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Discuss DIY Tiler - 90 sq m of large format porcelaine tiling making me nervous! in the DIY Tiling Forum area at TilersForums.com.

P

PJPro

Hi!

I'm having a new extension built on my house. In fact, I've spent today putting in the CAT6 ethernet network (cables and conduit) and bashing through the old gable wall to join the two lofts. But that's another story.

My wife also ordered the 600x400mm porcelaine floor tiles (10mm thick) from Topps. I've got 90 sq metres coming by the end of the week. I am growing more than a little nervous about the laying of these tiles. I've got the porch, hall, dining room and kitchen floors downstairs to do, as well as the downstairs toliet (walls and floor). I've also got the floor and walls of the upstairs bathroom to do.

I'm going to be under pressure to be quick as the other trades are going to be waiting for me to finish before the 2nd fix carpenty and plumbing goes in.

I'm expecting the upstairs bathroom to be a special challenge. It will contain a quadrant shower enclosure with on wall mixer. The bath, basin and toilet will be placed against a low wet wall of about 1m high, containing all the pipework. The basin and toilet will be hung off this wall using Gerberit installation frames and a hidden cistern. The bath has wall mounted taps.

So. My worries. Well, the main one is making sure I'm doing things right.

The floor will be a moisture proof chipboard, topped with hardybacker. Do I need anything else? Should I also put down a waterproof membrane? How about the joints of the hardybacker? Do I need to use waterproof membrane on the walls/floor of the shower? How about the dry lined walls generally? Should I seal them with something like uPVA before tiling?

I've read with interest some of the banter over Sigma and Rubi dry cutters. The 3B or TX-700-N look good. But are these really going to do the business in the hands of a novice like me or should I be looking to buy a wet saw? I've used a (cheap) dry cutter before, many years ago, without much success.

I'm very worried about cutting the hole for the toilet flush plate. It's a fairly large affair (Gerberit - Kappa). How on earth am I going to cut such a big hole in a porcelaine floor tile? Using a jigsaw? :eek:mg_smile:

Clearly, I've got a lot of holes to drill. Are those Porsadrills really my best bet? I was shocked to see that each bit lasts long enough for two holes before it's ready for the bin. I do have a large drill press.....does this give me other options?

I'm fairly practical and can turn my hand to just about anything. I used to be a skilled labourer in my younger years and I am a qualified (but inexperienced) plumber. I'm hoping with a bit of good advice and encouragement I can pull this off. :hurray:

Grateful for any comments.
 
P

PJPro

It was this one - AQUAESTIL HUDSON 1700 X 700 AQUAMAX BATH available at Bathroom City

23-049.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
S

SnipSnap

Hi PJ,
Check the walls for squareness when you fit the bath. It is sometimes needed to inset the bath into the wall (slightly) to overcome wide joints (either in the corner or at the bath extremities), or if the roll on the bath is a little excessive. One thing to watch out for though, if you need to inset the bath, make sure that you will have full access to the taps as sometimes the taps can get too close to the tiling surface.
 
D

DHTiling

Hi PJ,
Check the walls for squareness when you fit the bath. It is sometimes needed to inset the bath into the wall (slightly) to overcome wide joints (either in the corner or at the bath extremities), or if the roll on the bath is a little excessive. One thing to watch out for though, if you need to inset the bath, make sure that you will have full access to the taps as sometimes the taps can get too close to the tiling surface.


Now then stranger..:)
 
P

PJPro

Still maing progress but it is slow, slow, slow. I've been diverted off onto other things like buying doors, handles, locks, etc.

A couple of the doors were fitted today. Unfortunately, when they fitted the skirting they managed to put a nail through a pipe causing a leak. :-(

I went for these doors from Wickes.
Denham-4-Panel-Door_large.jpg
Arrived next day and look much better in the flesh than in the picture.

The stairs are now complete.

As far as the bathroom, the hardibacker is on the wet wall. The feature tiles (a work around to avoid slithers) have been sealed and are ready to lay. I just need to catch up on some silicone in the expension joints where the tiles meet the walls.
 
P

PJPro

I've sorted it. I made sure the adhensive wasn't too runny and didn't put too much on. I'll probably do the same for the window header tiles.

I'm not far off finished now (the upstairs bathroom that is). I will post pictures but I've been more than a little busy. It isn't a perfect finish and I suspect that the pros on this forum could pick out a rash of issues. However, it's the best I can do and not at all bad. Moreover, I wouldn't have necessarily have gotten a better job if I'd paid to get someone in. Therte's plenty of evidence from disgruntled customers to support that comment.

And the plumber was sufficiently impressed with my work to ask me if I'd like to do his bathroom! As it turned out, he got someone else in.
 

Dan

Admin
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Re: DIY Tiler - 90 sq m of large format porcelaine tiling making me ne

Don't mind me while I bump some old but popular threads to see if the topic is still active in some way. Wondering if either the original idea or original issue still exists. I've done this with quite a few threads, so don't be offended if this is just jargon these days and not applicable. But I thought there might be a small chance a small percentage of the small number of threads might just be slightly applicable and the thread could get a new lease of life.

Reply to this if you've read a bit and have something to say. :)
There IS going to be a bigger chance when i do this, that the thread is dead. So don't worry if that's the case, just don't reply to it, and we'll all move on and let the thread drop out of view again.

Bump
 

Dan

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Staffordshire, UK
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