B
bugs183
Quite right Jonny.
But I think it goes further than that:
New tilers are now presented with a blistering choice of Manufacturers, Adhesives and Substrates etc. They are used to the huge array of situations that now occur.
When i started (which was in 1985 labouring for dad, then tiled professionally in 1991), we had very few of the the problems we had now as there was little adhesive choice and the substrates were render, cement screed, plaster and plasterboard for 99.99% of the jobs.
You knew that Bal Grip (green writing, ammonia, awful with a hangover) stuck to everything and couldn't be removed off shower bases or baths after a couple of hours. Bal Wall was the only other wall tile adhesive you needed.
Bal Gold Star was lovely to use, the New Rapid set (wow three hours!) stuck, and for mega jobs Bal Flex (yuk, but it stuck).
Nothing needed to be primed, sanded, moisture tested etc etc..
Everything stuck to everything else!!!!
Now with underfloor heating, porcelain, anhydrite blah blah, you feel you need to be blessed by god for anything to actually work.
We have had it straight forward and now things have become so complicated and advanced that we are at a loss to understand why.
Maybe we are being Ludites, but i don't believe this at all, as all the above are here trying to grapple with this problem, i know my mate who's been atiler for 4 years will just look at me blankly if i mention anhydrite, he must have tiled loads by now....
As you say it's because we do care and tiling has got under our skin and we look at everything a little differently, especially all these new systems like Polypipes dreadful u/f/h system with it's reps quoting utter rubbish at us!!
But I think it goes further than that:
New tilers are now presented with a blistering choice of Manufacturers, Adhesives and Substrates etc. They are used to the huge array of situations that now occur.
When i started (which was in 1985 labouring for dad, then tiled professionally in 1991), we had very few of the the problems we had now as there was little adhesive choice and the substrates were render, cement screed, plaster and plasterboard for 99.99% of the jobs.
You knew that Bal Grip (green writing, ammonia, awful with a hangover) stuck to everything and couldn't be removed off shower bases or baths after a couple of hours. Bal Wall was the only other wall tile adhesive you needed.
Bal Gold Star was lovely to use, the New Rapid set (wow three hours!) stuck, and for mega jobs Bal Flex (yuk, but it stuck).
Nothing needed to be primed, sanded, moisture tested etc etc..
Everything stuck to everything else!!!!
Now with underfloor heating, porcelain, anhydrite blah blah, you feel you need to be blessed by god for anything to actually work.
We have had it straight forward and now things have become so complicated and advanced that we are at a loss to understand why.
Maybe we are being Ludites, but i don't believe this at all, as all the above are here trying to grapple with this problem, i know my mate who's been atiler for 4 years will just look at me blankly if i mention anhydrite, he must have tiled loads by now....
As you say it's because we do care and tiling has got under our skin and we look at everything a little differently, especially all these new systems like Polypipes dreadful u/f/h system with it's reps quoting utter rubbish at us!!
