Tiling tips please

[Stilllearning]

Hi, help please. After a life time of avoiding certain jobs, we are now going to be doing some tiling, and are trying to decide on size of gaps between the tiles (20x45cm tiles) and there seems to be a difference of opinion on whether or not to leave the spacing crosses in place before final grouting.

All helpful suggestions gratefully received.

[BEngo]

Try a few tiles on a board (or  the wall) with double sided tape and the spacers to see which gaps you prefer.

 

I always dig the spacers out before grouting.  You can get away with not, but I bet some will show.  I also think removing them makes for a better water seal if tiling showers or other wet areas.

 

Many recommend blobs of silicone sealant as the best adhesive for boat work rather than tile adhesive because silicone goo is more flexible.

N

[Alan de Enfield]

4 minutes ago, BEngo said:

Many recommend blobs of silicone sealant as the best adhesive for boat work rather than tile adhesive because silicone goo is more flexible.

As this is a boat forum I assume you are talking about fitting into a boat - but, they are very big (huge - 8" x 18" in 'real money') tiles for a boat !

 

I was told to use Cork tile adhesive as it takes the 'shocks' of bumping. and the different expansions better than anything else.

 

You may have to replace the grout every few years  but I never had tiles move with cork-tile adhesive.

Edited October 25, 2019 by Alan de Enfield

[Machpoint005]

Professional tilers, in my experience, don't use plastic crosses - they use little rectangles of cardboard folded to an appropriate thickness (two between every pair of tiles). Needless to say, they remove them before grouting!

[cuthound]

The tiles on our first shareboat were fixed and grouted with silicone. 

 

Still up and loiking good after 10 years of intensive use.

 

Yes remove the spacers before grouping, otherwise the odd one might show through.

 

Top tip to revive tired traditional grout. Paint the grubby grout with brilliant white emulsion paint using an artist's paintbrush and immediately wipe surplus paint of tiles with a damp cloth.

Edited October 25, 2019 by cuthound
To remove a letter masquerading as a space

[ditchcrawler]

I have tiling behind the stove and also the back cabin range, I used a flexible tile adhesives and its been up for 20 years with a solid mounted 3 cylinder engine rattling away

[pearley]

4 hours ago, Machpoint005 said:

Professional tilers, in my experience, don't use plastic crosses - they use little rectangles of cardboard folded to an appropriate thickness (two between every pair of tiles). Needless to say, they remove them before grouting!

I must be a 'profesional' as I've always done that, you even get the cardboard supplied free in the form of the box the tiles are packed in.

[bizzard]

I use spent matchsticks as spacers, just the right size and nice and easy to pull out.

Edited October 25, 2019 by bizzard

[Slim]

5 hours ago, Machpoint005 said:

Professional tilers, in my experience, don't use plastic crosses - they use little rectangles of cardboard folded to an appropriate thickness (two between every pair of tiles). Needless to say, they remove them before grouting!

PLASTIC ?..In 2019! Wash your mòuth out.Whats wrong with matchsticks?

 

[stegra]

I tile professionally when I'm fitting kitchens and bathrooms and I do use the spacers but rarely leave them in before grouting. Normally I use them end-on which makes them easier to remove (for re-use of course). Very few walls are true so the spacing must be adjusted slightly to allow for this. Sometimes this may involve turning a horizontal spacer sideways or omitting a vertical spacer to reduce or increase the gap. Brick-bond spacing is very popular at the moment and the cross spacers obviously don't work for that so you can either cut a leg off or use them as above. Apparently T-shaped spacers are available but I've never used them. 

 

I agree with AdeE. Your chosen tiles are very big for a boat. Any twisting of the wall will cause a lot of stress in tiles that big. If this happens it could result in tiles breaking if the adhesive holds or, if the adhesive fails, the corners could pop out, bringing the grout with it. 

Edited October 25, 2019 by stegra

[Boater Sam]

PU18 polyurethane gun adhesive is great on wood, never lets go. If you get white you could grout with it too but a bit messy to clean off excess. Those tiles are too big for a small area, it will look silly and you will be cutting into most tiles, time wasting.

[sharpness]

I stuck our tiles on with gripfill 15 years ago, still there. These days I'd probably use "Sticks like sh1t"  Grouted with white silicon with a gun & wiped off with my favourite Wonderwipes, the only thing I know which will remove/clean uncured silicon so leaving a superb finish.

[Stilllearning]

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, we no longer have a boat, so are tiling in round a new wood burner woe are fitting in our kitchen. Tile size is therefore less important, it is mainly our lack of skills and having to learn as we go. We could employ an artisan, but decided to do it ourselves.

Many thanks for the tips so far, any more are very welcome. We will be cutting tiles to fit today, any cunning wheezes most welcome.

[cuthound]

Obtain a straight length of "d" section moulding and mark on it tile lengths and spaces between tiles. Use it to measure height of wall and to find the centre of the wall (so each end tile will be an equally sized part tile). Mark the vertical centre line with a pencil line (check with a spirit level).  Then lightly pin it to the wall, horizontally (check with a spirit level) above the skirting board so that the complete tiles are above it go up  to the ceiling. Tile from this moulding, starting at the centre line and working outwards, then return and fit the bottom row of tiles which will need cutting to fit the gap.

 

Grout, let it dry and finally polish off the surplus grout. Job done.

[stegra]

Ok. With big tiles like that, the trueness of the wall is vital. It doesn't matter whether it's vertical as long as it's all the same. Any twisting will cause headaches with corners protruding and spacings varying. If it's not true then you can thicken the adhesive in places to compensate. This may be by buttering the back of some tiles in places or, if extreme, using dabs. A hollow is easier to deal with than a bulge as you simply thicken the adhesive in that place rather than the rest of the wall. If using a brick-bond pattern the trueness is even more important as regular patterning can cope with some curving on a single axis. 

 

The first row is by far the most important. Spend plenty of time getting that right and the rest will fall into place. Make sure it's absolutely level and straight. If the floor is significantly out of level you can start with the second row and support it on pins or props then cut in the bottom row later. This method is also helpful when the finished level at the top is vital. Work out your spacing to give the most pleasing effect. For example, if the run is five and a half tiles wide, it normally looks better to have four tiles centered and a three quarter at each end. It's a bit more complex with brick-bond but the important thing is to try to avoid small cuts of tile. 

 

 

 

A diamond disc in an angle grinder (or tile cutting saw if you have one) will cut any type of tile. Ceramic tiles can be scored and snapped but most others cannot. I always use powdered tile adhesive and grout and mix them myself. 

[Stilllearning]

10 minutes ago, stegra said:

Ok. With big tiles like that, the trueness of the wall is vital. It doesn't matter whether it's vertical as long as it's all the same. Any twisting will cause headaches with corners protruding and spacings varying. If it's not true then you can thicken the adhesive in places to compensate. This may be by buttering the back of some tiles in places or, if extreme, using dabs. A hollow is easier to deal with than a bulge as you simply thicken the adhesive in that place rather than the rest of the wall. If using a brick-bond pattern the trueness is even more important as regular patterning can cope with some curving on a single axis. 

 

The first row is by far the most important. Spend plenty of time getting that right and the rest will fall into place. Make sure it's absolutely level and straight. If the floor is significantly out of level you can start with the second row and support it on pins or props then cut in the bottom row later. This method is also helpful when the finished level at the top is vital. Work out your spacing to give the most pleasing effect. For example, if the run is five and a half tiles wide, it normally looks better to have four tiles centered and a three quarter at each end. It's a bit more complex with brick-bond but the important thing is to try to avoid small cuts of tile. 

 

 

 

A diamond disc in an angle grinder (or tile cutting saw if you have one) will cut any type of tile. Ceramic tiles can be scored and snapped but most others cannot. I always use powdered tile adhesive and grout and mix them myself. 

We are lucky that it’s a new wall, appears to be very flat, and the floor is flat: I laid the engineered parquet down, and checked it all with a level.

I think the disc I have in my disc cutter is diamond, I’m going to check on an old tile that’s laying around.

[stegra]

Stone cutting discs will get through most tiles as well but more slowly and shrink away as you use them. I don't think they'll make much of an impact on porcelain though.