Large Format Tiles
Large format tiles are the latest trend and customers assume they will work out cheaper, larger tiles cover more ground, meaning less time and lower labour costs, right?
Not necessarily! They are heavier, harder to snap due to size and in an averaged sized area will have to have a fracture mat underneath, also with large format tiles you have to use an S2 adhesive like Mapei’s Keraquik and Latex is ideal but costs 2-3 times more than standard adhesive, also the substructure need to be stable and secure. Speak to a local tile shop such as Tile Giant
Natural Tiles
Natural Tiles are more expensive and harder to work with, but thats not the only issue customers face!
Natural tiles such as Travertine, Marble and Limestone have colour variations and areas that can be nearly see through, due to this and the porous nature of the tile you need to use a white adhesive and this will cost you more than the standard Grey adhesive, but you do not want colour leaching through the natural tile.
Terracotta Tiles
Terracotta Tiles, typically the trend is to use them with quite a large gap which gives them a vintage appearance and it’s a very lovely finish but this also creates cost!
Due to the depth of these tiles, the large gap and the porous nature of the tiles they use a lot more grout than a regular porcelain tile for instance. A regular porcelain tile usually has a 3ml gap but the trend with the Terracotta Tile is to have them spaced 4-5ml This becomes very costly as we have to use many times the amount of grout.
Also Terracotta tiles need Sealing and this brings an extra cost and can change the appearance of the tile depending what seal you use, this can be a tricky choice as there are natural ways of sealing and also synthetic. The synthetic seals are easier for you the customer in terms of long term care but it can leave a slight shine which the customer might not want for their vintage look and the more layers of sealant, the shinier the tile gets; along with added protection.
Natural seals don’t discolour the tile as much and only leave a slight shine but it will mean that you do need to treat it more often and if you use a wax, this will require a Floor Polisher, so to have these sorts of tiles in say a high traffic room like a Kitchen, that can be quite awkward due to the time taken to treat and dry.
Rubbish!
A problematic issue for Labourer’s and Customers alike, but i’m sorry to say the rubbish is yours not mine. If i’ve removed tiles from your property, they belong to you, if i’ve bought materials including buckets, they belong to you, it’s all been bought with the deposit you gave me so it is your property and i have no right to take anything of yours, so what’s the solution here?
No labourer wants the customer to be left upset after a good job is done, a decent person like myself will clear and tidy up after the job but I cannot take the waste without your permission firstly, secondly not without payment. Most labourer’s have a good sized van, when we go to the local tip the whole van is weighed, not just the stuff we are disposing off, this makes it a very expensive method of disposal which makes neither of us happy! So there are a few better options i promise… If you’re having a lot of work done to your home anyway, I highly recommend getting a Skip, and always go bigger than you think as you always generate more waste than expected. Shop around or ask your Tiler for recommendations. If it’s a smaller job then consider something like the Hippo Bag system, you can buy from their website with a choice of sizes and follow their advice for what to pick & costs involved, they then collect the full bags when you tell them you’re ready OR if the job is only small and/or you’re on a tight budget, you could bag up the waste yourself and take to the tip in your car which apart from the rubble bags and fuel is free.
Glass Mosaic Tiles & Glass Tiles
Glass Mosaic and Glass Tiles are very pretty and Man made, so surely there’s no issues here?
Glass Mosaic and Glass Tiles can cause similar issues with the quantity of grout needed as with Terracotta tiles mentioned above, simply due to the thickness of the tile and you will end up paying for much more grout than normal.
Measured Correctly?
So you’ve measured the area accurately and then ordered some lovely tiles online….or you’ve gone to a Tile Shop and ordered there, but have you ordered enough?
So a good tiling shop should advise you to add on an extra 10% to your tile order due to breakages occured through delivery, transport and handling of the tiles and of course natural variations in the tile sometimes mean when they are cut or snapped to be fitted, they can sometimes break in an unexpected manner. If you are opting for a Random or Herringbone Pattern you will need 10-15% more.
First Fix
To aid the speed of any tiling job ideally First Fix already needs to be completed, such as Electrics, Plumbing and Plastering, why?
You need to make sure that no other work men will be in the same space as the tiler as obviously it makes working very awkward. Also you can’t tile a newly plastered wall, plastering needs to be planned well ahead depending what type of plaster the Plasterer is using as some take longer to dry than others and the plaster has to be completely dry for me to stick tiles to the surface.
Also to note, whether the plastered wall is old or new, it will need priming so the tiles will stick to the wall securely.
If your think you floor needs levelling (please get the Tiler to check this during the free quote) and it may need more levelling compound than you think, so you need to be pro-active and get the levelling down early to make sure it’s dry in time for the arrival of your Tiler, your tiler can do the levelling for you but you need to plan ahead and will be an extra cost.
Builders Boarding Walls
You would think all Builders know the right materials & regulations? Nope!
Please check your builder isn’t using Plywood, Plasterboard or Timber boards, even tanking over the top of these is not ok in bathrooms. Why? The pipes behind these boards get hot and cold creating expansion and contraction in these boards, this can eventually dislodge your tiles. What is ok? Hardiebacker board, No More Ply and Concrete Boards.
Please note, all boards need to be Glued and Screwed.
Parking!
Why is parking important?
Your Tiler has to use a lot of equipment, some of which is heavy & cumbersome and lots of heavy materials, so it becomes very time consuming and tiring to cart all these things up and down the street. Some of the cutters can weigh up to 41kg!
So it would be very helpful if you could ensure your labourer has a spot outside the house.
This is a video showing how a Tiler should NOT tile! Why?
You can see the lines on the floor, this is called Notching and is correct, however the same should be done to the back of the Tile to create a true adhesion and to avoid any gaps. Gaps create a weakness, just think how many times you will step on those tiles, so the adhesive should be solid underneath. What this tiler did was Notch the floor but “Dab” the base of the tile instead, those are the circular blobs of adhesive you can see, ideally you should not see your Tiler doing this! This is very lazy tiling and the reason why all these tiles started popping up.
