DIY Tiler - 90 sq m of large format porcelaine tiling making me nervous!

[PJPro]

Received the goods today. Looks like it's all there. The clinker is, err, massive!

 

[PJPro]

Just had a go with the clinker on some large format (600x300) 10mm porcelaine tiles I've got hanging around. It was a reassuring experience. I managed to cut strips down to about 20mm without difficulty. Smaller than that ended up breaking the tile. Angled cuts were easy too. I didn't break a single tile, other than the 15mm strip. Things are looking up.

 

[Dan]

Hats off to you for taking on the task PJ. Not many DIYers would.

This will be a good before/after thread when it's completed.

 

[PJPro]

Thanks Dan. Lets hope I end up with a good job!

The foreman has strongly recommended that I put (dry) underfloor heating under the tiles in the bathroom. My wife has been hassling me to do this to. I've always said that downstairs is the underfloor heating for upstairs. However, given the foreman's comments, I'm considering putting something in.

I've spoken with the spark who says he'll still be able to supply the necessary feed and fit the thermostat, etc. His company doesn't supply the matting but he's recommended warmup. I have to ring him tomorrow if I want to go ahead with the installation. Is there anything I need to be considering? I looked at the forum member's video blog (Gary?) and the tiling disaster partly due to the underfloor heating being put on high too soon so I've taken that on board.

The first coat of ADP primer is on the walls and I'm waiting for it to dry before applying the second coat.

 

[PJPro]

Well, the second coat of ADP is on and I've used the BAL Shower Kit to waterproof the vicinity of the shower. All the plasterboard joints have been taped.....and I'm finishing a lot later than I would have liked.

Oh, I also bought some mosaic tiles today. Small travertine rectangles on a mesh. They were reduced from £8 a sheet to £3.99. I'll cut them into rows of three and use them as a detail to break up the large format tiles. I think I'll go for somewhere around eye level.

 

[Bathfix Bob]

Those mosaics will look good in a brickbond aswell.

 

[doug boardley]

is your floor adequately prepped for ufh PJ?

 

[PJPro]

Those mosaics will look good in a brickbond aswell.

I've decided to ditch the brick bond and go for a grid layout. Dave (from TradeTiler) thought I'd have fewer issues with lippage and it simplifies the setting out too.

 

[PJPro]

is your floor adequately prepped for ufh PJ?

Well, the 6mm NMP is has been glued and screwed to the chipboard. Is that going to be adequate?

 

[Gazzer]

Well, the 6mm NMP is has been glued and screwed to the chipboard. Is that going to be adequate?

As long as your sub floor was free of deflection then you will be fine. NMP adds no strength but merely provides an ideal surface to tile to. I have been using it for years.

 

[PJPro]

Narrowly avoided a disaster this morning. I had spent some considerable time working out the setting out and managed to come to a layout I thought was going to be OK. I had put my batten on the wall and was physicing myself up to start laying the tiles on the wall.....and then the plumber arrived.

He thought we had agreed that the floor would be tiled first and then the wall. He was particularly keen that the shower tray was installed before the walls tiles and the bath as well. He also wasn't convinced the wet wall was sufficiently high enough for the installation frame. If this changes, then the whole setting out would be wrong. Fortunately, he arrived before I had started. Maybe an agreement had been reached but not with me! I guess someone forgot to tell me.

Anyway, after some investigation the wet wall is the right height and my setting out is unaffected by the bath. We just need to work out exactly where the show tray will go. Clearly, I am trying to avoid tiny slithers of tile. So far I am OK but I suspect the shower tray (which comes with an easy plumb kit) is going to screw up the setting out.

 

[PJPro]

As long as your sub floor was free of deflection then you will be fine. NMP adds no strength but merely provides an ideal surface to tile to. I have been using it for years.

Hmm. Well I did the lightly jumping test and it seemed OK. I guess it won't be any worse with or without the UFH, will it?

 

[Gazzer]

Ufh heating will make no difference to strength either.

 

[PJPro]

The shower tray looks a bit pants with the easy plumb kit, so we're not going to use it. So the ceiling is going to have to be removed downstairs so that the waste can be routed under the joists and out into the roof void over the porch. It'll then have to go through every joist in the porch and exit the external wall before going into the soil pipe.

It also affects my layout. I can either lower the batten so that I have whole tiles around the shower and then 55mm tiles along the bottom to the floor or have 45mm tiles around the shower. I can probably jiggle this around a bit to increase the size of tile along the floor. But if I do this, it reduces the size of the tile under the window cill and under the top of the wet wall. These are currently 100mm. With jiggling around, I think I can have these tiles both at around 70mm.

 

[doug boardley]

Narrowly avoided a disaster this morning. I had spent some considerable time working out the setting out and managed to come to a layout I thought was going to be OK. I had put my batten on the wall and was physicing myself up to start laying the tiles on the wall.....and then the plumber arrived.

He thought we had agreed that the floor would be tiled first and then the wall. He was particularly keen that the shower tray was installed before the walls tiles and the bath as well. He also wasn't convinced the wet wall was sufficiently high enough for the installation frame. If this changes, then the whole setting out would be wrong. Fortunately, he arrived before I had started. Maybe an agreement had been reached but not with me! I guess someone forgot to tell me.

Anyway, after some investigation the wet wall is the right height and my setting out is unaffected by the bath. We just need to work out exactly where the show tray will go. Clearly, I am trying to avoid tiny slithers of tile. So far I am OK but I suspect the shower tray (which comes with an easy plumb kit) is going to screw up the setting out.

Welcome to the tilers world!:lol::lol: