Tiling
Tiling often gets overlooked as an easy trade. Yes, some of the basics are easy, but without an experienced Tiler, not only will you get a poor end result, but also possibilities of damp, cracks and damages in the future.
I’ve chosen my tiles, what next?
If you prefer, we can supply and fit the tiles for you. However, most people prefer to buy their own tiles and then we fit them.
We usually supply all the other materials needed such as: primer, adhesive, grout and silicones. The reason being is so that we can make sure that the materials we supply and use are the best quality we can get. We use high quality primers, adhesive, grout and silicones to make sure you don’t get any issues in the future. This also helps when people aren’t quite sure what materials to get.
Not only do you need to choose the tiles, we also go through the different colour grouts, silicones and tile trim options.
Then, just leave it to us!
How to spot a cowboy tiler…
When we quote for tiling work, some people are surprised about the price. One thing that we will not do, even if asked, is substandard work. Everything we do meets the British Standards or better. Unfortunately for us, that means our quotes may be higher than some, because we won’t cut corners.
With tiling it’s easy to do a poor quality job - The work can look great until a couple months down the line where the poor quality results start to show. Have a damp problem where you can’t find the source? Mould in your shower? Cracked or broken tiles or grout? There’s a good chance the tiles were installed with poor quality products or installed incorrectly.
For example, if we were fully tiling a bathroom, we would make sure the shower and all wet areas are tanked (waterproofed), and if needed, a decoupling membrane installed to stop the grout and tiles becoming damaged in the future. However, this might add a few hundred pounds or more to a quote.
I’m not saying you should go with a more expensive quote, but you should ask questions and get a feel for how knowledgeable your installer is. Getting a cheap, poor quality installation to start with can cost a lot more in the future.
Ceramic vs Porcelain
Despite ceramic and porcelain tiles being made from fired clay, they differ when its comes to density and porosity.
Porcelain uses a more refined clay and is fired at higher temperatures, making it a denser, harder tile. This makes it ideal for high traffic areas. Porcelain is also less porous and more water resistant, making it a great tile for wet areas. Although both porcelain and ceramic tiles are resistant to staining, porcelain tiles are less prone to staining and require less maintenance.
Ceramic tiles are more prone to chipping or cracking, are more porous, stain more easily and require more maintenance. However, ceramic tiles are usually much cheaper and lighter. Therefore, ceramic tiles are good for wall tiles or floor tiles where there is low footfall. Another benefit of ceramic tiles is the price, costing a lot less than the porcelain equivalent.
If you’re unsure, get in touch and we can help.
Why do I need to buy 10% extra?
Well, I usually advise people to buy closer to 20% extra.
As a bare minimum you need an extra 10% to allow for cuts and any damages. Sometimes tiles can break or chip easily, specially when being cut (usually cheaper tiles).
The additional 10% allows the customer to keep some tiles as spares. We go to many jobs where customers either want broken tiles replaced or need some of their tiles removed in order to access the flooring or walls underneath for maintenance. Almost all customers don’t have spare tiles, and usually finding identical matching tiles is impossible. Therefore, having half a box or even a full box of spare tiles means that if they need replacing in the future, for whatever reason, this can be easily and cheaply done.
Tiles vs wall panels
Long story short - tiles look better than wall panels. However, this is very much personal opinion. Maybe we’re a little biased.
Wall panels in bathrooms are becoming very popular and they are getting better quality.
Why have them over tiles? They are usually cheaper per m2 over tiles, no grout needed and less labour involved. They are also a lot quicker to install. So really, there’s no correct answer. Wall panels will be better for some customers and tiles for others.
What we will say though, they may look very similar when comparing online. However, if you haven’t seen wall panels before, it would be worth visiting a shop or ordering samples first, as the final finish is nothing like it would with tiles.
Contact us
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