Brick style splash back

[leftylewis1987]

i am currently doing alot of tiling on kitchen splash backs on council houses. the walls are in bad shape and the tiles are 200x100 brick style. i cant seem to get a good finish and there is alot of lippage.

im using a 6mm notched trowel but a few people have mentioned using a 8mm or even a 10mm. another tiler have also that just dabbing the tile would be better.

what do you think would work best?

 

[White Room]

What adhesive are you using...

 

[Rich]

Thicker trowel and a good quality cement based (powder) adhesive. You can also use the adhesive to make good of the wall before you tile.

 

[CJ]

Prep the walls.....................

 

[leftylewis1987]

norcross grab adhesive. its supplied for me.

 

[leftylewis1987]

only problem is the money is rubbish so cant afford to be preping walls. the council wouldnt care if a plumber tiled the walls as long as it gets done.

 

[Stef]

I gave away a council contract of 500 houses a few years ago for the same reasons,

Walls were a mess & i just wasnt happy with the state of the tiles,

I tiled one bathroom splashback & one kitchen & walked away.

Its as quick as they can get it done & they dont care the state of it.

 

[Time's Ran Out]

only problem is the money is rubbish so cant afford to be preping walls. the council wouldnt care if a plumber tiled the walls as long as it gets done.

As you are getting paid to tile, I'am assuming your a professional tiler and as such the work you are producing should be of a quality and standard which will be a credit to our trade.
If you are prepared to leave the work at a level below your own personal expectations due to the amount of money you are being paid, then I'd suggest one of two options - either change your job or charge more money and do it properly.

 

[leftylewis1987]

thats exactly it. because i have only been tiling 3 months i want to get stuck into it to give me experience. its not the best of jobs but id like to get it right.

 

[leftylewis1987]

as i said in my post iv only been tiling 3 months so i have little experience compared to someone who has been tiling for years. we all got to start somewhere. im working on council houses and they are limited on what the pay.

 

[White Room]

Did you do a course with anyone before starting out..

 

[leftylewis1987]

yes but only a 5 day course. once i got a bit of money coming in i will be doing my nvq.

 

[hillhead]

Nasty one, tell them to buy square tiles.lol.

 

[leftylewis1987]

the square tiles are a doddle. would you suggest a 8mm trowel to do the kitchen splash backs if the walls are bad?

 

[White Room]

If you using tubbed adhesive a bed of 3mm when fixed should be enough but any thicker it will take longer to dry....

 

[Time's Ran Out]

as i said in my post iv only been tiling 3 months so i have little experience compared to someone who has been tiling for years. we all got to start somewhere. im working on council houses and they are limited on what the pay.

My son was with me for 3 years before I'd let him do a kitchen splashback on his own!
I spent 3 months grouting before I was allowed to fix my first tile.
8"x4" tiles are one of the easier tiles to handle.
I could go on... but in my first post in this thread I was unaware of how long/how much experience you have. So you are right in asking as you did for help and advice.
However :
The 1st problem is the customer (in this case the council) will be expecting the clerk of works to sign off your work to an acceptable standard before you get paid - so you may be working for nothing.
The 2nd problem is by getting this work at a lower tender, you are taking work away from a more experienced tiler who could have possibly overcome the unprepared walls and produced a job fit for purpose.
The 3rd problem is the damage gaining experience does to the reputation of our trade when the customer comments - 'I could have done better than that'.
My advice would be to get plenty of practice doing friends and family before you sell your wares as a tiler, try to work alongside an experienced tiler and learn, and finally don't take on work you have no confidence in doing.
If all this fails and you have your heart set on being a tiler - sign up with NETT here in the North East and I'll take you with me for a week!

 

[leftylewis1987]

i know i will get better its just very early days. i got offered a job 35 meters of porcelin tiles 600x300 floors and walls but turned it down due to confidence and knowledge. i really appreciate the offer working with you and im sure i would learn a so much but i live in south wales so probably be difficult to get to you by 8am 🙂

 

[Perry]

Nasty one, tell them to buy square tiles.lol.

Joe vinyl ones

 

[flaggy]

ive done and worked for mickey mouse out fits and dear say i will again i didnt like these houses that you and i have worked in so i said forget it all i can say just do it for the experience and a learning curve

 

[Del W]

I understand that you need the work,but unless youre quick & confident,you might fall into the trap of "that will do" & pick up some bad habits along the way doing house bashing.Good luck.

 

[Rizzle from the Portizzle]

you need to go back to square one you need to work with some tilers even if you work for nothing for 6 mouths you will learn more than any nvq can teach this will soon start to pay off i know this sounds hard but it is the way to gain experience you cant by it you have to earn it you cant guess how to tile good luck

 

[guil.rocha]

I would try to prep the walls. Are the flats in the same block? If so I would spend a day just on prep to give me a head start.
Should make your tiling pretty straight forward afterwards. Remember when self employed you should be working smarter not harder. Good luck.

 

[AMtek]

banging tiles up that are lipped will do nothing for your reputation, customers don't understand prep, all they understand is what they see. prepping a splashback properly will cost you less than 10 quid in materials and a properly prepped wall will take less time to tile so if you get the prep right the job will be easier, quicker, more solid and you should be left with a much better job. I would say if your having trouble with a splashback you definately need more experience before your going to make any money from tiling. If you are going to carry on and learn from your own mistakes at least have a good read through the forum to try and avoid some of the common mistakes. prep is at least 50% of ending up with a good job

 

[AliGage]

On a serious note, do they not teach basic prep on your course you did??
A block of council flats must be all boarded out inside. Can we see a pic of the walls? Have you scrapped off the old adhesive etc?

 

[swanman]

I would walk away

They should pay you for prep at the end of the day its your reputation thats on the line

If you want to produce good work you have to have good surfaces to work on

Good LUCK

 

[Rich]

You dont want to be building out more than 3mm with a tubbed adhesive and the council will not supply you with powder. It is a hard one to call as its all well and good saying "dont do it" and "walk away" but you have bills to pay and the council pay. I think you should do the best possible job you can with what you have, no offense but I dont think it will be long before the council start giving the work to someone else, this is how they work, as soon as they find someone cheaper, your gone.

So, keep that in mind and try to work it to your advantage, start looking at a long course and putting the feelers out for tilers that will take you on after and in the meantime, practice and spend as much time as you can on this forum swatting up. From there, follow Timeless johns advice.

Tiling is a trade that everybody thinks they can do but nobody bothers to do it right. Dont be another monkey, get stuck in and do it properly.

Best of luck with it.

 

[Stef]

I couldnt agree more with Rich, he is spot on with what he says.

I have been there, done it & i am now in a position where i can pick & choose jobs & give work away.
It was a long road to get where i am now & a lot of hard graft but i got there with a good bit of luck also.

If i were you i would make sure i would be at TJ's door for 8 bells as you wont get a lot of offers like this one, especially with the knowledge & experience he could give you.

Good luck & try & keep going, you are in a steep learning curve.

 

[Mike]

Sometimes you don't get the time for the prep ( never mind the money) as around here on the council refurbs they want a bathroom and kitchen tiled and grouted the same day. If you don't like it some other mug will do it.

tapatalk on my HTC

 

[John Benton]

I was just asked to do a shower room. It needed ripping out, prepping, re-tiling and grouting and the customer said I could do it in a day. Needless to say I said if you can get someone to do that in a day, go for it, but remember my number as you will need it in say a month or so.

 

[Mike]

I was just asked to do a shower room. It needed ripping out, prepping, re-tiling and grouting and the customer said I could do it in a day. Needless to say I said if you can get someone to do that in a day, go for it, but remember my number as you will need it in say a month or so.

it annoys me when people tell me how long the job will take me, mainly builders. i then tell them how long and how much it will cost and if it's too much they can go elsewhere. i hate builders :mad2:

 

[Ian]

it annoys me when people tell me how long the job will take me, mainly builders. i then tell them how long and how much it will cost and if it's too much they can go elsewhere. i hate builders :mad2:

You might get on really well with another guy on here, Rich is his name :lol: