Tiling...Is it hard?

[DippedHeadlights]

Two important tips.

DON'T prime wood with PVA as you might be advised by old people or in old DIY books - causes problems with current generation adhesives.

Wear knee pads if floor tiling. Yes I know it sounds woosy but really - I tiled a large floor 3 years ago which took about 10 days, all seemed fine but a week later one of my knees swelled up, "housemaids knee" it's called, and it's never been the same since. Doctor says nothing they can do to fix it.

Apart form that, go for it, not difficult and very rewarding.

DH

[Autonotiv]

DippedHeadlights said:

Two important tips.

DON'T prime wood with PVA as you might be advised by old people or in old DIY books - causes problems with current generation adhesives.


DH

Do NOT prime anything with pva, that means plaster, plasterboard, ply, concrete etc etc.

Use the proper stuff like BAL Prime APD

[Simpo Two]

Autonotiv said:

Use the proper stuff like BAL Prime APD

That rings a bell. I was fixing 12mm travertine to plasterboard and got pretty close to the max loading. Luckily I bought the tiles from a proper tile company and they gave me full advice on what to use to fix them - BAL primer and BAL adhesive (there are several kinds). It's a surprisingly complex subject so make sure you get the right stuff for your needs. It's also not cheap!

[Chris77]

Autonotiv said:

DippedHeadlights said:

Two important tips.

DON'T prime wood with PVA as you might be advised by old people or in old DIY books - causes problems with current generation adhesives.


DH

Do NOT prime anything with pva, that means plaster, plasterboard, ply, concrete etc etc.

Use the proper stuff like BAL Prime APD

What he said. PVA can sit on the substrate rarther than penertrate it and can re-activate with certain ready mix adhesives or if there is any water ingress, causing the tiles to fall off!!!!

It does depend on the make of adhesive and the PVA but its much better not to take the risk

[robinhood21]

There is a few more instructional clips Here.

[King Herald]

Funny I should spot this thread......just two days after tiling our bathroom.

I was a little wary at first, but found it fairly easy once I got into the groove. I was merely extending existing tiling as only half was done, but marking a few quidelines on the walls would have made it a little easier.

As we 'speak' the grouting is in the final stages of drying, and it all looks prety good. just got to mount the mirror that wifey wanted incorporating into the pattern now.

Job done, no dramas, easy peasy.

[finefettlefilly]

It's fairly straight forward, have a go, I can do it and I'm merely a female of the species!

[deviant]

Simpo Two said:

deviant said:

the cooker is hard against the wall meaning hot pans on one side are against the wall so the tiles have brown stains from the heat. I though I might put a stainless splash back around the cooker but I think that might still mark from the heat?

Crikey, are you launching Saturn Vs from it?

I'm guessing you have a gas hob and the flames are close to the wall. What about swapping it for a nice induction hob instead?

Yep its a gas hob. The biggest burner is near the wall but I dont think its the flame marking the wall...if there is a large pan on there it touches the wall.

I've had an induction hob before, could never get on with the flipping thing and spent most of my time cleaing burnt stuff off of the hobs and to be honest we are just looking to do a spruce up rather than a major refit.

finefettlefilly said:

It's fairly straight forward, have a go, I can do it and I'm merely a female of the species!

Wimmin....Know your limits!!!

Thanks again for the further afvice especially concerning finding the correct primer and adhesive.