Construction & Contractors Blog
If you're planning to DIY your tilling, the first step of the installation process is ensuring your have everything you need at your fingertips. Tile adhesives dry very fast so you won't have time to look up extra supplies once you get started. Apart from the tiles, adhesive, grout, trowels and grout float, you will need a few extra supplies before you can begin.
Tile cutters
Your tiles are not always going to conform to the design of your walls or floors. You are going to have to cut your tiles to make sure they fit around tight areas, especially corners and narrow spaces. For this, you will need a tile cutter. Opt for the one with a base plate and a cutting handle with an incorporated ruler. It'll make your cutting job much easier. You also don't need to be a pro to use it, unlike hand-held cutters. In addition to that, get a tile nibbler tool. This will let you cut out shapes on your tiles when working around pipes, taps and other fixtures
Measuring tools
For your tile work not to turn out horribly, you need to ensure your tiles are laid out in straight lines. This can be tricky as you can leave irregular sizes in between your tiles. To avoid this, buy tile spacers and peg them inside the grout lines when tiling. You can remove them later when you lay a new row of tiles. A measuring tape will also be handy especially when checking how much tile length you need to cut out.
Leveling tools
Once you have fixed your tiles onto the surface with the adhesive, you want to have a flat even surface. To make this happen, use roller or a rubber mallet to even the tiles. You can also use your grout float for this. For precision, get a spirit level. It will help you notice when your tiles aren't even.
Cleaner and sponge
Get a grout sponge and cleaner liquid as well. These will come in handy after laying your tiles. You will use them to clean the tiles off the adhesive and grout. The benefit of doing so is that you later don't have to clean off dried grout and adhesive paste from the tiles. Doing so also makes your work look clean and neat the minute you're done.
Protective knee pads
Lastly, get some knee pads. You will be working mostly on your knees and this can get very uncomfortable if you don't have protective wear. Placing a cloth under your knees won't suffice either as you will have to keep changing positions every few minutes.
Once your checklist is complete, gather your tiling supplies and start tiling your home!
Share17 April 2015
Welcome to my blog! My name is Richard and my big passion in life is looking for old buildings to restore. My love of old buildings started when I was seven years old and I visited my grandparent's house in Alice Springs. It was a large Victorian building which looked magnificent even though it was in a bad state of repair. Once I grew up and made some money, I decided I would like to invest in old buildings to bring them back to life. I hire a range of different contractors to complete the work on my behalf but I take a keen interest and I have learnt a lot of things.