speed tips?

[P'boro tiler]

im a bit slow and i know thats mostly because im still quite new to the business but does anybody have any tips of how to get the job done quicker?????
is it all about getting every cut right first time?
i only average about 5m2 a day lol

[whitebeam]

Check Mick the tilers posts he has a link to speed tiling, Good advise

[CJ]

Don't rush..........do it right the first time round.

Nothing worse than trying to speed up and making a pigs ear of it

[MICK the Tiler]

Don't be concerned about your speed. It will take a good 3 to 4 years of constant tiling to improve, Instead concentrate on quality first, this way as you hone your skills in time the speed will come, and hopefully the quality will remain. Build your reputation one tile at a time. Reputation is alot more important than speed, at this early stage of your buisness development. And a good reputation will keep you in the game for a whole lot longer.

[cornish_crofter]

In which case I'll probably never be that fast.

I do tiling as part of a wider portfolio of home improvements, I don't just do tiling.

It does seem though that tiling is going to be a sizable part of my work in the future.

Here are some tips that I found useful though.

Floors - consider taking up the skirting and plinths etc before tiling. These can be trimmed or replaced. I do this if the customer is happy for both floor tiles and laminates.

This allows you more latitude when cutting the sides. On our refurbishment I've been tiling before the skirtings are down. Some silicone after the skirtings have been painted works very well, or if you prefer just don't have grout lines against the skirtings.

Prepping - proper prepping saves stacks of time. Most seasoned tilers here will hear nothing new in this one but on Friday I struggled with a solid wall that I really should have put more time and effort into prepping. All the loose stuff was off but the wall had been rendered with a banana shaped float, then skimed on top. It took ages to get the tiles flat. Then later that day I started to tile a wall that I had replaced the plasterboard on for this very purpose. The old plasterboard had been tiled onto and was shot. I managed to tile at about 3 or 4 times the speed and was very happy with the results.

Ditto for the shower cubicle I did yesterday. I spent some time getting the walls straight. I used aquapanel for both sides of the corner to accept a quadrant shower cubicle. One side replaced a sheet of plasterboard, and the other was battened on top of the outside wall. This wall was completely wrecked as an old Mira shower mixer and the associated pipework had been chased into it! It wasn't particularly straight to start with.

The battens I put up were fine, it was the existing stud work on the adjacent corner that caused me some problems. One joist sat about 3 to 4 mm below the line of the other joists, so I had to pad it out with gripfill before screwing the aquapanel to it. This worked a treat.

As for angle grinders. I don't like the idea of using them for precision cuts. I'm not saying it doesn't work - it clearly does for some.

I managed to get one of these little used for £100. Belle Minitile.

The local builders merchant fancied going into tool hire, got his fingers burned and sold off some of their hire gear. This particular piece of kit had been used about 3 times when I got it.

[dangerSteve]

i only average about 5m2 a day lol

5m2 per day is plenty so long as the quality is good. Keep at it, speed comes with practice if you try forcing the pace this usually means your cutting corners and the job will look rough.

Steve.

[Bolter]

I agree, concentrate on quality, and the speed will come.

Sometimes with floors, you can leave out most awkward cuts, and beast down the meters. Then go back and cut all the cuts in in one hit. Travelling less times to your wet wheel/cutter has got to save you time.

Remove toilets/sinks if tiling behind them. Plumbers often leave me toilets just off the wall, and tiling behind them is possible, but crappy. Much easier and faster to remove it, and replace after tiling is complete.

Thats all I got for now...

[buckman81]

I agree quality over quantity and remember all those cuts take time when i started i thought i would never make any money i was so slow but the more you do the more you learn the quicker you get.

[Fred]

I was told by an old tiler when I started out, better 5m2 a day right than 10m2 wrong...........

[davy_G]

Buy good tools, they are an investment that will pay dividends many times.
A good powerful wet cutter with a good blade will eat porcelain.
A good plasterers mixer for floor addy.
A fein for trimming door stops and architraves & re-grouts.
These all cost alot but save me a fortune in time!

[pjc]

some peps are naturally fast some arnt as most say get it right thats more important :Pete

[Jonbgunner]

Hi, what are your views on the bell minitile? as i am torn between that tile cutter and the Vitrex Power Pro 750 Wet Saw? any help would be very much appreciated.

[AliGage]

Hi P'boro Tiler. Is it residential work you are doing? I am from, live and work in Peterborough. If it's residential around here you're doing 5m2 on an average day is about right.
We don't get many large bathrooms around these parts. It's a township town if that makes sense. Despite it being called a city and having our beautiful cathedral.
Brtton, Werrington, Orton even the Hamptons. Average bathroom size is 8' x 6'. 5 m2 a day is pretty good going.

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

sometimes a young lad to help you ,will give you a chance to concentrate on the tiling while he does menial tasks

[Dan]

I used to do the cutting first. Keeps the main guy tiling.

Hated getting wet though!

[Wingn]

Hi P'boro Tiler. Is it residential work you are doing? I am from, live and work in Peterborough. If it's residential around here you're doing 5m2 on an average day is about right.

Good rates in that part of the country? In N. Ireland, doing 5m2 a day would get you your home reposessed.

[prceramics]

5m2 per day kitchen splashback is ok

[AliGage]

5m2 per day in residential for the Peterborough area. I would say that's about right.

But by residential i mean not new builds or site work. Peterborough has grown quite rapidly since the early 70's. A large majority of the homes here are relatively new builds located in townships that have been around the city. That being said the average and most common size bathroom is 8' x 6' (2.4m x 1.8m in new money). So your window wall about 3.5sq metres. Your wall with the doorway in little 2" slithers down oneside and the shower pipes over the bath to cut would make you up to just over 5sq metres. That in my eyes to set out, tile including all cuts and tiles around pipework is a good days work.

And as PRCeramics said 5sq metres around a kitchen work surface tiled (and prehaps grouted) would also be a good days work in my opinion.

[Sir Ramic]

This thread is over 3 years old !!!!!

[charlie1]

All depends on how straight the walls or floor is!

[AliGage]

This thread is over 3 years old !!!!!

Really??? lol, i commented as it came up highlighted when i logged on this morning. Only drew my interest really because the creator was from Peterborough.

[Dan]

Jon pulled the thread back up originally, speed tips?

With a related questions I guess.

[prceramics]

This thread is over 3 years old !!!!!

Wonder if he has got faster

[Sir Ramic]

Jon pulled the thread back up originally, speed tips?

With a related questions I guess.

Ok but the OP hasnt been here since 2009 ! He is either so slow he gave up or so fast everythings a blur now ! lol