Help - can I retile myself?

[FlipFlapBat]

We are doing a bit of work to the house to gradually update it but have to be canny with our budget. I’ve just had a car repair bill and I need to cut a few costs.

In the bathroom we have an all white suite but the walls are a very cream looking large tile. I’d really like to update these but if I buy the tiles I want I can’t afford to pay to have them done. How easy would it be to do my own tiling? I’m willing to give it a go but my husband is worried it will look crap. He has many skills but practical DIY is not one of them so it me or a professional...

Having recently tiled the top of a unit I can tell you that cutting tiles is hard, and it’s very easy to knack a tile meaning it’s waste.

The actual tiling is pretty straight forward I think though... although it’s like anything really. Professional level, competent diy-er snd novice. Depends whether you’d be happy looking at a less than professional job.

Have you had a few quotes? Could you paint them instead?

yes. tiling itself is relatively easy. loads of tutorials on youtube.
for cutting tiles you need the right tools for the right tiles.
the larger the tiles the easier.
tiles with tapered edges or textured surfaces are a pain in the arse.

Getting the tiles and adhesive off can be hard - you often have to reskim the wall before retiling. For me the trick with tiles is to use a new sharp cutter, not the 20 year old one your father gives you....

It’s a small area about 3m square but just a bit nervous to try! Will watch some tutorials

It's perfectly possible to do a good job yourself, but the real skill is in knowing how to do the corners and cutting around any obstacles. If it's relatively straight forward and you have a flat wall and square corners - great it's easy if you're ok at attempting DIY to get a good finish that looks respectable.
Otherwise if your corners are not square and/or you have bits to cut round, then get someone in.

The hardest part is envisaging how it'll look - I learned you make your corners by cutting the tiles so they match either side of the join, and so you end with a whole tile at the exact point you want the tiling to end - a bit of maths and measuring out is needed.

Its over 20 years since I last tiled but I seem to remember tacking on a piece of wood as a guide so I was starting with 1 tile up from the bottom, tiling above that then removing the wood and finishing with the bottom tiles in the gap below, but I'm sure you'll find plenty of You Tube guides to doing it.

It’s essentially inside a shower so two rectangular walls the only cuts will be round the shower fitting but there is a plate to pull off that will cover the cuts...