Tools and Practice

[mark1324]

As ive decided to learn to tile and possibly use it as a career option i need to obviously get all the tools .. So i have made this thread to ask what i actually need ? Im thinking of doing some pratice tiling at home aswell onto some plasterboard or is there anything better i should practice on ?

Thanks

[Dave]

Tiling Tools Starter Kit

[whitebeam]

What about a course

[mark1324]

I dont have about £350 handy for a course .. ive posted a thread saying im willing to work for free to get trained.

Thanks

[tfs]

Spend a while looking around the forum and doing some research on the internet too the longer you do this the better equipt you will be (without owning a single tool!). Week by week or month by month collect bits and peices of tools and when you feel confident do a few small jobs in your own home and the for friends and family to see if this is something you can do to a good standard and take it from there.

[Dan]

The problem is if somebody were to teach you in a real working environment they'd be losing money in the sense that you'd slow them down somewhat, and risk of needing to re-do an area could be high if they let you do it alone, so you'd only be labouring and asking questions and having small goes of stuff, probably lots of cutting once you've mastered that, but even then you'd need to spend a lot of time with the person to be ready to go at it alone, and then of course you're competition so in the ideal world you'd need a guy with a company that's growing and needs a second tiler, but one they're willing to train to their own standards sort of thing.

Although £350 is a cost now, it isn't really a big investment in a new company and is the main real investment in your actual skills. So it's well worth it in my opinion.

[mark1324]

There is not many companys around my area which are willing to take somebody on to train. Most companys dont have much work due to them not being willing to travel 4hours etc.

[cornish_crofter]

I like the idea of practicing on sheets of plasterboard. Just screw them up against a wall in your garage or similar and try with some freebie tiles from Freecycle and cheap/free adhesive. You could also ask for this on Freecycle. I just gave away a load of adhesive and grout that was only ever good for kitchen splashbacks.

That kind of set up is used at tile training courses.

One of the biggest challenges you'll face when you actually do a room is the unevenness of the walls. Not only that the corners may not be plumb, but also that solid and some stud walls are often not level, so levelling out is key. A number of tilers here are also plasterers, so they have a head start IMO.

If you do paid work for people or even as favours, stick to kitchen splashbacks and simple tile around baths etc.

From job to job, research your adhesive and grout to start with. Tile suppliers are absolutely evil in selling you the wrong adhesive for the job. Come and ask here what you need, then go and buy it.

Also, if you want experience and you can't get paid work, ask about volunteering. There will probably be groups like help the aged who would be glad of your help in this way.

I am a member of a community group that have an old building that needs maintenance. I wanted a bit of plastering practice - hadn't done any for a while, when part of a ceiling came down. I got my practice and the building got its ceiling repaired FOC. Actually it looks very good even though I say so myself.

I too am going to look at a course and have an offer of working with someone who is near me, which I will take up.

[mark1324]

Thankyou for your advice !