Well,
Thank you all very much for responding to my past midnight thoughts. Today I've been absoolutely knackered as I didn't sleep more than about 3 hours. However I have made good progress with regards to the tiling, but I've got so much damned cutting to do!
I mean good progress for me
.
The overwelming message that I've picked up from here is that I am comparing my work with that of others who have been tiling all their working life, or certainly a lot longer than I have, or people who just tile.
So far as the Hall of Shame goes, I don't think my work is as bad as that, although I do still live in fear of a better job than mine appearing on that!
The problem with this job is that I have under estimated the time it would take. This was made worse by the weather last year. Remember I have also done the building work and plumbing associated with this job. I had a good couple of weeks delayed in total just due to the bad weather, whether it was too cold to collect ex works concrete for the new floor or the sand for the screed was frozen.
I know this, the customer will get a very cheap wetroom. All the materials are covered but I'll be lucky if I make 3 weeks pay on it. It's taken me considerably longer than that.
So, it's not just the tiling I have had to do, not by a long chalk.
The wall tiles I am using are the 250 x 200 ripped white from CTD. When I bought them I thought they were of a basic but sound quality. Needless to say I could have got the same quality from B and Q and saved a few quid. I stopped buying tiles from B and Q because the quality went right down. I at least thought I would get straight tiles from CTD. Many of these are warped, twisted etc. Up until recently I never had an issue with any of the CTD tiles. Then recently I noticed that their 150 x 150 tiles were starting to look a bit light on glazing on the edges. This proved to be fun and games when I grouted them. However I got over this, and could have done again. I chose the bigger ones that looked a bit better on the edges and I thought I could speed the tiling up by going for a slightly bigger format.
This is not the first wetroom I have done, so I don't think I took on more than I should have been able to manage from a technical point of view. Unfortunately I felt under pressure to get the job done quickly. The last time I wasn't under the same pressure although I knew then as I know now that I could do with some help in speeding up the tiling. However the actual job ended very well. There were areas that I could have done better but overall I was pleased with it. There is a thread with photos on it on the forum somewhere. Otherwise I think the photos are in my profile. The whole lot was done in B&Q tiles:yikes:
To be fair, tiling has been a fairly small part of this job, and that includes laying the former using SPF. After the walls are done there is just the fitting of the basin and loo and then I will need to connect it all up to the hot and cold water. The towel rail will also need to be refitted.
There are a few things I will have taken away from this.
1) I need more joined up thinking. Pipework an fittings need to allow for tiles where there aren't any for now. I got this so right with the other wetroom. Why did I miss the detail for this one?
2) Don't let the customer put you under pressure. That was my big mistake.
3) The tanking and uncoupling products actually need to be taken into account in terms of thickness etc. I was a bit sloppy with the kerdi tape on the sides of the room. I didn't take care to avoid an excessive build up of adhesive at floor level. I think I have managed to pretty much lose this problem on the 3 solid walls. Another time I may have removed the top layer of plaster where the kerdi tape would sit, thus allowing the tape to be applied and sit flush with the walls further up. Then I could have just tanked down to the floor over the tape.
4) Setting out. There are options. I have ended up with a thin strip down one side of the back wall. Moving the whole arrangement over half a tile width would have prevented this. Hopefully that's the only mistake I made here.
5) Technique. I don't have it yet. I have however discovered back buttering tiles using the flat edge of the trowel, or even using a plastering trowel. Up until today I had been bac buttering tiles with the notched edge of the trowel. I think I am using an 8mm or so notch at the moment. it's a lot bigger than the one I was using and I was getting good coverage. The main wall, which was quite out and has now been almost flattened using SPF will probably benefit from the same trowel I used to lay the floor 13mm (I think) round notch.
6) And this is important. I was getting bogged down by this website. Not because of the members but because of the work posted up here. I am not contracted to tile the Hilton. I have been asked to sort out what is effectively someone's bathroom. I have gone back to houses where I have refitted bathrooms etc several times and have rarely been embarresed by my own tiling. A case in point was when I was asked to change a couple of taps in a shower room. Two years before I had fitted a new cubicle and tiled the whole room. It looked fantastic when I went back. I reckon enough time had passed for me to forget about the little errors I made and appreciate it for what it was.
Just because I haven't yet been on a course or had training, or because I am further down the learning curve, should I be ashamed? No, I am a good general jobbing builder who understands the basics about tiling, tanking, wetroom construction on a solid floor. I am not an award winning tiler, but I am perfectly able. And for my customer base, that's what is important.
