rubi batten holder or tiletracker

[Handyeire]

Why don't you try it on your next job?

Different folk use different methods - it might be worth a shot for you.

Ive a big enough job booked in for 4 weeks, might just try it out in the utilty room when im doing it. Might just stick to one wall to see how i get on. I know what your saying about different folk use different methods, people are just used to what they know but it got me thinking after reading online at how others do it thou in saying this, ive never came across any videos on the net with tilers starting of with at bottom.

 

[Spare Tool]

Yes i understand this, its just ive never started like this in all my years and im curious to know best way to do it. I guess i was just set im my ways over the years and even thou most tilers dont use battens, its still a good method of starting off, time wise maybe not so good but ive always seemed to cover my own wages doing it this way.

Sorry but I'd never dream of starting off with a cut to the floor...only one 100% guaranteed way of marking a room up and making sure every corner meets perfectly in my book and that's ping a datum line round the room, make a staff from a batten, tiles and spacers, then carry the batten round the room marking each wall up off your datum and staff till you've found the perfect starting point...at this point you can put your levels back in the van and every batten comes off your datum line and mark on your staff. Hammer the battens on with 6 inch nails if need be but I've found that a dry wall screw will drive into almost anything

 

[Dash J]

It's also a far better finish if you leave off bottom cut and tile down onto floor
i was taught in my apprenticeship to mark a line and tile down
not for me anymore bottom cut left off,tile floor then put bottom course in,far better finish

 

[Spare Tool]

It's also a far better finish if you leave off bottom cut and tile down onto floor
i was taught in my apprenticeship to mark a line and tile down
not for me anymore bottom cut left off,tile floor then put bottom course in,far better finish

Agreed

 

[merlecollins]

It's also a far better finish if you leave off bottom cut and tile down onto floor
i was taught in my apprenticeship to mark a line and tile down
not for me anymore bottom cut left off,tile floor then put bottom course in,far better finish

Sorry, but I disagree...:smilewinkgrin: (With regards finish)

I use both methods - battens and fixing the bottom cut first - depending on job and tile size and whichever I don't get a better finish from one method over the other.

 

[Rookery]

I've used battens and batten stands but never liked either method so stick to using the customers batten - the floor.

 

[Dash J]

So when you cut floor into wall how do you finish the cut?grey grout?its astetically a million times better to cut into a floor

 

[Handyeire]

Sorry but I'd never dream of starting off with a cut to the floor...only one 100% guaranteed way of marking a room up and making sure every corner meets perfectly in my book and that's ping a datum line round the room, make a staff from a batten, tiles and spacers, then carry the batten round the room marking each wall up off your datum and staff till you've found the perfect starting point...at this point you can put your levels back in the van and every batten comes off your datum line and mark on your staff. Hammer the battens on with 6 inch nails if need be but I've found that a dry wall screw will drive into almost anything

Datum line ? Is this marking your level of your 2nd tiles and batten all around the room, if so, this is how I do it then tile onto the floor tiles like you mention in next post.

 

[Handyeire]

whichever I don't get a better finish from one method over the other.

You hit the nail on the head! Still haven't worked out if I should go with rubi stands or tile tracker.

 

[merlecollins]

So when you cut floor into wall how do you finish the cut?grey grout?its astetically a million times better to cut into a floor

I never said the floor was tiled....:smilewinkgrin: