Cleanliness

[Morton_Tiling]

Hi all

although I am a new tiler, I am aware that tiling is messy job. I just wanted to know what tips and advice more experienced tilers could give. I seem to make a trail of debris evey where I work, addy everywhere and the likes of trowels in the addy bucket handle first. I like to think that a clean manageable working area helps you work more quickly and efficiantly

I know its all common sense stuff but just after some general pointers. like ensuring customers stuff is protected, workng areas, not getting absolutly pitted and the missus going mad with me ruining yet another set of trousers. Like I said, more experienced tilers wouldnt give it a second thought but when you are new and concentraing and in the zone, keeping on top of cleaning around comes last.

thanks

[Dave Ramsden]

Im always in the zone.... and Im always messy :P

[doug boardley]

I always take something to ths skip when I go out for a ciggie, it stops it getting to messy, as for trowel handle in adhesive,still not worked out how to stop that one!

[Morton_Tiling]

I bought a new dust sheet didnt last 5 mins before its caked. been using a 12m2 tapolin (or however you spell it.) wipes clean. does addy ,dust and general tile juice come off patios/ drives easy? bloody hope it does...

[TilingLogistics]

Keep the amount of gear in the work area to an absolute minimum where possible.
Once you have finished with something wash it down and put it away. Keep a bar towel clipped to your trousers to wipe your fingers instead of wiping them on your trousers.
Wash down and wipe as you go it saves hours afterwards.
If your laying floor tiles keep a dishwashing brush in your washing water to clean between the grout joints as you go.

I am sure others will come up with more

Kev

[doug boardley]

I find tarps get slippy and dangerous when wet, you can get carpet protector on a roll,for walking through customers house,bit pricey but cheaper than a new carpet.Addy can be a real pain to get off drives esp tarmac, dust and "tile juice" should wash off with a hose and yard brush

[grumpygrouter]

unfortunately tiling is simply a messy job. You will learn to keep yourself clean and tidy otherwise you will take longer to do the job than is necessary. This costs you money!

I find that 30-40% of my time is taken by cleaning on any job!!!! Smaller jobs take proportionally longer than bigger jobs as it is more stop/start.

[Morton_Tiling]

good tips there. cheers fellas.

its the simpl and obvious things like having a towel ather than your trousers. Do you get carpet protector from most carpet shops or is is a more specialized thing. cold you use it over hard flor coverings and work tops sinks etc. too?

[grumpygrouter]

good tips there. cheers fellas.

its the simpl and obvious things like having a towel ather than your trousers. Do you get carpet protector from most carpet shops or is is a more specialized thing. cold you use it over hard flor coverings and work tops sinks etc. too?

Check out TradeTiler, they have a cracker of a stair protector that fits really well onto kitchen worktops etc. Also decorators dust sheets help enormously as well.

[silver]

Hi,
Although its only as a surface cover I use wallpaper on worktops face down so the chintzy patterns dont show !! ha ha its almost the right width and I tape it down....also cover the cupboard fronts too. This saves loads of mess and speeds the tidy up too. Screw it up and bin it. Most jobs the kitchen is "upside down" anyway cuz of the work going on and nine time out of ten the customer will let you leave it on till the next day.(I have a mate in the printing industry ...so supply is usually no problem). Backing paper aint that expensive tho so if I run out between, I have used that on occasion. If added protection is needed place on top of this cardboard or folded dustsheets.
You will get tidier and cleaner as you go.....cuz it does p*** you off eventually and slows the job. Try to be really clean when tiling wipe down any finger marks as you go and keep the grout lines clear so the clean down prior to grouting is minimal.
You will be suprised how much you get done quicker once you settle into a routine...
when I started I was worrying about time taken will it be done etc....thats what made me messier than I wanted to be...
I know I will rec some stick here but !!!..... I use the latex gloves too. You can still wipe them on a towel cuz they are tight.
They are cheap and keep ya hands clean.....Having worked with chemicals for over 20 years before starting tiling, part of it is habit....the rest is seeing what dermatitis is like.....it will stop you working if you get it. Nowt to do with feel of latex honest !
I will put me hard hat on here and now....be gentle with me guys !

[grumpygrouter]

Nothing wrong with latex gloves, I use marigolds myself. You will find most of the guys who contribute on here use gloves too so you can take you hat off again.

[LM Ceramics]

being clean is my biggest downfall and everyone tells me that ive been in the game nearly 4 years im cleaner than wat i were but i still have a lot of improving to do i have now a bucket with cleaning products and about a thousand dust sheets to cover everywhere and a bucket of water spare with a sponge to keep my hands clean

no matter how good a tiler you are if your messy then it will always be remembered and very hard habit to break out of

im still learning to clean up properly after this time its so easy but so boring but its got to be done

[doug boardley]

I think I may have said it before,on private jobs, the first thing I get out of my van is my henry,tends to put customers at ease

[BDS]

Most of my customers comment and say i`m the cleanest tradesperson they`ve had in (the wife says its cos i`ve got OCD) ,cos i do my work clean up and leave it as clean as it was before i started,in some minor cases/jobs cleaner than it ever was .just done a job with a friend and he`s got to be the messyest tiler ever

[macten]

The trowel handle in the adhesive - god I hate it when that happens, and it happens all the time

[AllurePTS]

yeah, I'm a bit "over" clean too .....I hate getting everything covered in goo and getting it everywhere

[user123]

cos i do my work clean up and leave it as clean as it was before i started,in some minor cases/jobs cleaner than it ever was - oooh, perfection....

[Morton_Tiling]

I think I may have said it before,on private jobs, the first thing I get out of my van is my henry,tends to put customers at ease

How much do you pay henry? is he your cleaning slave?

Nice idea about the wallpaper!! Do you guys get rid of the customers waste for them too? off cuts and the like? I am not sure about other regions but in Middlesbrough I am allowed 12 tips a year and I think its £40 a tip after that. For nowt if I pile the rubbish in the car mind and go down.

[Fekin]

I would always leave tile waste etc with customer.

[whitebeam]

If you carry waste in your van thought you had to have a waste transfer licence

[user123]

If you carry waste in your van thought you had to have a waste transfer licence

WHAAATTT??? That would be shocking...surely not!

[Fekin]

erm... yes.

Any trades person needing to just drive around with trade waste of any kind has to have a waste carrying licence.

Just yet another example of how crazy tax hungry this country is

[Morton_Tiling]

Perhaps your right with that one. I get asked " Is it your own waste mate?" so I say yes. I`m probably being a bit naive about it but I never get questioned and I dont clear rubbish away for every customer only the ones that I have supplied the materials on.

[doug boardley]

beurocracy gone mad, only encourages fly tipping

[whitebeam]

Check this site http://www.charnwood.gov.uk/files/do...arrierslic.pdf

Covers the waste transfer licence

[BDS]

I always put skip price in with quote (if its a complete rip out) to give them an option or they can take it instead,but if i take it to local tip they`ll charge me silly money,even if i take personal stuff to my local tip in my van like grass cuttings/cardboard boxs etc etc etc non work related things they still want to charge me just cos i`m in my work van

[user123]

beurocracy gone mad, only encourages fly tipping

I must admit, I'm shocked, but really good to know this. What about service to the customer, the alround feel good factor and environmental issues? We have a really good tip just up the road, so it's easy for us, but when dealing with elderly people or those without transport or those in flats, leaving them with a mess can't be right...definitely bureaucracy...that's just weird. And how much would such a license be, to be allowed to clean up??

[whitebeam]

I must admit, I'm shocked, but really good to know this. What about service to the customer, the alround feel good factor and environmental issues? We have a really good tip just up the road, so it's easy for us, but when dealing with elderly people or those without transport or those in flats, leaving them with a mess can't be right...definitely bureaucracy...that's just weird. And how much would such a license be, to be allowed to clean up??

£140 for 3 years then renewel is cheaper, which is'nt a fortune but where to store or dump

[BDS]

oooh, perfection....,,,,yeah mostly the OCD i think

[howard]

its very hard to keep everything clean all day long i always clean up at the end of the day i use a scrubbing brush in a bucket of water to clean my tools always stop for the last hour to make sure everything is spotless addy will always come off the surface you have dropped it on sometimes it better to let it dry a bit it comes off much better than wiping it right away