Advice on Tiling Kitchen

Hi. Hope you can help me with a few things. I’m new to tiling and to save myself some money I’m planning to tile a kitchen splash back with light grey bevelled metro tile and white grout.

As you can see I have removed the existing tiles, the skirting board which sits on the worktop (not sure of the correct term for this!) and also the stainless steel backsplash behind the cooker hob. Came off quite easy and not much damage to the walls - just a few holes to fill.

I will tile the wall to the left behind the sink (just slightly higher than the bottom of the cupboards), along the wall behind the cooker up to the cooker hood and the small bit of wall to the right of the cooker to the edge of the work surface.

Do I need to do anything to the walls that have previously been painted in order to help the tiles stick properly?

Where would be the best place to start tiling? Behind the cooker in the middle and then work upwards and outwards? I understand I’ll need to first lay out the tiles to make sure the cut offs at the edge are not too slim.

Would I just carry the tile on when I get to a corner or would I be best to start again measuring from the centre and working out towards the edges?

Also how do I tackle the small wall surface on the left in the first photo with the outside corner? I presume it’s best to use an edging strip to cover the edge that sticks out but not sure how these work - Would this simply fit over the bevelled edge of the tile?

What are the options to make the top edge and side edges where the tiles end look finished?

When tiling inside corners do you take the tile right up to the end of the wall and then overlap the tile with this on the next wall? If so do you overlap left over right or doesn’t this matter? Is it ok to have bevelled edge to bevelled edge in these corners or best to line them up so that you end up cutting the bevelled edge off?

I will also remove the cupboard pelmets, cut them down and refit over the tile.

Is there anything else I need to consider?

Many thanks

Rachel

Good post.

firstly, the paint should be removed, if possible, you can do this by scraping, washing and sanding - all three are horrible jobs but they are the most effective.

Once the walls are clean and dry, you should then apply a primer to the walls, this should be an sbr or acrylic primer but not PVA.

Setting out is done by judging which is best for the look of the kitchen.

Normally this would be the centre of the cooker and hood, but this would depend on the tile size and the space between the wall unit size.

I personally, do not always continue the bond when going around corners as this can cause more trouble with the visual effect when you have open ends like you have. I would tile the cooker wall first then start with a full tile from the left hand side of your sink wall the full tile from the little wall edge into the corner.

You need tile trim to suit the fattest part of the cut tile..... with metros this is usually about 8mm so get one that is 9mm or 10mm at push, 8mm is ok but maybe a bit tight if you are not used to using tile trims. By the flat L shaped trim.

It is up to you if you want a trim on the top edge of the tiles. Make sure you finish with a full tile though to make it look neat.

8mm trim with metro tiles every time. It must be set out central from the cooker / extractor or it won’t look right, even if that means a small cut in a corner, as for the other walls, however it works and looks good to you.

same as what the other guys said .
If you take your time planning it out helps.
Be sure to post anymore questions if your stuck

Thanks everyone for your reply’s. I’ll start getting the paint off the walls today then will let you know if require any further help.

Where I’m scraping the paint off the walls ready for tiling, how do I ensure that the edge of the paint that remains doesn’t leave a ridge which would be visible when I come to re-paint the walls at a later date? Is it just a case of sanding the edges so it doesn’t feel like a ridge?

Not being a decorator - but from the edge of the tiling you could use a poly filler type product to smooth to the painted area.

Re the paint, ideally, you should leave 20mm or so inside the tile line so that your existing paintwork is untouched.

Rachel81 said:

Where I’m scraping the paint off the walls ready for tiling, how do I ensure that the edge of the paint that remains doesn’t leave a ridge which would be visible when I come to re-paint the walls at a later date? Is it just a case of sanding the edges so it doesn’t feel like a ridge? View attachment 96104

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Yes, just sand then fill with a fine filler and sand again, then paint away

Plan Tec Tiling said:

Yes, just sand then fill with a fine filler and sand again, then paint away

Click to expand...

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timeless john said:

The advantage of being a multi trader - all this expert advice.

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And all that extra earning!

Plan Tec Tiling said:

And all that extra earning!

Click to expand...

At reduced rates of real tilers

Apologies for jumping into your thread Rachel, but for metros, I understand that you need 2mm grout lines.
My question is: is this enough for the silicone joint with the worksurface, or do you need larger spacers beneath the bottom tile?

2mm is fine

Thanks macten