Find a Tiler you can trust in Perranporth.

Are you interested in fitting tiles in your home or office? If yes, then you’d probably want to know the total cost of getting the project over the line. And being fully aware every job is unique, having a cost per square metre to work with will give you a more accurate price estimation for the overall project. 

First and foremost, the cost of a tiler depends on a wide range of factors such as the type of floor tiles and the size of the area. The cheapest of them all is the vinyl tiles which can be easily cut through and waterproof when properly sealed. As a result, making them a better fit for bathroom floors. Other kinds of tiles include ceramic tiles, mosaic tiles, quarry tiles and porcelain tiles. Each of the types have their own unique qualities including the quarry tiles’ durability and the afore-mentioned vinyl tiles’ waterproof qualities.

Having in mind that the major part of your tiles cost largely depends on the size of the area and the type of tile selected, you can then go ahead to contact your preferred tiling professional for an installation quote. The average price of bathroom tiles installation ranges about £20 to £25 per square metre. Meanwhile for a kitchen floor tiling project, the cost should range between £20 to £50 per square metre.

Finding a tiling professional you can rely on to complete your project and deliver a top quality job while also offering a very competitive price can be almost impossible. The professional you use greatly determines the price of your tiling effort, so there’s the need to review various professionals before making a decision.

Kitchen fitters are often trained carpenters and not all will offer tiling but many will know a tiler that they have worked with in the past. If you are looking to get your kitchen retiled without fitting a new kitchen when it's worth talking to tilers directly to get a range of prices.

It's useful to know in advance what tiles you like, a visit to your local tile store and either pick up a brochure or take some photos. It's probably better not to purchase the tiles at this moment though as often your appointed tiler may be able to get you a better price for the tiles or recommend alternatives. 

Due to its numerous advantages, bathroom floor tiles are a popular choice for homeowners across the country. Not only are they durable and good looking, but they’re also resistant to both moisture and stains. Hence, they’re very easy to maintain and with skill, confidence and patience, can also be relatively easy to install especially when compared to wall tiles which is a vertical surface.

Fitting bathroom floor tiles requires a lot of planning as it can be easy to make costly errors here and there. Generally, this task shouldn’t pose any serious difficulty for a confident and patient DIYer. However, if you lack these attributes, then it’s advisable to call in a professional who can guarantee the best results for help. In this article, we’ll take you through the bathroom floor tiles installation process. Let’s get started!

• Make Sure You Have A Levelled Subfloor

✓ Your subfloor’s stability is crucial for the success of your tile laying.

✓ Once done, then you can start planning how to level the floor.

✓ Identify the highest point of your floor and place a really long level to determine the dip and hump spots.

✓ Fill in the identified low spots with mortar.

• Cut The Tiles

✓ Using a wet saw with a diamond blade and pump, cut through the tiles to get the appropriate shape.

• Choose The Appropriate Adhesive

✓ To best adhesive is probably the one written on the label and suggested by the manufacturer.

✓ If uncertain, you can make use of a modified mortar

• Prepare The Area

✓ Using the prepared mixture of your mortar, prime the surface by spreading it on the floor with the trowel’s flat side.

✓ Once done, you can add more mortar with the ridges of the trowel.

• Space The Tiles

✓ Tile spacement depends largely on the surrounding walls. Straight walls equal straight tiles, if not your judge would be required to ensure a great outcome.

✓ If the wall is straight, make a space of about an eighth of an inch. The bigger spacing, the higher the possibility for the grout to become visibly discoloured.

• Use The Right Grout

✓ With sanded and unsanded grouts having a variety of colours, choosing the ideal grout can a tricky affair.

✓ The size of the spaces play a huge role in determining the best choice.

✓ Use a sanded grout if the spacing is an eighth of an inch or more. However if less, make use of the unsanded grout.

Can You Tile Over Floor Tiles?

Are you about to tackle a refurbishment or renovation project? If yes, then you might be worried about the removal of your old tiles before installing the new ones. Being fully aware that this process can be time and money consuming, it can only make sense to consider whether you can tile on existing tiles. The answer is yes, however, there are a few details you must take into account when embarking on this cost-effective journey. Here’s our advice:

lSelect The New Tiles

• Take into consideration the surface behind the tiles and the weight it’ll be able to withstand.

• For plasterboard, the surface can withstand about 30kg to 32kg per m2 (28.5kg of tile/square metre and 2.5kg to 3.5kg of adhesive and grout).

• For skimmed plasterboard, the surface can hold about 18kg to 20kg per m2 ( 16kg of tile/square metre and 2.5kg to 4kg of adhesive and grout )

• Consider the existing tiles, if heavy enough, then your choice for the new tiles should very light.

lPrepare Old Tiles

• Confirm that the old tiles are well glued to the substrate.

• Check that the tiles are level. If not, use a grinder to flatten out any humps.

• Remove the sealer for the old tiles, if any.

• Clear out all dust and dirt.

lLay New Tiles

• Spread a layer of flexible adhesive.

• Lay the new tiles

lFinish The Project

• Fill the joints with an appropriate tile grout.

• Seal the edges with a sealant.

It’s as simple as that! However, it must be said that if you’re lacking the appropriate training or experience to pull this off, then you probably would not want the first trial on your prized asset. For a top quality job and to avoid unnecessary costs, you can reach out to a tiling professional for help.

Have you laid your tile and left it to set? If yes, then the next step is to start grouting. Before you get started there’s a need to make ready the right grout for the type of your grout as well as background material. If you’re not certain of the right grout you can reach out to the grout manufacturer for help. Grouting of floor tiles is not the easiest and tasks and should be left to a reputable professional in order to avoid costly mistakes and unnecessary costs. In this post, we’re going to take you through the processes involved in grouting of floor tiles in order to put you on the right track. Let’s take a look!

1. Depending on the adhesive used to lay your tiles, make sure you leave enough time for the tiles to fully set.
2. Get a mixing bucket and mix grout powder and water as instructed on the packaging. Ensure not to make too much as this will make it solidify quickly and unstable.
3. Apply some grout on the tiles - hold the grout float at 45 degree angle and apply the grout to fill all of the joints.
4. Once you’re done grouting all of the joints between the tiles, leave it for up to 10 to 15 minutes to dry before wiping down the tile surface using a damp sponge. Ensure not to apply too much pressure on the grout joints.
5. Let the tiles rest for about an hour so as to allow the grout solidify and harden a bit more. Once done, proceed to take off the excess grout and smooth it off.
6. Wipe down the tiles until they’re totally clean using a clean cloth.

When your tiles get old and starts to lose its curb appeal and deteriorate, it’s certainly time to have it removed. When it comes to old wall tiles removal, you have two options which is either you do it yourself or call in a professional – with the latter being more advisable. However, if you wish to save some money on installation and carry out the task yourself, then you’ve come to the right place!

Firstly, you have to know that the bonding agent or adhesive usually incorporated to hold a tile against the wall are always very strong or else you’ll find your tiles peeling off. As a result, to have them removed is not the easiest of tasks and bashing them with a hammer, will only have them broken leaving you with the task of having to scrape off the pieces. A better and much easier approach to removing tiles from a wall will be to pry them off one after the other. So how do you go about this? Let’s have a look!

1. Safety First, Then Remove The First Tile
   Wear a protective eye goggle and gloves.
2. Break up the grout around a tile located atthe wall’s centre using a putty knife and hammer.
3. Place the putty knife under the the tile and gently it with the hammer.
4. Remove The Remaining Tiles
   By tapping and prying using the tools - hammer and putty knife, wipe off all the tiles in the vertical row.
5. Once done, continue to detaching the tiles in the adjacent rows until you’re able to open a wallboard section that’s around 12 inches wide and does not obstruct a stud.
6. Use a keyhole blade to poke it through the wallboard.
7. With the help of a reciprocating saw, cut out the wallboard’s section.
8. Cut The Fasteners
   Using a metal-cutting blade, cut te wallboard-holding fasteners. Make sure the fasteners holding the wallboard to the top and bottom plates of the wall are both detached.
9. Remove All Wallboard Sections
   Using a similar approach, gently remove the other sections of the wallboard.
10. Once completed, you can easily sweep the tiles’ broken pieces.
11. Finally, vaccum the grout dust to ensure the work is neatly done.

If you lack a proper training or experience, taking off your tiles from a wall is best left to a skilled professional for the best results and to prevent potential damages which can lead to additional costs.

How To Lay Tiles On Concrete

Installation of tiles on concrete sub-floors can be done with relative ease under adequate guidance. Here is what you have to do.

lPrepare The Concrete Subfloor

• Ensure the concrete is dry, clean and must be at least 6 weeks old.

• If there are dips and humps, level the concrete using a levelling compound.

lSet Out

• Working from the centre outwards, take a measurement of the floor (both length and width) and draw a cross at the centre.

• Lay out the tiles from the cross with a space of 3mm between each tiles. This will allow for movement stresses within the floor and later to be filled with grout upon installation of the tiles and adhesive dried.

lCut The Tiles

• Due to the particularly had nature of some floor tiles such as natural stone and porceclain, high quality tools are usually required to produce a clean cut through the tiles. With the help of an electric wet cutter alongside a slide cutter and nippers, your job would be made a lot easier.

• For a better result during intricate cuts, make use of a cardboard template.

lFix The Tiles

• The tiles should be fixed using a cement-based adhesive.

• Ensure to refer to the packaging or product data for the mixing ratios information.

• Stir the mixture till its lump-free

lApply The Mixture

• Spread the mixture onto the concrete sub-floor to create parallel ribs with the help of a floor trowel.

• Push the tiles into the parallel ribs.

• Clear out any excess adhesive from the tiles surface with a damp sponge.

• Do not walk on the tiles for at least 2 hours.

lGrout

• Once the adhesive is dried, wipe out any dust, adhesive or dirt from the tiles’ gaps.

• Mix about 4 to 5 parts of grout powder with 1 part of water and ix together.

• Apply the mixed grout diagonally across the tiles using a soft rubber grout float.

• Wipe out excess grout from the tiles surface and allow the tiles to dry.

• Stubborn residues can be cleaned using any washing up detergent with warm water within 24 hours after grouting.

How To Tile A Bathroom Wall With Large Tiles

It is crucial to make the walls of your bathroom waterproof, and a great way to do this is by installing tiles on them. And to make it more effective, less time consuming and a lot easier, you can make use of the large tiles in your shower. So how do you have them installed? With this brief guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about the bathroom wall large tiles installation. Let’s have a look!

lGet The Appropriate Substrate

• Clean the surface on which the large tiles will be placed

• Make use of levelling spacers to ensure the large wall tiles are even.

• Get a cement-made backer board to install the tiles

• You made require a large format wall adhesive for the installation, if the large wall tiles are different

lSet The Layout

• You may need a dry layout for the tiles installation (installation without mortar or other bonding agents).

• Start with the first wall opposite the bathroom’s entrance

• Once completed, you can continue with the remaining parts of the bathroom wall.

• Place the first tile at the centre.

• Place the subsequent tiles on each side of the previous ones to have a more balanced installation.

There are three varying materials that can be utilized in installing heavy wall tiles. These includes thin set mortar, epoxy and mastic. However, you should always make use of epoxy for large format tile layout. To do this, simply place the tiles at your desired angle and gently twist them to hold firmly in place. Continue with this process till you have successfully covered the entire bathroom wall with the large tiles. Once done, leave the bathroom wall to dry.

It is advised that you hire the professional services of a tile installation company in order to get the best outcome especially if you lack the necessary experience, tools and knowledge to carry out the project. This will save you some time, effort and money.