Little help needed setting out before I start another project

[tiler robbo]

Hi guys,

I'm about to start tiling the monster-in-laws bathroom & was after input from you guys, the experts, before I start. Walls are 2.4 high by 2.2 x 2 & 1.7 x 2. Tiles are 45cm x 31.6cm & was going to lay horizontaly in straight lines (not a brick work pattern).

Question 1:

The window is not quite centered, out by about 15cm to the left, was going to chose to start from the centre of the wall so even cuts at each end but will it look odd being tiles are not quite centre to the window & the tiles cut each side of the window frame will not be exactly the same?

Question 2:
When battoning up, if I start at bath level, it will leave me a nice even cut top & bottom. Do I need to start the batton a tile run down from the bath or can I use the bath as a start point with the batton running on? My mate has fitted the bathroom suite & suggested I use the bath to start as level but I read somewhere it's not a good idea as the tiles may slip?

No doubt there will be more questions to come with things I've forgotton about but any advice to start is much appriciated.

Will post pics of before & after for feedback, cheers, Robbo

 

[Mike]

Hi guys,
I'm about to start tiling the monster-in-laws bathroom & was after input from you guys, the experts, before I start. Walls are 2.4 high by 2.2 x 2 & 1.7 x 2. Tiles are 45cm x 31.6cm & was going to lay horizontaly in straight lines (not a brick work pattern).
Question 1:
The window is not quite centered, out by about 15cm to the left, was going to chose to start from the centre of the wall so even cuts at each end but will it look odd being tiles are not quite centre to the window & the tiles cut each side of the window frame will not be exactly the same?
Question 2:
When battoning up, if I start at bath level, it will leave me a nice even cut top & bottom. Do I need to start the batton a tile run down from the bath or can I use the bath as a start point with the batton running on? My mate has fitted the bathroom suite & suggested I use the bath to start as level but I read somewhere it's not a good idea as the tiles may slip?
No doubt there will be more questions to come with things I've forgotton about but any advice to start is much appriciated.
Will post pics of before & after for feedback, cheers, Robbo

as the window is not central you will not get it perfect. you will just have to move the tiles to which way looks best, and without any slithers. as for the bath, i would not work off that with a full tile, mainly cos the bath will never be perfectly level. i would find the lowest point of the bath and measure up one full tile and mark the wall, measure about 10 to 15 mm down from here and use this for your baton. you can measure and cut the tiles above to fit after. make sure you have enough tile at the ceiling to do this as you're lowering the whole wall! hope this makes sense

 

[saintdom]

id agree with what rob says, i would never go whole tile from the bath.

i personally would rather have an even tile on either side of the window than at each end of the wall. but if you have a guaging rod just fiddle around until you have decent sized cuts everywhere.

good luck

 

[pete f]

robbo make a staff mark your centres of the walls and take it from there

 

[doug boardley]

I'd centre from the window as it's a focal point. if you run a full tile off the bath, check how this will work out with window cill/head and door heights.

 

[tiler robbo]

Cheers lads, all makes sense, i'll just line em up freely & see what looks best to the eye.

So if I batten up just under a tile higher than the bath, how do I then support / hold the 3 rows of tiles in place when I do the bottom section? Batton up again at the bottom of last full tile?

My other option is to batton up & start a full row under the window sill but will leave me having to cut around the top of the window?

 

[Mike]

Cheers lads, all makes sense, i'll just line em up freely & see what looks best to the eye.

So if I batten up just under a tile higher than the bath, how do I then support / hold the 3 rows of tiles in place when I do the bottom section? Batton up again at the bottom of last full tile?[/QUOTE start at the lowest possible point so that your tiles will end up at the required height near the bath. not a good way working down from your 3rd row

 

[tiler robbo]

Cheers lads, all makes sense, i'll just line em up freely & see what looks best to the eye.

So if I batten up just under a tile higher than the bath, how do I then support / hold the 3 rows of tiles in place when I do the bottom section? Batton up again at the bottom of last full tile?[/QUOTE start at the lowest possible point so that your tiles will end up at the required height near the bath. not a good way working down from your 3rd row

This is where I'm getting confused, which bought me to one of the original questions. The bath is fitted & takes up the whole length of one of the 1.7m walls. If I work out & batton up at the bottom / lowest point of the full tile it still relies on me using the bath to place & support the tiles above.

If I read your first post right, you suggested going a tile up from the bath then battoning up 15mm down so I can cut tiles to fit the possible unlevel bath but it will leave me the bottom 3 rows under the batton to do? Were you suggesting the bath will hold the tiles above it's just placing full tiles on it is not a good idea due to not being level?

Sorry if I'm being dumb here 😳

 

[doug boardley]

quite often robbo, baths may appear level from end to end but in reality, due to the moulding, there may be a dip in the middle

 

[macten]

If bath is level (and it should be) and full tile from bath works everywhere else than I would tile off the bath personally. Why cut? It's like full tile off a kitchen worktop - it looks better.

Try middle of tile and/or grout line in center of window and see what cuts it leaves, if neither of them work then tweak the best of the two left or right.

 

[tiler robbo]

If bath is level (and it should be) and full tile from bath works everywhere else than I would tile off the bath personally. Why cut? It's like full tile off a kitchen worktop - it looks better.

Try middle of tile and/or grout line in center of window and see what cuts it leaves, if neither of them work then tweak the best of the two left or right.

I've checked & double checked the bath & comes up level at all angles. Only got to run just under 4 tiles along the longest edge & under 2 along the short edges so will place freely first & check the level across the top of the first run. If ok I will batton off from the edge of the bath to carry on the run.

Will the bath act as a batton & stop the tiles slipping ok? If I do it this way, it will leave me a tile & a half to fix under the batton area, I'm assuming tiling down from here to the floor will be ok?

 

[macten]

The bath should be tight up and siliconed to the wall so no problem of tiles slipping. Remember to leave a couple mm movement joint above bath - best to use rubi wedges and spent lots of time making little adjustments so the tops of the tiles are bang-on level.

Tiling from there to the floor is fine on the short length, then you can choose to batton along the rest of the wall leaving your cut 1/2 tile to go in later or just put your cuts from the floor in straight away and tile up from there (easier to work without battens if you have a laser level)

 

[The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP]

I always put a datum line all around the room, predetermined by staff and laser level ( if you don't have a laser, use a good spirit level) remember to reverse the level each time you mark the wall, in case the level is slightly out. Once you have the datum line you can start anywhere, I never use battens, but you can use your staff/ gauge to set them. Never fix your first tile, until you know where your last tile will go. one hour preparing is always well spent. Good luck

 

[saintdom]

hey guys

quick question to you guys who never use battens, how do you stop your tile from slipping, i tried it once by just using my laser and never again, was using bal whitestar and the little beggars slipped every time by at least a couple of mm.
please tell me your secret.

 

[jay]

hey guys

quick question to you guys who never use battens, how do you stop your tile from slipping, i tried it once by just using my laser and never again, was using bal whitestar and the little feckers slipped every time by at least a couple of mm.
please tell me your secret.

you cut first row in and use tile wedges to sopport them get them level then continue up should only be a 2mm gap to floor

 

[saintdom]

cheers jay

but unless you have a nice even floor , which i rarely do these days:mad2:, that seems like more hastle than putting up a batten.
Speaking to a couple of ozzies they were amazed our tubbed gear slipped so much, they reckoned back home they could still start from a batten line without the batten. no slip whatsoever. they were ozzies though

 

[jay]

cheers jay

but unless you have a nice even floor , which i rarely do these days:mad2:, that seems like more hastle than putting up a batten.
Speaking to a couple of ozzies they were amazed our tubbed gear slipped so much, they reckoned back home they could still start from a batten line without the batten. no slip whatsoever. they were ozzies though

yes there are a lot of non slip adh available (tubbed and cement based) always use cement base if you mark a level line of first tile line then cut tile to suit , you will struggle to find a flat floor anywere just take your time and it will get easier

 

[saintdom]

cheers fella,

just something i have not tried before, must be set in my ways.
I just prefer adding the bottom row last and using wedges or tape or both to guarantee good even grout line but i may just give it a go one day

 

[jay]

just remember get the first row right and the rest should be easy
and adh will hang some tiles but the bigger ones it wont always use spacers or wedges:8:

 

[The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP]

I always have two lines, one the datum that will be the finish of my tile. The other line is staffed up from the floor, this allows me to mark the bottom cut without grovelling on the floor. The distance between the two lines gives me the exact size / shape of the bottom cut, even if the floor undulates . Hope this makes sense

 

[macten]

cheers fella,

just something i have not tried before, must be set in my ways.
I just prefer adding the bottom row last and using wedges or tape or both to guarantee good even grout line but i may just give it a go one day

Cutting the bottom row in is more of a pain afterwards as you have to be bang on measurement wise or the Silicon joint will look messy. Doing it first without battens is just as easy to measure (with laser) and you don't need to be mm perfect as the floor tiles will be going in after. Another bonus is the Silicon joint will be perfectly uniform as marking and cutting the floor tiles is easier.

 

[saintdom]

cheers for the info guys, you have me intrigued now.

one quick question though, and ill try and word it best i can.
If i have my laser level for the bottom tile , surely you would need to be more accurate with your cut as if you cut it smaller than it should be by a mm or so you would need to keep packing it up so it doesnt slip from the line. Say i was using a rubi wedge to support but cut slightly smaller therefore i would not be on the laser line and would need to try and add another wedge or spacer or cardboard.

id just be worried big time that a tile may slip and ruin my whole level.

does this make any sense

 

[jay]

mark your line on wall
norm for me that floor is laid first
cut tiles to fit tip turn tile upside down to mark (try to explain) with tile upside down mark left hand side on right hand side of were you want it to go in other words opposite norm mark so you cut marked lines off just you will get the hang of it you will need to cut tile on angle depending on floor
make sure adh isn't runny
you can adjust wedges (in more or out to take up diff)
you should be able to get a neat cut with practice

 

[saintdom]

cheers jay

i use the upside down and opposite marks for the angle no probs at all , and dont have major issues with the neatness of cuts , think i just worry too much when i try something new. i think i will try this method on a bathroom i have in a couple of weeks, the more i think about it the more sense it makes . and if it all goes pete tong ill just blame you lot.:lol:

 

[jay]

just remember always use spacers or wedges dont trust your adh to hang and if large tiles used or heavy only go half to three quarters of the way up wall then let dry unless using rapid set adh

 

[mmmadman]

Hi All

I'm only a novice but I am embarking on a complete bathroom install myself in the next few weeks.

I have read that you should fill the bath with water to load it up and then tile down to it, is this correct or is it just for a new bath installation.....?


Cheers........

 

[macten]

Tile up from the bath leaving 2-3mm gap for movement. The bath should already be siloconed to wall (I usually fill it at that point) and then again when applying my final Silicon bead.