My first ever tiling job Day 1

[Nick HBS]

Having completed a four day tiling course at the DIY School, Stockport a couple of weeks ago (never previously having placed a tile in my life), I today started work on my inlaws' kitchen. I knew that the real learning would begin when I started doing tiling jobs for real, and boy did I learn some stuff today.

There's about 5 square metres of tiling across three walls and the old tiles needed removing first.

The first job was to remove the old tiles and having had no training or guidance in this, I just set to work with a wall scraper and a hammer. The first tile had a huge bit of plaster stuck to the back and my heart sank. Sadly this was a taste of things to come as great chunks of plaster were leaping from the wall with gay abandon. Having started at 9.30 am, it took until about 2pm to remove the old tiles and then I had to learn how to plaster.

Surprisingly, the plastering went okay. The finish was far from professional but the overall effect was somewhat less like the grand canyon than when I started and more like some gently rolling hills. Its just about good enough to tile on in my opinion and I reckon I can make up the difference with the tile adhesive. Well I'll have to, I've no choice.

So that's it at the end of day one. First job tomorrow is to try to re-fix an electrical switch which was originally screwed through the old tiles and now will have to be fastened to the wall - problem here being that this is one of the areas which needed extensive plastering so I hope its solid enough to drill and screw into. Then I'm going to prime the walls and get going with fixing the new tiles.

I've booked two days off work so the actual tiling has to be finished tomorrow. The tiles they've bought are small (probably about 10cm square) so there are quite a lot to fix. My other issue is grouting. I've got some adhesive which says grout after 24 hours so I guess i'll have to go round on Wednesday to get the job completely finished.

Its been a hell of a day and i'm completely knackered.

Any advice, tips or comments would be greatly appreciated - particularly regarding the length of time I need to wait before applying the grout and the issue of drilling into freshly applied plaster (its actually filler - Ronseal Smooth Finish Filler).

Thanks for listening (reading).

[whitebeam]

What adhesive are you using...

[enduro]

If you use a flexible rapid set powder adhesive you can use this to fill the hole and fix the tiles, also you can grout after 2-3 hours. something like Mapei Keraquick would be good.

[Nick HBS]

Thanks for the replies. I'm using Bal Green Star ready mixed adhesive. I bought it from Topps Tiles. Trouble is, there isn't really time to get an alternative as i'm tiling today. Finishing the job on Wednesday isn't such a bad option as its a job for family. We live and learn.

[Sir Ramic]

Thanks for the replies. I'm using Bal Green Star ready mixed adhesive. I bought it from Topps Tiles. Trouble is, there isn't really time to get an alternative as i'm tiling today. Finishing the job on Wednesday isn't such a bad option as its a job for family. We live and learn.

So you are plastering one day and tiling the next ? A recipe for disaster if I ever heard one !.... you shouldnt build up with ready mixed adhesive anyway

[Mike]

as it's your first job you shouldn't rush it, take your time and do it when you have the right time. fill the hole/s today as advised above, let the plaster go off and tile it when it's all ready and you have the time. family or not, i'm sure they still want a decent job. preperation is the key to a good job. the bal grrenstar will be ok for the kitchen but make sure you allow at least 24 hrs before grouting

[Nick HBS]

So you are plastering one day and tiling the next ? A recipe for disaster if I ever heard one !.... you shouldnt build up with ready mixed adhesive anyway

Hmm I did plaster on Monday and tiled on Tuesday (today). I didn't get all the tiling done and the bit that needed the most plaster hasn't yet been tiled. the other bits seem to have taken to the tile ok though.

By 'build up' I take it you mean making up for indentations in the wall - correct me if I'm wrong. Would you advise using a powder adhesive for that then?

[Sir Ramic]

Hmm I did plaster on Monday and tiled on Tuesday (today). I didn't get all the tiling done and the bit that needed the most plaster hasn't yet been tiled. the other bits seem to have taken to the tile ok though.

By 'build up' I take it you mean making up for indentations in the wall - correct me if I'm wrong. Would you advise using a powder adhesive for that then?

Yes I would and the plaster wouldnt be dry enough to tile, best cross your fingers.

[Nick HBS]

DAY 2.

After spending all of day one removing old tiles and plastering the walls to make ready for tiling, I finally got to lay some tiles today. There were some very fiddly cuts to do and not having an electric cutter made it very difficult and very slow, so much so that I'm going to spill into a third day.

The problem is that there are six electrical sockets/switches that need to be tiled round and they are nearly all at really awkward positions where apart from one, I'm having to put a thin cut of 1-2cm above and below the socket and some of them haven't ended up looking so great. I'd really appreciate some advice on how best to tackle this kind of obstacle because its made life difficult.

On a positive note, you may recall I had an electrical switch to drill holes for into newly applied plaster and this worked a treat, apart from discovering that my drill's buggered and I'll probably need a new one sooner rather than later.

The tiles actually look good, they've gone for three colours - cream, a sort of light chocolatty colour and black and I've been instructed to place them randomly. Only problem being that they aren't exactly the same size, some of the light choc ones are about 1mm too small and all the black ones are 2 mm smaller than the stated 100mm x 100mm size. This has made it tricky to get things lined up, to use the spacers correctly and as a result some of the grout lines look ugly.

So my next big decision is whether to book another day off work or just to ring in sick.

[Alan.P]

Sorry to say this and I mean it with good intentions, but, everything you've done is wrong, from using filler to not having the tools to do the job, sockets and switches etc need to be cut with a wet cutter or grinder, nothing hard about it, I know it's your first job and we all learn the hard way, I hope you will take the positives from your first job and move on.

[Bathfix Bob]

Don't forget to unscrew the sockets and then refit (may need longer screws). Use good quality silicone down onto worktop (Dow or Mapei etc).

Get into the habit of using cement based powered adhesive especially if they are big tiles or the walls aren't flat.

[Nick HBS]

I went and got my hands on a wet tile cutter last night so I feel I'm better equipped for dealing with the rest of the sockets today. I did unscrew the sockets and pulled the fronts away but they're all still wired in so its still a bit tricky working round them. I might re-do the ones I fitted yesterday.

I'm taking on board all your advice and really appreciate all your input.

[Nick HBS]

Just in case anyone still cares, I finished the tiling today after a 12 hour shift. I'm absolutely cream crackered but happy that I got it all finished.

The electric tile cutter suggestion was a stroke of genius, must have saved me hours today, and i'm quite satisfied with the electrical sockets in the end. Having a wee bit of trouble with my manual cutter though - one of those score and snap devices and it claims to be a professional standard (Its a Draper 3 in 1 tile cutter) but I'm unimpressed.

Just the grouting to do now and that's a job for tomorrow evening.

I reckon I've learnt more this week than on my course last month and I've a million questions to bombard you all with but they can wait for the weekend, I'm busy right now - I've got beer to drink.

Later.

[Sir Ramic]

Dont forget the photos

[Alan.P]

Well done, get it grouted and then post some pics. as for the questions, fire away when ready lol

[bobbynz]

You've already got the best tool in your toolbox mate...your Attitude
very good Grasshopper

[Nick HBS]

Cheers guys.

Well I went round to grout the tiles last night but ran out of grout! I had bought some which should have covered 15m2 but the tiled area was only 5m2 and I had still got about 1.5 m2 to do when all the grout was gone. I felt had mixed it to a pretty good consistency - it went on ok, not too thick, not too sloppy. So what did I do wrong? Anyway, going back on Saturday to finish the final bit.

To be honest, I've had enough of this particular job now and I need to step back from it and decide on my next step. It has been really really tough, both physically and in terms of stressfulness, especially when I've been at work during the day and then going and working again in the evening as I did yesterday.

I think I would do with a couple more friends and family type jobs before I can start even thinking of calling myself a professional and branching out into the wider world.

I'll hopefully get some pics taken this weekend when its all finished.

[enduro]

The first few jobs are always the worst...they seem to take forever. Just dont rush as speed will come, just do a good job then jobs will start rolling in.

[kilty55]

hi nick,a splashback is a small job really conpared to most tiling jobs

tiling is very demanding phsically and mentally,i would go on further training courses if i was you and as you say then maybe do a few more friend and family jobs if you feel confident enough before going on to do paid work atm

your in the best place for advice though and any questions feel free

[bobbynz]

Dont get too discouraged mate.You are up against it at the moment because a)its your first job b)you have to work during the day before you even start and c) your current experience means its going to take you twice as long using unfamiliar equipment and materials , in time you will master your equipment and will be able to guage your materials like addy and grout at a glance.
Anyway, you might change your mind when you have finished grouting, silicone and polish off. It will look a million dollars and you will be well pleased with yourself.
Its been 28 years now and I can still see myself standing back and proudly looking at my first completed job It was then that I decided that this was for me. Never looked back.
After this one, take a break while you plan your next one

[Mike]

You've used more grout due to the small tiles, there's lots more grout lines than on bigger tiles

tapatalk on my HTC

[yogi19]

Would be good to see the finished product any pics?

[Nick HBS]

All finished. Here are the pics. Hope they come out alright.
R&L Tiling 004_small.jpgR&L Tiling 012_small.jpg

[Nick HBS]

All finished. Here are the pics. Hope they come out alright.

R&L Tiling 004_small.jpgR&L Tiling 012_small.jpg

[enduro]

Looks good. Well done

[blocko]

Very good effort on first job. Well done. How do you feel after the first one?

[yogi19]

keep it up mate. not bad. practice makes perfect

[bobbynz]

All finished. Here are the pics. Hope they come out alright.

R&L Tiling 004_small.jpgR&L Tiling 012_small.jpg

There you go. Looks great. Hang in there mate .Dont forget to update us with any more work you take on.
Dont be afraid to ask questions here, you'll get plenty of support and encouragement if you do.