what little story lead you into the tiling industry then

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

please tell us all how you ended up in this game

[brian c]

i was getting my bathroom tiled and my plumber m8 suggested i do a course,so i did and have been doing it since.

[mikethetile]

i was kitchen fitting and struggling to find a decent tiler

the only complaints i ever got was about the splashbacks, they werent cheap and the tilers always refused to come back and redo them so i would have to payout again to have them redone by different tilers or redo them myself

i went on a bal course to start with and then did a proper course

[Alan.P]

I was told that there was a fortune to be made

[enduro]

I was told that there was a fortune to be made

That old chestnut....The training school always say this...

[united]

I was made redundant at the start of this year and while looking for a new job I was helping a mate renovate his new house. It took us 3 months and over that time I found I really enjoyed the hard work so started thinking about how to get into a trade where I can start off part time build my skills and confidence then in the future go full time.... I chose tiling as I read a few posts on here and the passion everyone has for their work blew me away and I wanted to be able to be proud of something I have created.

[hillhead]

The thought of being my own boss and the feeling of accomplishment after creating masterpieces for decent people was enough for me.

[pjc]

a Friend of mine started tiling my kitchen walls for me fully tiled in those days 6 x 6 from BQ unglazed edges he had been tiling for about 4 weeks lol but been working for my brother in law who was tiling posh houses for a big builder all mitered by hand well my mate used to drink a little or more than a little so as he started it i finished it then tiled my kitchen floor 8 x 4 herringbone on the 45 degrees then my bathroom thought this is easy a little while after my mate the drunk started on his own and started to work for the posh builder he got into a bit of mess on one bathroom and i went to help him sort it out as i already had a better eye than him after that he was tiling the managing directors house and i helped him on a weekend 12 x 6 brick bond vertical well he had to go elsewhere and asked me to finish it so i did i then put a small advert in the local and got a phone call from another director of the same building firm was just finishing a interview when the guy said we want someone on the cards and i said no i want to be self employed on price and he said no chance and the managing director walked in and said what is he doing here when the other guy explained he said take him on on a price i was the best tiler he had ever seen lol never looked back from there so are you in the right place luck or do you earn it ?

[peckers]

I started as a labourer for a general building company in 1987 and then learnt the wet trades plastering block laying etc.
Then the guy that use to do the tiling was retireing so i trained with him for 12 months and then carried on the tiling.
then i went on my own a couple of years after that,

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

i was a self employed plasterer and part time security guard on weekends,i was trying to save for a mortgage, i was reading a paper while guarding a laboratories one night and see an ad for plasterers needed to train as pool finishers £350 + van for own use as well ,this seemed a very good offer at the time so i applied and got the job the firm went through and i chased some of there old contracts and never looked back

[Wingn]

Had to do something after leaving school, enrolled into tech and got a start as an apprentice.

[tbaysaint]

was made redundant end april 09 after 14yrs in semiconductor industry,after no luck applying for differant jobs,i decided on 4wk tiling course arranged through job centre for people involved in mass redundancies,called rapid responce.
did tiling course with the tilingtrainingschool in edinburgh aug09,not had many jobs since completed though, but looking forward and upword in 2010 for a productive year. any help would be most welcome

[mikethetile]

was made redundant end april 09 after 14yrs in semiconductor industry,after no luck applying for differant jobs,i decided on 4wk tiling course arranged through job centre for people involved in mass redundancies,called rapid responce.
did tiling course with the tilingtrainingschool in edinburgh aug09,not had many jobs since completed though, but looking forward and upword in 2010 for a productive year. any help would be most welcome

its early days yet

it takes a while to build up but when it does you will be away

remember theres a lot of tilers about but theres still a shortage of good tilers

be the best you can and the phone will ring and ring

[whitebeam]

Was doing a course at British Gypsum and a rep from Bal dropped of some free course tokens, never had any intention to become a tiler.

Done the course all paid for by Bal about ten years ago, as I had done tiling when I was 19 and odd bits thru the years with the plastering/dry linning/printed concrete it came over quite easy.

Then courses on bissaza and other tiling subjects, no body mentioned natural stone 10 years ago though.

[LM Ceramics]

went on work experience at school with a plumber who did tiling then when i left school turned down a plumbing apprenticeship instead i got trained up by a local tiler i chose tiling more for the satisfaction than money and even though its been a bumpy ride its made me a better and more determind tiler

[doug boardley]

my old art teacher I suppose, he got me through my pottery "o"level and encouraged me to do my "a" level at night school. He gae me use of a kiln and a wheel, and "used" some of my work in his portfolio to get another teaching post. The whole process frommaking the ware form through bicuit and second firing had me enthralled, so i guess that i happily fell into ceramics whilst learning to plaster too

[kilty55]

a tiler was doing my bathroom,and i had had a few goes at diy tiling so i knew it was something i enjoyed doing,i chatted to him and watched what he was doing(on the sly) and decided to do a course,,hated my job anyway so went for it.]it has been up and down as iv been doing it for about 18 months but i love it

[Daz]

I think I've posted in great detail (over many posts) how I started, so a very brief summary follows.....

Dad (very good tiler and all round builder) taught me to tile.
I ignored him and became a computer / software salesman.
Got bored, so re-trained.
Enjoy life as a tiler

[wozza]

I'm a boat builder by trade. My Uncle bought a run down resturant/hotel and I did a bit of carpentry work on it at weekends and evenings. He had a tiler on site starting in the gents loos. He sacked him after a week for being too slow and threw me in at the deep end. I ended up doing approx 200mtr2. I then started tiling for freinds and work collegues.

[Wingn]

How come tiling has so many blow ins from other industries? With every other trade 90 percent of people will be time served at whatever they do.