Retraining - Tile Advice

[Janesy]

Hi all

I’m looking to retrain after being made redundant from my position in the printing industry.

I’ve done my own tiling and enjoy it, as I like a finished product. I’m going straight for the jugular here, is there anyone who would be willing to take on a fifty year old and retrain them. I know this is a big ask, but I need to get this done fairly quickly.

All help and comments would be welcome,
Thanks for reading..
Nick

 

[angrypirate]

Hi Nick, There is a big difference in thinking your good enough to tile and actually making a living from it. I'm obviously not saying you cant but Id have a look at the pros work thread on here and if you can get anywhere close to that finish, you might be OK with the career change.

I changed from an office based job to property maintenance at the age of 40, and although I had years of DIY experience and renovated my own house there is a massive difference when your wages depend on it.

Its ok when you turn up and there is nice flat plasterboard and they want 600x300 tiles on the walls, but when you get there and its crumbly uneven surfaces or they have purchased cheap curved 120cm planks, penny mosaics, matt glass subway etc and want/expect an A1 finish that's when it makes your bum twitch and that's where you need the knowledge.

Plus its not just tiling you need to know about, you'll need knowledge on preparing the substrate as you cant expect all surfaces to be ready for tiling.

I find tiling physically demanding, especially on the knees. Most customer expect a pristine finish (And rightly so) which is hard without the right tools and knowledge.

Obviously all of the above is just from my experience, I don't know how capable you are etc. If I were in your position I would try and get few jobs through friends and family and see how you fare, get some feedback that way and then see if its worth investing your money and time in.

 

[Janesy]

Thanks for the feed back, some good points to digest and think about.