First ever attempt at tiling, comments good or bad welcome

[Carl Hammond]

Hi everyone, after sitting my week intensive tiling course in April my dad asked me to have a go at doing a small en-suite and a kitchen for him, I have done bits of both as we have not yet bought all the tools as did not get time today and the only shop we were near had sold out so I have done all the full tiles and the cuts are to be done still.

Anyway this is a converted barn so you can image how nun-straight the walls are etc so I think I have done a good job.

Little brothers en-suite








Kitchen (smallest part started)






If anyone else has any idea's of what I could have done to make it better all comments welcome please to help me for future jobs.

Basically I marked out as normal and am working so the cuts are the un-even parts along the tops and then the side's have symetrical cuts etc.

Hope you like the job so far as this is my first ever attempt.
What you think? good or bad comments welcome.

I know the tiles in kitchen look higher on left but thats due to the angle of everything there, was/is there a way around this as I thought you had to work so you had everything in line and then fill the gaps or would you recommend moving them down adn having odd sizes cuts along the top, in flesh does not look that far out at all, dads happy so far.

[GazTech]

Can't see any problems Carl you sound like you are enjoying the experience, the best bit is when you stand back after your last wash down....Gaz

[Carl Hammond]

I was worried about the gap on the left in kitchen pics, but if I had worked around the shape fo the serface it'd look aweful as the tiles would work upwards, so I worked across measuring all areas and decided bigger gap at bottom for cuts could be ok, anyone disagree and if so what could I do in future as this is not even an 8th of the kitchen needed.

[ross lewiss]

what ya saying gaz, your tiling looks better when you've had a shower?

[ross lewiss]

seriously, i would have thought you would have laid the tiles along the work top and worked upwards rather than downdwards. there looks a fair old gap hwere they meet on the 4in x 4 in kitchen tiles...just an observation, if i am wrong shoot me

[GazTech]

what ya saying gaz, your tiling looks better when you've had a shower?

lol Ross, after grouted Carl I notice the big beam in little bro's room...I love that kind of character in a building.....Gaz

[Carl Hammond]

yes its well old, more pics of place to come, I worked from the bottom up but measured across so the bottom wiles were in-line not working up the wall diagnally as I went across if that makes sence, the gaps slightly bigger but could not think of a way around it or the tiles would not go straight across the wall they'd be going diagonally up the wall.

Tghought with a small cut, grout and sealant the gap'df be eliminated?

[LM Ceramics]

you have only but a few tiles on i cant really judge whether its good or not are you tiling round the socket in the kitchen its a bit weird that you have left it out dont work downwards on a kitchen and also i would have tiled all the wall including aroung the sockets your joints may not line up which will make it look rough

as for the bathroom it looks like your tiles have slipped under your level line which will cause you problems if your tiling all the walls

need to get a pic of the finished product before i can say its a good job

[salmonfisher]

i always work upward from baths or worktops

[Carl Hammond]

you have only but a few tiles on i cant really judge whether its good or not are you tiling round the socket in the kitchen its a bit weird that you have left it out dont work downwards on a kitchen and also i would have tiled all the wall including aroung the sockets your joints may not line up which will make it look rough

as for the bathroom it looks like your tiles have slipped under your level line which will cause you problems if your tiling all the walls

need to get a pic of the finished product before i can say its a good job

No that line is not my line, I re-marked out today as that was someone elses and it was miles out IMO.

I could not get a cutter anywhere so I measured up for the cut's (tiles to eb put in there) and they are going to be done but fit nicely) or will when I have the cutter next week.

[d noulton]

is it some sort of ilusion tiles just hanging in the air

[LM Ceramics]

i understand what your saying but when you leave tiles out round a socket regardless whether you have already marked them out sometimes they dont go back in correctly thats my experience and i have tiled alot of kitchens before at least thats not your line in the bathroom also for the kitchen socket could you have not used your tile nippers to go round the socket if you had no cutter

are you going to make a living out of tiling

[LM Ceramics]

also in the kitchen were you have left a few tiles at the bottom row it looks like you may have a bigger joint

[Carl Hammond]

The ones along the bottom need cutting to fit, as this is where the work surface was not fittied flush adn straight, its at an angle, I have to get the tiles to fit correctly, I am working on the socket next, goign to have about 2-3mm of tile behind the socket so it fits behind with longer screws so no cuts showing.

I am hoping to make a living out of it someday which is why I decide dto put my first ever attempt on here, could be a lot worse, maybe in areas could be better which is why I am asking for comments, be them good or bad as I will be looking for ideas for future as practice makes perfect and I am a perfectionist and believe I could be very good in time. I dont think its bad for a first attempt?

[Fekin]

Personally I would have centered the worktop wall and tiled outwards making even 2/3rd cuts either side of the wall instead of a wide gap which ain't quite big enough for a slither cut and too wide to be left as it is.

Also I would have waited for the cutter before tiling anything really, but that's a personal choice.

Good luck and look forward to more pics

[Carl Hammond]

Cheers guys as I am always welcome for good or bad feedback as the bad is not bad imo, its good for future work and reference so its helpful feedback not bad feedback.

Cheers guys.

So you think its good for a first attempt, just a few small / minor changes to how I work would make it a very good job :-)

[LM Ceramics]

when you tile around the sockets in the kitchen you tile to the metal box dont think im being harsh caus im not i had to take some flak when i started my apprenticeship but to be honest anyone can lay 20 tiles on the wall to determine whether its a good job you need to finish it you have cut no tiles yet and you havent tiled a full room. like i said im not being harsh just tellin the truth andim sure the rest will agree with me

not good to have a cut to the worktop and 5 full tiles off the worktop no worktop is level these days i cant remember when i tiled on a leveled worktop

[JEC-CTD]

I'd have worked from a center line to prevent the small cut tile on the L/H side but other than that it's looking good.

Courses are great but in my opinion you cannot beat doing some actual jobs to learn the pitfalls etc.

[Varley]

Is the worktop in the kitchen not level?, that is the only reason I can think that you wouldn't have tiled up from it.

[grumpygrouter]

when you tile around the sockets in the kitchen you tile to the metal box dont think im being harsh caus im not i had to take some flak when i started my apprenticeship but to be honest anyone can lay 20 tiles on the wall to determine whether its a good job you need to finish it you have cut no tiles yet and you havent tiled a full room. like i said im not being harsh just tellin the truth andim sure the rest will agree with me

not good to have a cut to the worktop and 5 full tiles off the worktop no worktop is level these days i cant remember when i tiled on a leveled worktop

I have not had a worktop that isn't pretty much level yet. Nothing that a smallest use of a wedge hasn't corrected so the gap is easily covered with the silicone.

If the work top was that far out, it may have been better to move the datum line up half a tile or so, instead of trying to cut away slivers. Looks like they are 100x100 tiles anyway so it wouldn't have looked too odd. Hard to tell from photos though. Hopefully we will see pics of the finished article to be able to give a constructive critique.

[Carl Hammond]

Is the worktop in the kitchen not level?, that is the only reason I can think that you wouldn't have tiled up from it.

No the work tops not level, I measured along the wall, then across the wall, found the centre point and got the markings for equal cuts around the socket (which is kind of a focal point on that wall), then I worked 1 tile down from that to start working up from that. The work tops well out of place, I was thinking of starting again but not sure how else I would work it other than having un-even cuts along the work top working from the right to left keeping the tops level?

Any ideas or should I finish it as it is and grout it, as I dont know iw the silicon beat(seal) will halp the finished item.

This is for the house to eb sold you see.

[macten]

I'd just repeat the advice about not tiling around sockets to fill in with cuts later on. I've done this before (trying to be clever) and as has already been mentioned the tiles rarely fit perfectly no matter how accurate you are with the spacing (I think the tiles must fall sideways a fraction when they don't have a tile either side).