Tiling your bathroom all on your own surely isn’t an easy task (trust us, we’re in the tiling business for over 15 years now). However, we’re well aware that when on a tight budget, it’s not exactly possible to hire professional tilers. That’s why we’ve decided to give you tips for tiling your bathroom on your own!
- Calculated the materials needed? Now add 10%
AT LEAST. But 10% is a very safe bet, and what works in most cases. When you want to tile your wall or floor, start by calculating the amount of materials needed (there are special Walls and Floors Tile Calculators for that). Adding 10% for cut pieces ensures you won’t be caught short and won’t have to order more. Do not open these extra packages, and in most cases, you’ll be allowed to return them if they are left unused.
- Plan ahead or be sorry later
Tiling a bathroom starts in your head, and not in your bathroom. Keep that in mind – planning abilities will come in handy at every step of your tiling project. You need to plan your tile rows thoroughly to avoid a messy finish. Remember not to omit the grout joint width (so are called joints between tiles) in your calculations. Start tiling from the centre line of a floor or a wall, to make sure that cut pieces are positioned at the sides of your bathroom and are of the same size. We advise to use a tile gouge (a piece of wood with tiles marked onto it) for the planning phase.
- Remember about slippery surfaces
Remember about extra grip for slippery surfaces while performing bathroom installation – there is plenty of water, soap and whatnot in your bathroom, which may make it a bit dangerous. There are plenty of anti-slip floor tiles to find in any shop and market with tiles and tiling-related articles. You may need to place some of these around your shower or bathtub exit.
- Decide only AFTER your tiles arrive
What you like in the tiling shop and what you like in your bathroom are sometimes two different things. Maybe when you see them in your bathroom, with different lighting and the rest, the color of your tiles or their design may not match the rest of the bathroom. Once your tiles arrive, reconsider if they 100% meet your expectations. There is still time to return them – but once you fix them in place, the deed is done!
- Use protective gear
Gloves are the bare minimum of protective gear that should be used when tiling. Trust us, we’ve been there, we’ve done that. As tilers by trade, after tiling countless surfaces, we can say one thing for certain – you NEED gloves. You do not want adhesives, grout and other substances on your hands (unless you’d love to get irritated, dry hands).
- The devil is in the… surface
The most important thing is preparing the surface of your bathroom. What surface can you lay tile on? On almost everyone, but since the bathroom is a very wet place, the surface on which you put the tiles must be very well prepared so that the tiles do not fall off. The method of installing tiles is different for different surfaces. Ask the staff at the DIY store for proper instructions. By making your bathroom ready for tiling, you ensure a professional, tidy finish. Your floor or wall has to be dry, even and has to be able to hold the weight of your tiles. Make sure your floor is level!
- The tiles in the bathroom fall off? You have prepared the ground incorrectly!
The bathroom is a difficult room – due to the increased humidity, finishing the bathroom requires the use of appropriate materials already at the plastering stage. We want to make sure that the plasters will not fall off or crack and also remain dry, otherwise fungus and mold will appear and the tiles may fall off!
It is better to choose cement-lime plaster for rooms with high humidity than gypsum plaster. It absorbs less moisture, so you can use it even in wet rooms such as saunas and swimming pools. Cement-lime plaster is also resistant to fungi and molds (but regardless of this, remember to properly ventilate your bathroom!).
If you plan to cover plastered walls or their parts with ceramic tiles, then you should not rub the plaster smoothly, but you do so-called sharp mashing, increasing the roughness of the substrate.
That’s it for today – we hope that our tips for tiling your bathroom will allow you to tile your bathroom with beautiful, amazing tiles. However, if you think that you could use some help, after all, we’re always there for you – contact Polbuilt LTD, the professional tilers in Glasgow!