butter for you.😆 I found that there is a massive selection of different quality and styles its hard to choose. I tend to take the tile the customer is using and choose the trim that best suits both for looks and practicality. Some trims are designed with a grout stop and it gives a perfect gap. The ones without this gap definitely look better butted up to the tile but it can be difficult to achieve a good edge if the tiles are not perfectly aligned.
Regarding the lippage there are a good choice of levelling systems on the market. I tend to use a combination of 3 types. Large wedges 2mm, small yellow wedges 2mm with a curved base. These are quite good on an uneven wall. the last being a wind on reusable system, again great for twisted tiles or uneven walls.
Regarding the tiles you need to look out for rectified or non rectified. This can also cause a fair amount of pain as I've discovered in the past. The first batch of floor tiles laid perfectly but when I broke into the second batch, as I was laying the tiles they started to creep quite badly i.e not squaring up with the levelling pegs I was using (3mm) on checking the tile dimensions some of the tiles were 2mm out even with the directional arrows.
The only other advice I would say is prep and planning is the key to a good.
Good luck👍

Thanks Joe, no I could never do this for a living, I am to fussy and way to slow. My son is doing a house out so I said I would do the bathroom, sunk the wastes into the concrete floor and the supply water and rad pipes into the walls. I have put tile trim flush to the tiles, no grout and the reveal tiles flush to the trim on Dave's advice. If it goes **** up I will blame Dave lol. No it's looking good to be fair, I owe him a beer. I have borrowed my mates tile cutter which is absolutely *****, a huge McAllister score and snap that moves about 3mm off a marked line, so cutting with a 4.5" marcrist disk. Using tile leveling from pro tiler which are good for fine tuning. But the most useful thing I have is a length of 3x1 planed timber which a use off another wall as a ram or jamb. I haven't seen 1 in tilers tools in screwfix lol. Tile wedges ? I am gonna Google them, that is a new 1