Tiling

Source: BBC Homes, Lifestyle, DIY

Thursday 27^th May 2004

Skill Level: Basic

Duration: 1 day

Ceramic tiles are the perfect choice when you want a wall surface that's tough, waterproof and easy to clean. Tiles look best if they are symmetrical (i.e. centred) on the wall, which is relatively straight forward if you are tiling behind a washbasin.

However, if you’re tiling wall to wall, you’ll have to cut tiles to complete the rows, and centring the layout means having to cut tiles of equal width at each end of the rows.

Tools you will need:

all-in-one tile adhesive

damp cloth

low tack masking tape

pencil

silicone sealant and cartridge gun

tape measure

tile spacers

tile-cutting jig

tiles

tiling gauge

  Mark the mid point
The best way of working out where to start tiling on a wall is to mark the mid-point and use a home made tool called a tiling gauge to check how the tiles you’ve chosen will fit on the wall.

Make a tiling guage
Lay out a row of tiles on the floor, with small plastic tile spacers between them to ensure even spacings. Then place a length of wood alongside the row and mark the tile positions on it in pencil.

Test design on the wall
Now you can hold this gauge against the wall with one end aligned with the wall’s mid-point and see how big a gap will be left at the ends of each row.

Get the best design you can
If the gap is very narrow (less than about 25 mm/1 inch) or is almost a whole tile, it will be difficult to cut the tiles to fit. The way round this is to move the start point along from the mid-point by half a tile width; get the best compromise you can.

Tiling a small area
To tile a small area, such as a sink splash back, start by loose-laying the tiles on the kitchen worktop or floor so that, if you’re using a mixture of colours, you can plan the layout. Then use your tiling gauge to find the right starting point.

Cover with adhesive
Spread enough adhesive on the wall to fix about half a dozen tiles. Hold the notched spreader almost at right angles to the wall so that it leaves neat ridges of adhesive. These squash down flat when the tiles are pressed into place.

 Position the tiles
As you position each tile, place a tile spacer at each corner to keep the spacing even. Bed them well into the adhesive. Then the grout will cover them later.

Cut to fit
You’ll probably have to fit cut tiles at the ends of the rows. Measure the gap, allowing for the thickness of the tile spacers, and mark this on a tile.

 Cutting jig
Then score and snap the tile using a proprietary cutting jig - much more accurate than using a pencil-type cutter and a ruler, especially for small, thick tiles.

 Fill the gaps
When all the whole and cut tiles are in place, use the straight edge of the plastic spreader to fill the gaps.

Grout
Either use an all-in-one adhesive and grout for this, or buy grout separately - essential if you want a coloured effect. Scrape off the excess grout as you work and leave to dry.

Splash-back joints
Use silicone mastic to make the join between splash back and worktop waterproof. Stick masking tape to both surfaces to leave a gap about 5 mm (1/4 inch) wide, then squeeze out the mastic along the line.

 Neaten up
Smooth off any lumps with a moistened finger, and peel off the tape when the mastic has developed a skin. Finish the job by wiping off smears of grout with a damp cloth.

Internal corners
When tiling round an internal corner, set out the rows on each wall independently so that cut tiles meet in the angle.

External corners
Leave an expansion gap where they meet. On walls with external corners, always start tiling each wall with a whole tile placed on the external angle.

Window recess
Always centre tiling on a window recess, irrespective of whether it is itself centred on the wall. Tile the wall first, if possible with a row of whole tiles immediately below the recess.

Complete
Then place whole tiles along the front edge of the recess, overlapping those on the wall, and fill in with cut tiles between these and the window frame.