Tiling is a chore that many people are afraid of. Especially if you’re not used to doing things yourself. But it doesn’t have to be a dreaded chore. If you want to tile your bathroom correctly, AG Tiling Northampton‘s beginners’ guide to tiling a bathroom will teach you all you need to know.
Consider safety before you begin
Tiling is a pretty safe activity, but like with any DIY project, it’s wise to use caution. If you’re going to be chipping away at existing tiles or cutting new ones, be sure you’re wearing the right eye protection. Similarly, if you’ll be working with tools like trowels, you should put on suitable protective gloves. You might also use a face mask.
Knowing the placement of any hot water pipes in your bathroom walls might also be beneficial. Any electrical connections are the same. If you’re not sure where the pipes are, a pipe locator can help you discover them quickly.
Before you begin working, you may want to turn off the water and power to your bathroom.
What tiling tools do I require?
Nothing is more frustrating than trying to complete a task without the necessary tools. So, before you begin tiling your bathroom, make sure you have the following tools on hand.
Measurement tape
The most critical aspect of tiling a bathroom is getting the measurements right. If you get your measurements incorrect, you’re in for a nightmare. Make certain you choose a high-quality tape measure (with no obscured markings). If you need some more assistance on how to lay bathroom tile, then you can always check out some additional helpful guides online to show you step-by-step instructions so you feel confident in what you’re doing.
Pencil
The process of tiling your bathroom also includes marking up your tiles. After all, if you can’t see where you’re meant to be cutting, you’ll wind up with a bunch of crookedly cut tiles and off-centre pipe and cable holes. A chinagraph pencil is the finest choice for marking up tiles because it is designed for hard, glossy surfaces like tiles.
cutter for tiles
Things start to become serious at this point. We strongly advise investing in a tile cutter if you plan on tiling your own bathroom. We’ve found that railed tile cutters work best (they’re similar to the guillotines you might remember from school for cutting paper and cardboard).
A scribe wheel and a breaking arm are common features of tile cutters. Rail cutters come in a wide range of sizes. If you’re tiling your bathroom with very hard tiles, such as quartz tiles, you’ll probably need to use a wet wheel cutter instead, since regular tile cutters won’t cut it.
Tile cutter
Tile nippers aren’t necessary for tiling your bathroom, but they might help if you have a particularly tough or small tile cut to make. You’ll appreciate having a tile nipper on hand if you’re trying to shape a tile to fit around a pipe, a piece of sanitary ware, or a light fitting, for example.
Tile separators
You don’t want to spend hours measuring and cutting tiles just to discover that the grouting spacing is incorrect. Tile spacers will aid you in avoiding this DIY disaster. Tile spacers, as the name implies, help you to evenly distance tiles while installing them. Tile spacers come in a variety of sizes to help you get the grouting finish you want.
Bucket
You’ll need to mix the glue and grout together when tiling your bathroom. While an old washing up basin can suffice, you’ll quickly discover that things become rather dirty. Instead, you should buy in a robust bucket. The size of the bucket you need depends on how much grout you’ll be mixing, but most people use 10 or 25 litre buckets.
paddle for mixing
Can’t you just use an old stick to mix your grout? You certainly can, but if you want to make your life a little simpler (and who doesn’t?! ), a mixing paddle is an excellent item to have on hand.
Trowel with notches
You’ll need a notched trowel to efficiently apply the adhesive on your substrate (the section of the wall where the tiles really cling). This is a must-have piece of equipment. Steel notched trowels are usually constructed with notches cut onto the leading edge. You can get different sized trowels with different shaped notches (if you’re tiling a wall, get a trowel with curved notches). (If you’re tiling or laying a floor, get a trowel with square notches.)
Floating grout
A grout float will assist you in pressing grout into the spaces between your newly installed tiles. Typically, they have a flat rubber base with a handle on top. While pushing the grout into the gaps, the rubber base guarantees that the tiles are not damaged.
degree of spirit
When it comes to arranging your tile arrangement, a spirit level will come in handy. Spirit levels come in a variety of shapes and sizes, including laser versions.
sponge
A little investment, but one that pays off. Having a new sponge on hand will aid you in finishing your tiling project and removing any extra grout that may have gotten onto your tiles’ surface. A dual-purpose sponge is ideal since the dense cell structure will be strong enough to remove any tenacious grout.
Now that you’ve done your safety precautions and have all of these supplies, it’s time to look at the procedures involved in tiling your bathroom.
Bathroom tile installation
You may now begin tiling your bathroom. We’ve broken down the entire procedure into simple steps below.
Make a strategy.
We’ve all heard the expression “best laid plans,” but when it comes to tiling your bathroom, you should definitely have a plan!
Determine the walls you’d want to tile. Consider the size of the tiles you want. Do you want the walls of your bathroom to be completely tiled or merely partially tiled? All of these criteria will impact the type and quantity of tiles you require. These considerations will also have an impact on the size of the task.
Before going on to the next phase, make sure you’ve considered all of these factors.
Choose your tiles and make a pattern.
After you’ve devised a strategy, it’s time to choose your tiles and choose the manner in which they’ll be laid out.
It’s critical to have the proper quantity of tiles to cover your walls while choosing your tiles. You calculate how many you’ll need by measuring the area in square metres that has to be covered. Measure the length and breadth of the wall to do so. Then add these two numbers together. Take the total area and divide it by the size of the tiles you’ve chosen. This last figure will give you an estimate of how many tiles you’ll need.
If your calculations come to a decimal point when measuring for tiles, always round up to the next whole number. Remember to add around 15% to account for cuts and waste.
Many tiles are sold in boxes with specific size information labelled on them.
Tile varieties
There are many different types of tiles on the market, and deciding which one is ideal for you is usually a matter of personal choice. Certain varieties of tiles, on the other hand, may be better suited to specific uses or situations.
Allow me to explain. In the table below, we’ve included the various types of tiles along with their common applications (and constraints).
- Only use terracotta in dry environments (unless glazed). Bathroom tiles made of ceramic or porcelain (when glazed)
- Slate countertops, floors, and walls
- Glass as a mosaic accent wall
- Bathrooms with natural stone (when featuring a waterproof layer)
- Limestone is used for the flooring.
- Granite Floor Tiles
- Travertine flooring and walls
As you can see, certain tile varieties are more suited to bathrooms than others. Consider this while making your purchase.
Patterns on tiles
There are several possibilities when it comes to the design of your tiled wall. It’s all a matter of personal taste. You have the option of sticking to a simple linear grid layout or becoming more imaginative.
Some of the most popular tile patterns in recent years include:
- Diamond.
- Linear.
- Brick ties
- Herringbone
- 34 Brick Bond
- Hexagon.
- Linear Mixture
- Arabesque
It’s critical that you purchase tiles from the same batch. This will guarantee that they all have the same appearance. Because of the manufacturing process for tiles, buying sets with various batch numbers increases the chances of having a tiled wall that doesn’t seem “quite right.”
Prepare the wall.
Now that you’ve purchased and prepared your tiles, it’s time to prepare the walls.
Start by making sure the wall is clean, dry, and level. If it was previously tiled, set aside a few hours to restore it to its former glory. You don’t want to be laying tiles on top of leftover grout or other debris.
Fill up any gaps in the plaster that you discover. Remember that plaster might take months to dry (depending on the sort of plaster you choose), so keep that in mind when undertaking any wall repairs.
After you’ve prepped your wall, it’s time to consider about adhesives and grout…
Grout & Adhesive
It is critical to distinguish between adhesives and grout. The terms are commonly used interchangeably, although they are actually quite different.
Adhesive
You’ll need adhesive to really glue your tiles to the wall. Distinct kinds of adhesive are classified into different ‘classes.’ You’ll need a class D 2 T E glue to tile a power shower or bathroom wall (don’t worry if this sounds hard). Most adhesives sold at DIY stores will specify where they can be used on the box.
A ready-mixed glue will suffice in the usual home bathroom. Mapei, BAL, Dulux, and a number of other brands are available.
To tile your bathroom effectively, you’ll need both adhesive and grout. Grout should never be used to adhere tiles to a wall (unless you want them to fall off at a later date).
Grout
Grout is used to fill in the spaces between tiles after they’ve been installed on the wall. Grout serves to “seal” the tiles and keep water out of the wall behind them.
Grout, like adhesives, comes in a variety of grades. Cementitious grouts are manufactured from Portland cement; epoxy grouts are made from epoxy resins; and furan grouts are formed from a furan resin and a filler powder with an acid catalyst.
The type of grout you need will typically be determined by the type of tile you’re using. If you’re using natural stone tiles, for example, you may need to protect them to avoid stains.
Epoxy grout is one of the most often used grouts in damp areas like bathrooms and showers. Epoxy grout, on the other hand, hardens faster than regular grouts, making it challenging to apply for inexperienced DIYers.
arranging your tiles
You’ll want to lay out your tiles, considering where the eye will be drawn, the centre line, and how many cuts you’ll need to make. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time and double-check everything.
Tile spacers can help you lay your tiles out on the floor more easily. Mark the points of each tile with your measuring tape once it’s been placed down. Then, on your wall, paste these measurements. Start in the centre of the wall and work your way outwards. Use your spirit level while marking the wall with your tape measure and pencil to verify that all of the markings are level.
By the conclusion of this, you should have all of your tiles positioned on the bathroom wall.
Making your tile cuts
After you’ve marked up your wall, you’ll probably need to trim down the tiles at the margins. Calculate the tile’s dimensions with your tape measure (measure against the edge of the wall and the relevant wall marking).
After that, apply that measurement to your tile. Using your chinagraph pencil, mark the place where the tile will need to be cut. This will give you a target to shoot at with your tile cutter.
After that, the tile cutter will appear. Before continuing, make sure you’re wearing safety gloves and goggles. Because cutting tiles might result in sharp flying shards, be sure no friends or family members are nearby.
It’s time to put the tiles to the wall when you’ve cut all of the necessary tiles.
Laying down your tiles
Here’s when your glue comes in handy. Start small while using it. Don’t go more than one metre square at a time. This will give you more time to focus on arranging your tile correctly. If you use too much glue, you risk it drying out before you can put your tiles down.
Your notched trowel should be used to distribute the adhesive. Using the trowel, apply the glue in 45-degree angle strokes. This will aid in the uniform application of glue.
It’s as easy as aligning the tiles with the right wall marks and pushing them into the glue. Do this one at a time, being sure to use tile spacers between each one (this will help you achieve nice even spacing between each tile). Make sure the spacers are properly seated so that they do not protrude over the tile’s surface. You don’t want the spacers to poke out and be unattractive because you’ll be grouting over them.
It’s time to relax when you’ve done applying glue and installing all of your tiles.
Because adhesive takes around 24 hours to cure completely, now is the time to conclude your job for the day, kick back, and relax. You’ve earned it if you’ve made it this far!
Grouting
It’s time to grout once (at least) 24 hours have passed.
Begin by getting your grout ready. Fill your bucket halfway with water, then gradually add the grout, mixing until it reaches a thick consistency. On the back of most grout packets, you’ll find directions describing how many parts water to how many parts grout to add to the mix.
You could also be asking how much grout you’ll need at this stage. The size and thickness of the tile you choose will typically influence how much grout you’ll need.
There’s a formula that can aid you with your calculations:
- Add the tile’s width and length together.
- Multiply the value by the width of the tile you’ve selected.
- Multiply that number by the tile’s depth.
- Then double that number by 1.8 to get the normal kg/metre coverage you may expect.
- Multiply the width of the tile by the length of the tile, then divide this amount by the figure from number 4 above.
The resultant figure will give you an estimate of how much grout you’ll need to grout your bathroom wall properly. Don’t worry if this appears to be difficult. Many grout packs will state how much wall area they can cover.
Anyway, wait five minutes after you’ve mixed your grout and attained a thick consistency. This will allow oxygen bubbles to escape and the grout to settle.
The next step is to fill in the gaps between your tiles with grout. Using your grout float, do this. Hold it at a 45-degree angle and push the grout into the gaps between the tiles with it. Remember that the grout serves to seal your bathroom wall, so make sure you have even covering.
Stop after applying roughly 2-3 metres of grout and clean up any excess that may have gotten onto your tiles. Do this with your sponge. Cleaning as you go will keep the extra grout from drying up and making it more difficult to remove afterwards.
Allow an hour for the grout to dry once you’ve done applying it to the wall. When you’re sure it’s dry, use a soft dry cloth to give the entire wall a delicate shine.
That’s all there is to it! Beginner’s approach to tiling a bathroom from AG Tiling Northampton.
