F
fulabeer
Hi guys/girls...
Just a quick post to say hello as i think it rude not to, me being new here etc.
Ok, it's not a quick post, so get a cup of tea ready!:lol:
I'm not a tiler as such, but i suppose 30+ full bathrooms and 20 kitchen floors and splash-backs means i'm not really a newbie either! LOL...
I started like many just tiling my own house, and then onto family and friends.
I was working as a signaller on the railways before deciding shift work wasn't good for my health.
I trained plumbing(between shifts) for over two years before finally handing in my notice.
I started property developing and realised that all my houses would need plumbing of some sort. (bathroom/kitchen/central heating etc)
I was doing quite well, filling in gaps between properties with a bit of plumbing/tiling.
When the property boom went bust, i was fortunate to have something to fall back on.
Once word got round that i was plumbing full time, the work flowed.
I only do gas work/boilers when i'm with my mentor as i haven't taken my Gas Safe course yet.
I started to take on more and more bathrooms.
At first, i only did the plumbing, but after seeing the state of some of the work of so called "Tilers" i started to do the whole bathroom/kitchen install.
I will admit that i was slow, and i sometimes backed myself into a corner.
My main problem was not measuring and setting/laying out the tile pattern first.
This meant i would start whole walls/floors again if i had too.
My attitude was that if it wasn't perfect, it had to go.
These delays sometimes meant i didn't earn much money, but at least the customers were very happy.
Slowly but surely, my speed improved and my (better) pre-planning meant less mistakes.
Pre-planning is everything, and having a plasterer on call is a blessing!
I was using a fairly cheap manual cutter and a very large QEP 900 tile saw.
I've got to say, apart from lugging the QEP about it was great.
I really got in tune with it, meaning my cuts were perfect and accurate.
I went from dreading the more intricate/harder jobs to actually relishing them.
As part of my property development business, i did plenty of hard landscaping which included block paving. I also bought equipment to professionally clean them.
At first i took on some driveway installs. But i quickly realised that i much preferred to just do repairs/cleaning.
I started out from the beginning to put quality before profit.
I reasoned that eventually i would start making money.
I started just doing family and friends, but neighbours started asking for me.
I think because of my attention to detail, work started to flow in. (i don't advertise in anyway)
This then lead to increasingly wealthy customers calling me.
They want quality work and are not afraid to pay for it!
I now do most of my external cleaning work for the high end market as it give stability.
So over the last few years, i have found a pattern of summer doing the drives/estates and winter taking on two or three kitchen/bathrooms.
I don't do "cheap" jobs, i just advise my customers that i do the correct job for the right price. I'm very honest and often tell them that i'm probably not the cheapest, but i do mention that i don't cut corners either.
I must be doing something right, as i'm snowballed with work!
My trusty QEP is now dead. I think the motor/wheel bearing has gone, as the cuts suddenly went crooked.
I don't mind as i got more than my use out of it. I normally look after all my tools, but for some reason i didn't with this.
It was totally abused and was left outside 24/7 yet lasted way beyond what i thought was just a cheap and cheerful machine bought for one job.
I've just finished a bathroom/kitchen install over Christmas for a friend of mine, and his mum wants the same.
I was in two mids about just buying another QEP 900, but remembering the" lugging" put me off.
I can also justify buying something a little nicer now anyway.
So i decided to get a Dewalt D24000. Since i'm not a pro tiler as such, this will be perfect for my all round needs. It breaks down into smaller bits for carrying/storing, and should be more than good enough. I like the idea that the water/spray is managed.
So to end my introduction, i will tell you how i got on with the new "Lash Tile" lippage clips.
I've never used them before, but was intrigued if they could help with speed/lippage.
Well to be honest, i'm not too sure.
Maybe because i've never used them before, i found my job today took about twice as long.
I get the impression that they come into their own the larger the floor tile is.
For the smaller tiles, i just think they are too fiddly.
I also struggled/was worried to make sure the tiles were not "lifting" creating voids underneath.
As for the results, well to be honest the tile/lippage did look very good.
And i am be confident that when i go tomorrow, there will have been no movement as the adhesive sets/shrinks.
But! i rarely get much lippage these days anyway, and even when i do it's so slight that no customer would notice. So apart from preventing any lippage due to the adhesive shrinking/setting i think any tiler worth his salt wouldn't need these. (apart from "said" very large tiles)
I think "DIYers" would end up with voids, so i'm not sure they are suitable for them either.
I will keep some for large sharp edge tiles, but for everything else i will stick with my spirit level/straight edge and eyesight...
Paul
Just a quick post to say hello as i think it rude not to, me being new here etc.
Ok, it's not a quick post, so get a cup of tea ready!:lol:
I'm not a tiler as such, but i suppose 30+ full bathrooms and 20 kitchen floors and splash-backs means i'm not really a newbie either! LOL...
I started like many just tiling my own house, and then onto family and friends.
I was working as a signaller on the railways before deciding shift work wasn't good for my health.
I trained plumbing(between shifts) for over two years before finally handing in my notice.
I started property developing and realised that all my houses would need plumbing of some sort. (bathroom/kitchen/central heating etc)
I was doing quite well, filling in gaps between properties with a bit of plumbing/tiling.
When the property boom went bust, i was fortunate to have something to fall back on.
Once word got round that i was plumbing full time, the work flowed.
I only do gas work/boilers when i'm with my mentor as i haven't taken my Gas Safe course yet.
I started to take on more and more bathrooms.
At first, i only did the plumbing, but after seeing the state of some of the work of so called "Tilers" i started to do the whole bathroom/kitchen install.
I will admit that i was slow, and i sometimes backed myself into a corner.
My main problem was not measuring and setting/laying out the tile pattern first.
This meant i would start whole walls/floors again if i had too.
My attitude was that if it wasn't perfect, it had to go.
These delays sometimes meant i didn't earn much money, but at least the customers were very happy.
Slowly but surely, my speed improved and my (better) pre-planning meant less mistakes.
Pre-planning is everything, and having a plasterer on call is a blessing!
I was using a fairly cheap manual cutter and a very large QEP 900 tile saw.
I've got to say, apart from lugging the QEP about it was great.
I really got in tune with it, meaning my cuts were perfect and accurate.
I went from dreading the more intricate/harder jobs to actually relishing them.
As part of my property development business, i did plenty of hard landscaping which included block paving. I also bought equipment to professionally clean them.
At first i took on some driveway installs. But i quickly realised that i much preferred to just do repairs/cleaning.
I started out from the beginning to put quality before profit.
I reasoned that eventually i would start making money.
I started just doing family and friends, but neighbours started asking for me.
I think because of my attention to detail, work started to flow in. (i don't advertise in anyway)
This then lead to increasingly wealthy customers calling me.
They want quality work and are not afraid to pay for it!
I now do most of my external cleaning work for the high end market as it give stability.
So over the last few years, i have found a pattern of summer doing the drives/estates and winter taking on two or three kitchen/bathrooms.
I don't do "cheap" jobs, i just advise my customers that i do the correct job for the right price. I'm very honest and often tell them that i'm probably not the cheapest, but i do mention that i don't cut corners either.
I must be doing something right, as i'm snowballed with work!
My trusty QEP is now dead. I think the motor/wheel bearing has gone, as the cuts suddenly went crooked.
I don't mind as i got more than my use out of it. I normally look after all my tools, but for some reason i didn't with this.
It was totally abused and was left outside 24/7 yet lasted way beyond what i thought was just a cheap and cheerful machine bought for one job.
I've just finished a bathroom/kitchen install over Christmas for a friend of mine, and his mum wants the same.
I was in two mids about just buying another QEP 900, but remembering the" lugging" put me off.
I can also justify buying something a little nicer now anyway.
So i decided to get a Dewalt D24000. Since i'm not a pro tiler as such, this will be perfect for my all round needs. It breaks down into smaller bits for carrying/storing, and should be more than good enough. I like the idea that the water/spray is managed.
So to end my introduction, i will tell you how i got on with the new "Lash Tile" lippage clips.
I've never used them before, but was intrigued if they could help with speed/lippage.
Well to be honest, i'm not too sure.
Maybe because i've never used them before, i found my job today took about twice as long.
I get the impression that they come into their own the larger the floor tile is.
For the smaller tiles, i just think they are too fiddly.
I also struggled/was worried to make sure the tiles were not "lifting" creating voids underneath.
As for the results, well to be honest the tile/lippage did look very good.
And i am be confident that when i go tomorrow, there will have been no movement as the adhesive sets/shrinks.
But! i rarely get much lippage these days anyway, and even when i do it's so slight that no customer would notice. So apart from preventing any lippage due to the adhesive shrinking/setting i think any tiler worth his salt wouldn't need these. (apart from "said" very large tiles)
I think "DIYers" would end up with voids, so i'm not sure they are suitable for them either.
I will keep some for large sharp edge tiles, but for everything else i will stick with my spirit level/straight edge and eyesight...
Paul
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