Tiling is Easy, Learn These Simple Tips to do it Like a Pro

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Tiling a bathroom is one of these very intimidating tasks for majority of people. Frankly speaking I can totally understand it. It is not one of these things you can just jump right into and do it yourself.

Although it is not a rocket science you usually need to do a little bit of research. On the other hand, once you have done your due diligence you should be able to accomplish this task.

Especially if you are not a rookie DIYer and you have already done few things around your house. In this article we will try to provide you with as much of a support as we possibly can.

The moment you start everything becomes much clearer. If you have any additional questions drop us a line at diy@poldabuilders.com or through our chat.

Without further ado let’s jump into it!

Where to Start Tiling in a Small Bathroom

If you live anywhere in UK this is probably the challenge you are currently dealing with – how to do tiling in a small bathroom. This is usually not the biggest room in the house so it might seem like a daunting task.

However, just like with any other task right planning is the key. And the size of the bathroom does not matter that much at this point.

To start with you need to ask yourself two fundamental questions: “which bathroom tiles are right for my bathroom” and “how many tiles do i need”.

Right tiles will make your bathroom look bigger than it actually is. Not to mention a potential “wow” effect. Which tiles are right for your bathroom? Bigger tiles give the illusion that your bathroom is bigger.

Besides, that also means less grout to clean. We would recommend choosing lighter colour grout as it stand out less.

Tiling step by step

• Preparation – before starting any work you should empty the room completely, including old tiles from the walls and floor. Then you can take the measurements and roughly plan your layout.
• Surface – it might be the case that walls are in not very good condition or you have damaged them while removing old tiles. Adhesive should be able to cover small imperfections, but it might be necessary to use a bit of filler to smooth out the surface.
• Draw a Map – that might sound funny, but it will help you a lot. Especially if you are not very advanced. Yes, adhesive will cover it up, but it will be easier to make sure the tiles are laid straight.
• Start Tiling – The easiest way to tile your walls is by starting at the bottom and going up. Then you can tile the floor. Remember to use waterproof adhesive and if it’s your first job buy a ready-mixed one. It will save you some hassle.
• Finishing Touches – Once the tiling is done you can add wall trims to external corners, they should be fairly easy to install. After 24 hours you can mix and apply grout.

How Tiling Where Wall Meets Floor is Done

Professional tilers, just like any other professionals do have a lot of their own “secrets”. In fact it is not something they intentionally keep for themselves. It is something similar to secret sauce, something you gain with experience.

Not directly related to magic, but often works like that. One of such things is tiling where the wall meets floor.

For someone who has never laid a tile before it is something to rack your brain over.

Sometimes people tend to start from tiling the floor first and then they proceed with walls. There is certain logic in such approach. You make sure the floor is done right and then you can take care of the walls.

The only problem with doing it in this order is that your brand new floor will be a complete mess. So maybe you should start with the walls first? Yes, sort of.

You should tile your walls first, but you should not start at the very bottom. Ideally you should leave some space, for example half a tile or ¾ of a tile from the floor. With a help of spirit level fix a wooden batten to the wall to create a straight and even line, and start from there.

Tile the entire wall aside of the space at the bottom, then tile the floor and at the end this put tiles where wall meets floor.

This approach will help you to make sure your tiles are level as they should be and mask floor imperfections. Just plan your tiles before you start to make sure you will not have to cut very small pieces at the end.

If you are not planning to tile the entire wall you can put quarter of a tile as a skirting. The result is really great.

Can You Tile a Shower & Grout The Same Day

Another so called “secret” or “trick” is grouting. In theory there is nothing complicated about it. You just need to mix it or buy ready-mixed one, apply it, spread it out nicely and clean the excess from tiles and that’s it.

Ok, sometimes, not very often you need to put a second coat. You have probably seen this process few times done by a professional tiler.

You might have also seen him doing that right after he has finished tiling. I have mentioned above that grout should be applied at least 24 hours after tiling, but applying it earlier is not necessarily a mistake.

If rapid set adhesive has been used on this job it is perfectly fine to grout even after few hours. The only problem with rapid set adhesive is that you have to be rapid as well 😉