Discuss So You Tile, What Else Do You Do And Why? in the Australia Tiling Forum area at TilersForums.com.

W

White Room

Trained as a decorator in the early 70's, then tried bit of tiling and plastering in the mid 70's and various other bits before I went into the Army.

Then took plastering more serious for a number of decades with printed concrete thrown for good measure, then tiling showed it's head again and continued with that, still plaster occasionally but the two work well together for prep work.

I'd like to be called a tiler amongst other names:)
 
W

White Room

Had at leadt 30 diff jobs over the years and im only 27 lol, this is the longest ive ever had a solid income. When i was 18 i gave up a mechanics colleage course worst thing i ever done and that was to go and work in poundland! The things ppl do with no guidence eh

Started doing a plumbing and heating apprentiship just after leaving school but give it up, probably one of the worst things I done.
 
M

Mr Tiler

Started doing a plumbing and heating apprentiship just after leaving school but give it up, probably one of the worst things I done.
suppose we all end up doin what we was supposed to mate, cant see myself changing my trade now unless i go into fitting up too
 
O

Old Mod

before I went into the Army.

Army!!!!

surprised-004.gif


I did not know that!!

Expand please! Haha (if u don't mind!) ;)
 

padtheplumber

TF
Esteemed
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redditch
After doing A-levels in economics & english lit I wandered aimlessly through a few factory jobs (just for beer money), then fell into a YT office job with a Rover garage. 6 years on and I'd moved up to office manager in another branch, finished my work by half 10 every morning then sat around shuffling papers till home time - real soul destroying stuff!
My old man then offered me 12 months guaranteed work if got qualified as a plumber (he was self employed - just him & a labourer), a chance I jumped at - 2 years later I was qualified and on the tools. I was 26 at the time.

That was 15 years ago, 7 years ago my dad wanted to back off a bit so I took up the reigns, put the business in my name and pushed towards the bathroom fitting side of the trade, including tiling which I love. My brother works for me, my dad still does all our gas work, and I've got a good team of sparky, plasterer, kitchen fitter etc that I use as needed.

Up until May this year, when I had a nasty eye injury (thats for another thread :(!!), I've been doing all my own plumbing, plasterboarding, build stud walls / doorways, boxing, tiling.

Currently I'm subbing out the tiling (which hurts cause I enjoy that more than the plumbing!) but hope to get back to that soon.

If I had to do it all again I'd have started as a tiler, or maybe a chippie, plumbing is ok, but I love the job satisfaction of finishing a nice bathroom, no-one ever looks at a new ball valve and says wow........:rolleyes:
 
W

White Room

Army!!!!

surprised-004.gif


I did not know that!!

Expand please! Haha (if u don't mind!) ;)

Done the first firemans strike in 77 then over to Belfast for a year and a half and worked on Navy minesweeper searching ships coming into Belfast docks for a short period then Kenya for a bit.

Was a Royal Anglian 3rd Battalion (the Pompadours) was disbanded in 92 due to the governments infinite wisdom.
 

AliGage

TF
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Peterborough, England
Oh my! Is this part if the "new" forum. Are we bonding and getting to know one another now?

I hated school. Was one if the disruptive kids/class clown because I found it boring. Scrapped through GCSES and decided adhoc to join the Army as I left school.
Trained to be a telecommunications technician and spent just shy of 6 years in the Royal Signals. Left two months after 9/11 after my final tour in Bosnia.
About the same time my father got made redundant and setup on his own first electrics and then moving into kitchens and bathrooms.
So after leaving the Army I worked and learnt all aspects of kitchens and bathrooms from my dad, and tiling from a his mate who he employeed.
In 2007 I done a week course in tiling thinking the certificate might help me in someway.
My dad semi retired in 2008 and I went out on my own doing kitchen and Bathrooms. In 2012 done my EWPA to get my NVQ, and since then focused on mainly tiling.
Doing a few bathroom, wetroom and kitchens on the way. 2 or 3 of each a year maybe.

Tiling allows me to control my OCD and anxiety issues. Privileged to do something I absolutely love to do everyday and be paid for it
 
S

Spare Tool

Oh my! Is this part if the "new" forum. Are we bonding and getting to know one another now?

I hated school. Was one if the disruptive kids/class clown because I found it boring. Scrapped through GCSES and decided adhoc to join the Army as I left school.
Trained to be a telecommunications technician and spent just shy of 6 years in the Royal Signals. Left two months after 9/11 after my final tour in Bosnia.
About the same time my father got made redundant and setup on his own first electrics and then moving into kitchens and bathrooms.
So after leaving the Army I worked and learnt all aspects of kitchens and bathrooms from my dad, and tiling from a his mate who he employeed.
In 2007 I done a week course in tiling thinking the certificate might help me in someway.
My dad semi retired in 2008 and I went out on my own doing kitchen and Bathrooms. In 2012 done my EWPA to get my NVQ, and since then focused on mainly tiling.
Doing a few bathroom, wetroom and kitchens on the way. 2 or 3 of each a year maybe.

Tiling allows me to control my OCD and anxiety issues. Privileged to do something I absolutely love to do everyday and be paid for it
Plumber I work with is ex army too, get a bit of ady on his levels and there's hell to pay ;)
 
J

Just Rizzle

by the sound of it none of us left school and tiling was our first choice.
when I was 16 stayed on at school to do a levels then some of us formed a band playing rock and punk to fill in our spare lessons and used to do lunchtime concerts then when the band split I bought the pa from the lads and did discos in the pubs and clubs in the north east did my first tiling job during my disco period my dads bathroom lol in 4inch marble effect tiles
the chicken ones
then did a few more relatives bathrooms then got married and moved to London, Epsom got a job on a prison complex at felthem were ever thing fixed in sand and cement so been tiling now 34yrs and I still have my disco decks an records
 
O

Old Mod

Done the first firemans strike in 77 then over to Belfast for a year and a half and worked on Navy minesweeper searching ships coming into Belfast docks for a short period then Kenya for a bit.

Was a Royal Anglian 3rd Battalion (the Pompadours) was disbanded in 92 due to the governments infinite wisdom.

I joined when fireman strike was on and labour was on the way out!
Good job and all! They were trying to decommission our Nuclear Subs at the time! Grrrrrr

...and I think I'm a liar Mark @whitebeam I do vaguely recall u telling me on the Nu-stone stone restoration course oooops! Sorry mate!
But that course seems like 10 years ago now! Hahha
 

AD Ceramics

TF
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Manchester
When I left school my first to jobs was the old government training scheme working in a fishing tackle and bike shop then went on to insulating houses for six months
Then I got my first full time job stacking shelves in a warehouse, got my fork lift license and became a supervisor there but ended up being made redundant.
After four weeks of drinking my redundancy money away a friend who was working behind the bar of my local was looking for an apprentice tiler to go working in London with him, I was bored so I said I'd give it a go.
I made the right choice I loved it and took to it like a duck to water and had a talent for the trade (his words) after working with him for a few years I was dropped in at the deep end to continue with all our work on my own when he ended up doing a bit of bird.
That was in the late eighties, a long time ago and I continued to grow at one stage in the 90's I had several tilers working for me but had to take a break after suffering a sort of..... Eek.... A nervous breakdown, working seven days a week 14-16 hours a day all over the country doesn't help.
In 1998 I joined my best friend putting our businesses together and set up a construction company we went from strength to strength we even bought out the company that he started out as an apprentice plasterer and became construction and shop fitting.
Needless to say it ended in 2006 when we fell out after I realised he was ripping me off and the company ended up folding.
So back to tiling it was. Took a while to get re-established but got there in the end, I now mainly do my work in Cheshire for a developer that builds one off houses for the wealthy and the footballing fraternity.
Feel like I'm talking to a therapist.
 

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So You Tile, What Else Do You Do And Why?
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Australia Tiling Forum
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