Choosing the right course

[Daniel Beard]

Hi everyone, new to the forum and new to the world of tiling. I'm looking for a career change away from my current trade (car mechanic) . I'm really eager to get into tiling, for some reason there's just something about it that really interests me. Anyway, I've done a bit of research and it seems most people go to UK Pro tiling, well this is 6 hours each way from me. The other option is gold trowel which is 3 hours away but doesn't have half the reviews that UK Pro has. Would uk Pro be worth travelling for over gold trowel? It's so hard to choose which is the right one for me. They both seem to say relatively the same things about what the course includes. And the other decision is how long the course is, for instance uk Pro do 9 day course and 13 day, which would I be better going for!? Again gold trowel do 10 day and 3 weeks. How much do I need to know and learn to have enough info and training to actually earn a wage from it? Do I need to know about working with things like natural stone and 600x600? I havnt got a clue, decisions decisions! Sorry for the long post by the way!
Many thanks

 

[Time's Ran Out]

@Daniel Beard - welcome to the forum and enjoy!
Firstly Uk Pro sponsor this forum and therefore I for one would be bias towards their courses. From the reviews and information provided - along with many members opinions - Uk Pro is the one to pursue. For either of the courses 9/13 days you may be better staying at a B@B for the duration and they used to advise/ have accommodation available.
That said, you must be able to support yourself in the early days, as it will take a while to build up any contacts and have a income that you have now.
All I can say is this is the best trade around and extremely satisfying.
Good luck and stick around, ask questions and remember - walk before you run!

 

[Daniel Beard]

Thanks John. The other decision to make is which length course is suitable for me, I.e is the 13 day course worth the extra 400 quid, do I really need that extra 4 days etc etc

 

[Time's Ran Out]

I would think that it will take you that little bit further towards your goal.
Remember these are basic courses to give you a taste of working with tiles in workshop conditions.
After your course contact a local tiler to see if they would be open to buddying up with you for a few days. There are a few tilers on here from Dorset/ Hampshire so try them 1st.

 

[Daniel Beard]

OK thanks for the advice

 

[Steve6690]

I did the 9-day UK Protiling course a couple of months ago. The first week is 4 days tiling and a 1-day natural stone and business course which is seriously useful. Week 2 is more advanced tiling which should give you the skills and confidence to go out and do basic paid work. The extra week on the 13 day course is where you're given a kitchen mockup to tile in herringbone with wraps around pipe boxes etc. You're treated like a tradesman working for a customer ie shown a picture of what the customer wants and told to crack on with it although Darren is there to steer you right if you get stuck.
The pace on all the courses is intensive but there's a lot to cover. 7:45 starts and a working lunch. Glad I did it and would recommend it highly.
Best thing to do is ring Tracey and have a chat. She'll steer you right.

 

[Daniel Beard]

Thanks for the reply Steve. I think I'd definitely prefer to do the 13 day one then for that extra bit of responsibility, I.e doing it in realistic circumstances, like you say, being shown the job and then just left to get on with it. The only down side for me is accommodation, I'm 6 hours away so would mean staying there and I'm not sure it would be worth coming home for the weekends, in which case 17 days accomodation is at least 400 quid on its own, then probably around 100-150 fuel on top as well as food etc. Probably cost me another 650 on top of the course fee!

 

[Dumbo]

Yes you do need to now about fixing 600 x 600 as They are pretty much the most common tile I find that I fit .

 

[Daniel Beard]

Cheers Jcrtiling.

I did the 9-day UK Protiling course a couple of months ago. The first week is 4 days tiling and a 1-day natural stone and business course which is seriously useful. Week 2 is more advanced tiling which should give you the skills and confidence to go out and do basic paid work. The extra week on the 13 day course is where you're given a kitchen mockup to tile in herringbone with wraps around pipe boxes etc. You're treated like a tradesman working for a customer ie shown a picture of what the customer wants and told to crack on with it although Darren is there to steer you right if you get stuck.
The pace on all the courses is intensive but there's a lot to cover. 7:45 starts and a working lunch. Glad I did it and would recommend it highly.
Best thing to do is ring Tracey and have a chat. She'll steer you right.

Did you get to lay 600x600 tiles on the 9 day course?

 

[Steve6690]

No, but the theory of larger tiles was covered.

 

[Daniel Beard]

No, but the theory of larger tiles was covered.

Maybe its best if I just ring them then to work out which is best for me. The 9 day one sounds perfect with the acception of not actually laying 600x600. And as said by jcrtiling it's a very common tile to lay.

 

[Steve6690]

I'm in the middle of tiling my whole downstairs in 600 x 600 glazed porcelain with a 1mm grout gap. Laying the Ditra mat tomorrow. Might be biting off more than I can chew for a first job, but I'll know soon enough

 

[Daniel Beard]

I'm in the middle of tiling my whole downstairs in 600 x 600 glazed porcelain with a 1mm grout gap. Laying the Ditra mat tomorrow. Might be biting off more than I can chew for a first job, but I'll know soon enough

You have enough confidence to do it then from just the theory surrounding it in the course? You'll have to upload some pics when it's done. Be good to see it. That ditra mat, that's to stop cracks when the screed moves isn't it? I think anyway..

 

[Spare Tool]

I'm in the middle of tiling my whole downstairs in 600 x 600 glazed porcelain with a 1mm grout gap. Laying the Ditra mat tomorrow. Might be biting off more than I can chew for a first job, but I'll know soon enough

1mm grout lines....optimistic, very optimistic, good luck!!

 

[Daniel Beard]

You have enough confidence to do it then from just the theory surrounding it in the course? You'll have to upload some pics when it's done. Be good to see it. That ditra mat, that's to stop cracks when the screed moves isn't it? I think anyway..

Another question, do they teach you how to level a floor at all prior to laying floor tiles on the 9 day course?

 

[Dumbo]

.

 

[Steve6690]

No practical element of levelling with slc, but it's covered in the theory.

 

[Oli t]

hi Daniel I completed the goldtrowel 4 week course 4 years ago.

 

[Steve6690]

1mm grout lines....optimistic, very optimistic, good luck!!

went with 2mm in the end. Wifey wants white grout and as-near-to-invisible lines as possible. Not to many people's taste I'm sure but it's something she's always wanted.

 

[Spare Tool]

went with 2mm in the end. Wifey wants white grout and as-near-to-invisible lines as possible. Not to many people's taste I'm sure but it's something she's always wanted.

Not very practical though, white grout on a floor, epoxy or it'll be grey before you know it..

 

[Steve6690]

I've tried but she's not having it any other way. I'd already decided on epoxy so I might try the Kerakoll Fugalite Bio.

 

[Time's Ran Out]

The post I removed by @Oli t was a duplicate of his earlier post and was awaiting moderation!

 

[UKTT Darren]

Hi Daniel, if your looking for a career change then I can give you the best start, no tiling course is going to make you a master tiler in a few weeks as there are so many elements to cover in tiling so we can only spend so much time on each part of the game, the two week course we do is very full on and intense and we get through a lot,, we do our own accommodation if you want to stay with others from the training course which you will also learn a lot here as well talking over the coursework of the day.
Course comes with a 15000 word (55 page) hand out I have written up for the trainees to help them out how to deal with real life situations etc
We are the only dedicated tiling centre in the Uk

If you give Tracey a ring on 07960286957 she will be more than happy to talk you through any questions you have about the course or accommodation
Regards
Darren
Uk Pro tiling training

 

[Daniel Beard]

Hi Daniel, if your looking for a career change then I can give you the best start, no tiling course is going to make you a master tiler in a few weeks as there are so many elements to cover in tiling so we can only spend so much time on each part of the game, the two week course we do is very full on and intense and we get through a lot,, we do our own accommodation if you want to stay with others from the training course which you will also learn a lot here as well talking over the coursework of the day.
Course comes with a 15000 word (55 page) hand out I have written up for the trainees to help them out how to deal with real life situations etc
We are the only dedicated tiling centre in the Uk

If you give Tracey a ring on 07960286957 she will be more than happy to talk you through any questions you have about the course or accommodation
Regards
Darren
Uk Pro tiling training

Cheers for the reply Darren. The thing is I'm looking to do some sort of course where I can go straight out after it and setup my own business. I'm not looking to work for anyone else as I've had enough of working for idiots to put it politely. I need to be sure this is something I would be able to do as it's a lot of money to fork out (for me anyway) to end up no better off after it. Do you think this is possible? Don't get me wrong, I don't expect to start a business after a 9 day course and have jobs coming out of my ears straight away, but would like to at least be able to make a start on it and build a customer base up.

 

[UKTT Darren]

Hi Daniel, we give you the best chance of success out of all the tiling courses around, Our course is a full business program of how to tile for a living, I give you as many practical skills as possible along with how to start as a tiler as soon as you leave, some situations are not possible to practically teach in a training environment so i cover these skills with hand outs on how to do this, we go through the marketing of the business, sales, measuring, products, doing the job, keeping accounts, wages etc. Our course comes with a 15000 word 55 page hand out with all the different situations you will find yourself in and how to deal with them
Most people set up soon as they leave us as many on the tilers forums have that have trained with us, best starting off taking it easy and selecting jobs you are comfortable with and building from there. I have been self employ my life and I'm the one that teaches you, been teaching now in my business for over 15 years and the course formula has proved itself for hundreds and hundreds of people

 

[MTiler]

Do the longest course you can afford. Itll give you a foundation to work on. I started with a 4 week course plus a couple of specialist courses.

 

[UKTT Darren]

I agree with miss tiler above, the longer you can train with us the more confident you will become as you cover more situations, i have never had anyone that has done 3 weeks with us that has needed more training, you need to then get yourself out there and start off by taking some easier jobs on, mistakes are unfortunately inevitable but we have all had to start somewhere and we have all made them, but this is also a learning curve and part of life.
The 9 days still are very intensive and will certainly put you through the mill of tiling, mentally and physically, our course are extremely intense and not for the faint hearted but they deliver the goods