cuts on floor and walls.

[NorthSeaTiger]

haven't posted in a while. still been planning things out. (work offshore and planning on doing tiling when I can when Im home.) done a fair few jobs over the years. homers for family and friends, just small jobs apart from one which was a full bathroom and kitchen, walls and floors. I doe a bit of tiling when i left school too.

anyway, I have been putting the feelers out a bit and im gonna be tiling my girlfriends mums kitchen and my mates full bathroom and kitchen, wallas and floors.

When I tiled before I was never really taught the best way to get get your cuts right. whats the best way to measure your cuts at the edge of walls on the floor and on a wall to get the best finish?

I'll prob be making a lot more threads regarding my upcoming jobs and I hope to post pics of them when they get done.

Thanks

 

[doug boardley]

I tend to flip the tiles over so the face is facing the wall/floor, then mark the tile from the corner to the edge of the full tile

 

[Mike]

the easiest way is to use a staff or a length of batten just shorter than the wall your going to tile, mark out the tiles and spacers on the batten and move it side to side till you find the ideal position. if possible it's best to centralise the window, with either a full tile or a grout line central. try at all times to avoid small cuts (slithers) but it's not always possible. good luck with the tiling

 

[Mike]

I tend to flip the tiles over so the face is facing the wall/floor, then mark the tile from the corner to the edge of the full tile

looks like i misunderstood re the cuts, i was advising against small ones. i use a steel rule but it's each to their own i guess

 

[suave]

reverse marking for me

 

[doug boardley]

looks like i misunderstood re the cuts, i was advising against small ones. i use a steel rule but it's each to their own i guess

maybe I've misunderstood it Mike, but your advice is sound so between us we should have all bases covered

 

[NorthSeaTiger]

sorry, I may not have explained it right. I wasn't meaning when setting out I was meaning when measuring the cuts to go against the wall.

Is there a diagram or anything that explains the reverse technique? I think I get it but im not 100% sure. I'd like to be able to get cuts flush against the wall (if on a floor say) without having to put in a bead of silicone to hide bad cuts.

if that makes sense.

 

[doug boardley]

you do need to put in a bead of silicon on all corners mate, to act as a buffer for any movement expansion.

 

[NorthSeaTiger]

looks like i misunderstood re the cuts, i was advising against small ones. i use a steel rule but it's each to their own i guess

the steel rule method. would this work by measuring from the edge of the last full tile to the edge of the wall? to get the grout joint right we would measure to 4mm (if 2mm grout joint) away from the edge of the wall so we'd get 2mm grout joint between last full tile and the cut tile and 2mm away from cut tile to the wall?

hope that made sense...!!

 

[Rich]

You should leave a small gap and silicone between walls and walls and walls and floors anyway (not grouted). I turn the tile over 180 degrees (so that the tile is upside down and glazed side out) and mark each side of the tile, leaving a 2mm gap. Then cut the tile, check it and fix it in place with adhesive, spacers and wedges.

 

[doug boardley]

to reverse mark a tile to be cut simply turn it over so the back of the tile is facing you, offer it into the corner and then mark it where it comes out of the corner and meets the full tile that's already fixed, easier done than explained I guess

 

[NorthSeaTiger]

you do need to put in a bead of silicon on all corners mate, to act as a buffer for any movement expansion.

ok thanks.

 

[Mike]

the steel rule method. would this work by measuring from the edge of the last full tile to the edge of the wall? to get the grout joint right we would measure to 4mm (if 2mm grout joint) away from the edge of the wall so we'd get 2mm grout joint between last full tile and the cut tile and 2mm away from cut tile to the wall?

hope that made sense...!!

yes that's correct but remember not to grout any internal corners or between wall and floors/ceilings or against windows and doorframes. caulk anywhere what's getting painted and silicon the rest

 

[suave]

if you go for the ruler method,i have a yellow plastic folding rule,much easier to see than a steel rule

 

[Mike]

if you go for the ruler method,i have a yellow plastic folding rule,much easier to see than a steel rule

handy if you've got gammy lamps :lol:

 

[John Benton]

Reverse technique for me also. It's quite easy really. For measuring a wall tile to the floor - The top right hand corner of the tile (in fixed position) should be on the bottom right hand side, effectively flipping the tile 180 degrees so you can measure up to the bottom of the already fixed tile. Mark the tile where it needs to be cut, so if you have a 3mm joint and a 2mm movement gap, you would mark -5mm off where the two tiles meet. Same for left hand side but opposite way round. Same for last course of tiles up to ceiling level. Hope this helps.

 

[NorthSeaTiger]

Thanks for the replies. I really want to get the cuts right first time as I remember on the couple of jobs I done I had to do a few cuts again as I had mis-measured them.

whats the standard gap for the joint between the wall and the last cut tile be? is it 2mm usually?

 

[Mike]

i find it quicker with a ruler as i can measure the whole row (except corners) and mark the wall rather than one at a time

 

[Mike]

Thanks for the replies. I really want to get the cuts right first time as I remember on the couple of jobs I done I had to do a few cuts again as I had mis-measured them.

whats the standard gap for the joint between the wall and the last cut tile be? is it 2mm usually?

it's very hard to get the cut bang on every time, only practice and experience(and a good cutter) will help you there. and yes, 2mm is an ideal gap size to aim for

 

[NorthSeaTiger]

it's very hard to get the cut bang on every time, only practice and experience(and a good cutter) will help you there. and yes, 2mm is an ideal gap size to aim for

cheers mike. while we'r on the subject. I have a decent dry cutter, been sitting for a while though so might need a new blade. where will I get one? also what wet cutter should I buy to get me started? had a cheap one on the previous jobs but looking to get a decent one. cheers

 

[John Benton]

Watch out for ceilings with "curves" in. Just done a bathroom and over a 3.8m wall there were 4 low and 5 high points so effectively had to scribe the tiles in, slow and painful, 3m high ceilings as well

 

[NorthSeaTiger]

cheers mike. while we'r on the subject. I have a decent dry cutter, been sitting for a while though so might need a new blade. where will I get one? also what wet cutter should I buy to get me started? had a cheap one on the previous jobs but looking to get a decent one. cheers

sorry, newb question. whats "scribing"? and how does it work?

 

[Mike]

cheers mike. while we'r on the subject. I have a decent dry cutter, been sitting for a while though so might need a new blade. where will I get one? also what wet cutter should I buy to get me started? had a cheap one on the previous jobs but looking to get a decent one. cheers

i don't see how the blade will go while sitting lol but what make is it? the vitrex 750 is a decent cutter for the price around a £100.

 

[Bathfix Bob]

When setting out a bathroom you need to take into account the bath or shower tray height, window cill top and bottom and top of door.

Aim for bottom and top row of tiles to be the same height but only if it doesn't create a thin slither cut on the above features, if it does then you'll have to a adjust the setting out.

Its amazing how many customers aren't that fussed though regarding the setting out and just expect you to start with a full tile in the corner of the bath and hope for the best!

 

[NorthSeaTiger]

i don't see how the blade will go while sitting lol but what make is it? the vitrex 750 is a decent cutter for the price around a £100.

lol its been sitting in its box anyway so it will be ok. I was assuming that because all my old tools have been sitting getting rutsy that that would have to. lol.

thanks for the replies lads.

no doubt there will be a thousand more questions from me. this site is 10/10 :hurray: