Tiling myself?

[WorkshyHorsefly]

Doing the work, rather - not applying tiles to my skin.

We have a small splashback in the bathroom that's grim and needs updating. I've never tiled before - is it a terrible idea to try doing it myself? Getting someone in for such a small job is proving impossible, hence my pondering.

What would you do?

Doing the work, rather - not applying tiles to my skin.

🤭

I did a small square in the downstairs WC after watching a YouTube video. Try finding a good video to watch first and see if it scares you out of the idea. If it doesn’t, you’ll probably manage.

It's actually quite easy and satisfying if you take your time and do it carefully.

As above, watch a youtube.

One hint is to make your glue and your grouting mixes quite dry. And never use a ready mixed, buy the powder and mix it yourself.

I love tiling. It's not that difficult. The smaller the tiles, the easier it is. Give it a go.

It's really not hard unless you're having to cut tiles. I've done all my diy myself over recent years, and as long as you're sensible and buy all the proper stuff to do the job, you'll be fine!!

It's not that difficult. Have a go!

It's not difficult. If possible, get a decent tile cutter. Good, efficient tools make all the difference to DIY jobs. That and good prep.

I’m planning on doing this when our kitchen is finally done. I’m going to have a very simple straight square tile design (ie not brick layout) and as the tiles I want are kind of ‘rustic’ handmade expensive ones it will save me a lot to do it myself.

Keen on any tips though!

It's all about the laying out.
Before you start, look at the area to be tiled and measure properly. For instance if you are tiling half way up the wall and finishing with some trim don't finish with a cut tile, finish with a whole one and have the cut tiles lower down. Likewise corners, start in the middle to ensure that when you get to the edges the tiles are cut equally.

I've done the same, watched a few you tube videos and took my time. Buy or borrow the right tools and adhesive and clean up promptly.

You can definitely do it! The first time I tiled anything was a whole shower cubicle! That was in the days before YouTube 😆 its actually a lot easier than you think.

Use tile spacers and take your time. I find grouting the worst bit because I never clean up properly as I go and end up having to clean each individual tile.

I love tiling! I've done kitchens and bathrooms. YouTube is vital!

Just take your time.

I did it myself behind the sink in the WC. I'm quite proud of it but I wouldn't do it again.

Use tile spacers to get even appearance
You can buy a larger tile cutter that wets tile as you cut it for about £40
I would say if I can do it anybody can do it. Just take your time.
Leave tiles overnight to set fully before you grout.
You can get little grouting tool to remove excess grout.

Oh this is useful - I did a utility splash back one time but didn't need any cuts

I've been putting off the kitchen because of the need to do cuts

I am now inspired to give it a go myself. I am good at fiddly things normally, but for some reason I have felt daunted by tiling and wallpaper.
I am going to look at YouTube now.

Someone once redid a few tiles in a bathroom at an old workplace that had come off. It always annoyed me that they were very uneven! So if you give it a go, take care to get them evenly spaced and with a level/smooth vertical surface.

Do you have the resources to have a little practice first?

Practicing is a good idea! I'll see what I have knocking about leftover from older projects.

I tiled my bathroom when I added a shower attachment. The tiles didn't match but I was planning to replace the whole bathroom eventually so I didn't care.

I really enjoyed it and would do it again, especially for a small area. But yes, do your research, plan it carefully and use spacers.

I sold that house a few years ago and it recently sold again - was amused to see my tiling efforts were still there 😁

My tip would be to buy ready mixed adhesive it’s a lot easier than mixing yourself then it going off because you’ve not used to fast enough.

but I prefer the grout you mixing yourself , it tends to be better than ready mix stuff. Mix small amounts at a time and grout small areas as it tends to dry quick and is hard work getting it off after.

The work has commenced!

Step 1 has been removing wall tiles, then applying ready mixed plastering to smooth out the surface, bumpy from previous adhesive. I had to remove the sink from the wall, because previous owners tiled the wall first and then added the sink on top. Annoying.

I'll sand the wall when dry, and I'm thinking I might paint it before tiling again, or is that a bad idea?

I have done loads of tiling. I wouldn’t have bothered evening it out as the tile glue would do that. Be careful that it’s not too smooth as you need something for the tile adhesive to grip onto. Make sure you use spacers and I like the ready mix tile glue and grout in one. That way it doesn‘t matter if a bit comes through between the tiles. Measure it out so you don‘t have to cut any tiles.

Oh drat, that's annoying - wasted work!

Good luck, I tiled around our corner bath and it was easier than I thought - I watched YouTube for tips. I bought a cheap electric tile cutter which was useful (just needed to mind my fingers lol !). Two years later and none of the tiles have fallen off (yet…..). Grouting was so satisfying lol !

Our first house we had a tiler who was making a really crap job , so had to sack him off ☹️ Ended up finishing it ourselves. It took a couple of weeks to finish it properly but made me realise I’d never need another tiler again as it’s more patience and time than hard work.

youtube nowdays is a great help for anything, I don’t think there is anything you can’t learn to do on there.
did this shower about 3 years ago, no problems as of yet.
I good quality tile cutter is a great help.