Bathroom Tiling Tips and Tricks Tiling is a specialised skill, often best undertaken by a skilled tradesperson. If you hire someone, please get someone that knows what they are doing, not someone that saw someone else tile once and think it is easy. However, tiling your bathroom may not be beyond a capable and dedicated weekend DIYer. To avoid a DIY disaster follow these simple steps to ensure your bathroom tiling project goes smoothly! Planning tips Planning your tiling installation is the most important step for smooth, easy going and problem free bathroom tile installation. This will save you time and money in the long run. This includes determining: 1. Tile design & pattern - get inspiration from friends, books, magazines or visit showrooms. There are some in the industry that can help you with design and layout. Choose contrasting colours for the floor tiles and wall tiles, with a skirting line the same colour as the floor tile. Another tile design idea is changing colour at chest level, which will change the look of your bathroom. For a contempory look, use the same tile on wall and floor, with vertical focal points. 2. Be careful of the colour you use. Remember that the bathroom might last for years and if you have chosen a colour that you grow tired of can result in the costly exercise of redoing it again. One can always bring in bright splashes of colour with towels, bathmats and bottles that can be easily replaced. 3. Tile type - tailor the size of the tiles to the dimensions of your bathroom. Larger tiles are quicker and easier to lay than smaller ones. Non-porous tiles are also more practical for bathrooms, where moisture and ease of cleaning are a factor. Even polished porcelain tiles are Nano sealed in the factory and are ideal. 4. Remember that lighter colours and larger tiles make a room look bigger. 5. Materials - take precise measurements of the total area that you wish to tile. The total area and the size of each tile will allow you to calculate the number of tiles required. Note that tiles are packed in boxes and not sold individually. Order extra tiles in case you break some during installation. Also remember that even though all tillers say they work on a 10% wastage factor, they never do. We suggest that you add on 15 % wastage. For larger than 600x600 tiles and when tilling at 45 degrees, that wastage factor should be increased to at the very least to 25 %. This will ensure that you have enough of the same tonality tile as this changes with each bake. 6. Order extra tiles for attic stock in case you need to break out some later to replace pipes or if some crack. 7. Tools -- you will need special tools for a tiling installation, so hire these, as you are unlikely to use them often enough to justify the expense. 8. Try to choose bathroom accessories that complement the theme, style and colour of your tiles.
Posted on: Fri, 24 May 2013 12:28:12 +0000
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