Do your own tiling work?

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I tiled a wall once after a very heavy days drinking at Newmarket - needless to say it was very hard going!
 
WaterTight said:
Is it really a 4 year apprenticeship in tiling? Never would have thought there could be that much to it. I'm not trying to be facetious, just curious. Surely after you've learned how to identify and prepare surfaces, use batons, work with adhesive and grout and set things out properly it's just practise. I'd have thought a year working with someone would be more than enough.
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Jeez you really do ive up to your signature sorry if I sound condesending.

Its a Trade 4 year apprenticeship Nvq 2 & 3 gained at college with a Trade test at the end Just like plumbing, painting, Joinery etc

Thers more to it than you assume setting out Rendering screeding working with epoxy stone profiling san cement laying.

Worked in some pools and shopping centres where the course lads turn up promtly ceek there pants and are gone.

As I say im a firm beliver in each to there own thats the profesional approach dont think its fair to charge punters for amateurs practicsing in there house and wasting there hard earned dough.
 
the old saying of been a master of one trade is outdated now IMHO , customers rightly dont want a jack of all they want a master of all. i know my limits , i can tile,palster,plumb and heat and repair my weakness is electrics hence why its back to college. one step at a time ash maste what your learning before you take another trade on
 
bod said:
the old saying of been a master of one trade is outdated now IMHO , customers rightly dont want a jack of all they want a master of all. i know my limits , i can tile,palster,plumb and heat and repair my weakness is electrics hence why its back to college. one step at a time ash maste what your learning before you take another trade on
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Good advice, thanks
 
Plus customers don't want an army of trades in the house. If a job involves gas, plastering or electrics I know the right people to bring in. I have more skills than plumbing, heating and tiling, but it's only those skills I sell.
 
I'm concentrating on the plumbing/gas side of things for now but I have resettlement funds to spend so may as well get something good that I can use along side that. It was a toss up between part p and tiling. From a strictly money point of view for now tiling is the more practical option. If I don't use it for 2 years it's not going to cost me more money and I can get plenty of practice in on friends and family's houses before I start using it in customers houses. Don't really fancy having to get my head around electrics while I'm learning plumbing, part p can be done in the future.
 
I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the locked off trusted advisor section of the tilers forum. Gall B will be telling everyone that all plumbers learn to tile watching a £2 B&Q DVD!

Not true, mine was the Homebase version. :38:
 
there is a 4 year apprenticeship in plumbing/heating too. and i just can't help but think that there has got to be a lot less to learn in tiling than there is in plumbing. even basic wet plumbing. if that's not true, then fair enough. you learn something boring everyday. but if it is true then either the plumbing apprenticeship route is massively rushed (you don't often hear people claim that) or the tiling one is laboured and leisurely.
 
When i started my time there was no such trade as a tiler as far as i know. Tiling was done mainly by plasterers and plumbers used to build tiled grates.

I really like seeing old tilework. There are lots of old tenements up here with tiled stairs. The work is amazing to look at if you take the time to look properly.
 
Phil said:
I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the locked off trusted advisor section of the tilers forum. Gall B will be telling everyone that all plumbers learn to tile watching a £2 B&Q DVD!

Not true, mine was the Homebase version. :38:
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Nah I posted it in the HELP yet another handyman wrecked my bathroom section.

WaterTight if you knew anything about the Building trade at all you would know thats not true & if you find it boring its usally because your no good at it & you shouldnt be doing it.

Didnt mean to offend anyone with my comments the the part of reason I stick to my own trade & sub work out is I have respect for the trades and tradesman that do a good job & know there game inside out, the Handyman culture or the im going to do a couple of weeks course, call my self a tradesman undercut every body else is part of the reason quality of work is so low in this country
 
tamz said:
When i started my time there was no such trade as a tiler as far as i know. Tiling was done mainly by plasterers and plumbers used to build tiled grates.

I really like seeing old tilework. There are lots of old tenements up here with tiled stairs. The work is amazing to look at if you take the time to look properly.
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Take it you never heard of Toflo Jackson Tam? Never seen a Victorian Geometric floor?

The stairs you mention are hand fixed in sand cement, some of the ones in Glasgow are the work of my Grandad, his Dad was a Terrazzo layer/Tiler again a diffrent trade, Grates where done by Grate builders/Stone masons. Time served Tilers Render so maybe why you confuse us with plasterers
 
armyash said:
I'm concentrating on the plumbing/gas side of things for now but I have resettlement funds to spend so may as well get something good that I can use along side that.
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Well mate, there's always the Alloa Plumbers benevolent fund, all donations welcome.....
 
gall.b-tiler said:
WaterTight if you knew anything about the Building trade at all you would know thats not true
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Ah. Ok. But just to be clear: What, if I knew anything about the building trade at all, would I know to be untrue? That there is less to learn in tiling then in plumbing? Well then I'm afraid ignorance of this fact does leave me knowing nothing at all about the building trade. A setback to say the least. I hope everyone else reads this to avoid a similar fate.

gall.b-tiler said:
if you find it boring its usally because your no good at it & you shouldnt be doing it
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I find washing my socks fairly dull. Same with peeling potatoes. Sitting in traffic is a distinct bore too. Infact, I suspect the dullest things in life are actually the ones that require precisely no mental involvement at all but still demand to be waited out. I tend to find that the things I'm no good at to be frustrating, confusing, even worrying. But rarely boring.

Incidentally, you were right with your first assumption. I know nothing about the building game. I'm a relative novice. I'm here mainly to learn. Hence my signature which you cleverly noticed and used to damning effect exposing me as such.

But I do know how to argue!

Grrrrrrrrr. Woof woof. Etc.
 
We have some amazing geometric and encaustic tiling work in our village hall foyer. It's quite a work of art, and the planning and design stage must have taken longer than the tiling itself. It dates from approximately 100 years ago.
 
Just to add my tuppence worth....tiling has been around for centuries, in fact just as long as plumbing has. The Romans are a good example and going further back so were the Egyptians. I think that both are trades and deserve merit as such. Without tiling there wouldn't be any bathrooms!
I am competent at tiling, but prefer to leave tiling to a tiler as a higher quality finish is achieved than me doing it. Anyhow I hate doing it! LOL
 
Trouble is I tend to end up doing a lot of my tiling work as a lot of the local tilers I have seen don't meet the standards of work I would expect from them.
 
WHPES said:
We have some amazing geometric and encaustic tiling work in our village hall foyer. It's quite a work of art, and the planning and design stage must have taken longer than the tiling itself. It dates from approximately 100 years ago.
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Have some restoration work coming up on a 150yr geometric old floor in the West end of Glasgow, also a work of art and a joy to work on.

Recently had the pleasure of seeing some Mosaic floors in Pompei over 2000yrs old, wonder if a Plumber done then? :smiley2:

20092011434.jpgA 143y rold fan mosaic I need to clean up, polish and seal, a plasterers work I belive.
 
In Roman times as much as in modern times, baths and tiling went hand in hand. I appreciate good quality decorative work from days gone by.
 
WHPES said:
Trouble is I tend to end up doing a lot of my tiling work as a lot of the local tilers I have seen don't meet the standards of work I would expect from them.
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I totaly emphasise with you there is alot of bad fixers out there & I have had the misfortune of working with trully awful plumbers, I would never dream of doing my own plumbing tho I leave that to the pro's.

Came on here to make some contacts & listen to some of the UK's finest, not upset them :smiley2:
 
gall.b-tiler said:
Take it you never heard of Toflo Jackson Tam? Never seen a Victorian Geometric floor?

The stairs you mention are hand fixed in sand cement, some of the ones in Glasgow are the work of my Grandad, his Dad was a Terrazzo layer/Tiler again a diffrent trade, Grates where done by Grate builders/Stone masons. Time served Tilers Render so maybe why you confuse us with plasterers
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Never heard of Toflo Jackson but i have seen plenty geometric floors and terrazzo. Real works of art some of them. I love looking at the old stuff. In the early 70's everyone i knew who did tiling was a plasterer / roughcaster but not every plasterer was a good tiler. Maybe that is where i am getting it from as there was more plaster work than tiling then.

Trades have evolved over the past 100 years or so and keep splitting and specialising even today. Plumbers originally did plumbing, electrical, gas and grate building. Some of the older companies are still plumbing and electrical or plumbing and grate builders. Depends how they evolved. It is like how leadwork and guttering is gradually being taken over by roofers as most plumbers don't know how or don't want to do it to such an extent that leadwork has now been dropped from plumbing college work.
The way things are going we will soon have combi fitters, bathroom fitters, plastic pipe fitters, and some old guys.

Stripped a bathroom this week. Original 1950's stuff. Big yellow and black glass like tiles (the old guy told me the name of the stuff but i can't remember) bedded in dabs of resin. It was a shame to take them down (a tiler is doing the tiles :smile:)

gall.b-tiler said:
the Handyman culture or the im going to do a couple of weeks course, call my self a tradesman undercut every body else is part of the reason quality of work is so low in this country
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It is affecting us all.
 
You're doing fine mate. You're not upsetting anyone. It's called debate and no one on here ***** foots around when they have an opinion and I respect that. It's one of the things that makes the forum interesting.
 
I presume you mean Craven Dunnill Jackfield not Tofflo Jackson?

[DLMURL="http://www.cravendunnill-jackfield.co.uk/floor.html"]Craven Dunnill Jackfield Ltd: Encaustic and Geometric floor tiles.[/DLMURL]
 
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Toflo where THE Tiling/Terrazzo contractors in Glasgow and beyond pre war to the 90's now bought over and do granite worktops etc. Very famous in these parts.
 
I recently bought £1500 quids worth of Rubi Bridge cutter, for tiling.

Do I generally tile, no. Can I tile a bathroom as well as most tilers I have met....yes.

I can't do all the other specialist tiling that Gall.b mentioned. However in bathrooms, I have had to learn how to tile, and plaster. I hadn't done either for about 2 years until the other week.

Tiling is a specialist trade, however to expect a plumber to know how to tile a bathroom, is akin to expecting an electrician to know how to change an immersion heater. They are so closely linked.
 
As above, none of us plumbers/gas men would try and do some of the work you do Gal, but the basic tiles going in a bathroom is a simple job. I have never had any training in tiling, did my own and went from there, tiles, borders etc in a bathroom is n ot really challenging is it. That decorative work is for the experienced tiler though.
I have worked on many new build sites and in porivate homes, the standard of tiling on most is no better than I and many other plumbers do, its just they are quicker.
 
Went to B&Q for the dvd but they said they don't do the tiling one anymore, they still do other trade dvds though, thought that was a bit strange. Anyway the girl gave me some tiling leaflets, won't be much use to me but at least I can get to grips with the terminology etc before I go on a course. Better than nothing.
 
Take it you never heard of Toflo Jackson Tam? Never seen a Victorian Geometric floor?
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Tofflo Jackson don't do geometric encaustic tiles. That's Craven Dunnill Jackfield. Tofflo Jackson do marble, granite, natural stone etc. May have laid encaustic floors in the past but they don't supply them.
 
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Goad, I've seen the DVD on how to install an outside tap...bloody scary stuff and I'm glad I know how to do it properly!
 
We are making fools of ourselves really with talk of diy DVD's, the B&Q one is a joke. Granted it does have good setting out advise but then spoils its self by recommending ready mixed adhesive.

Powered every time for me.
 
WHPES said:
Tofflo Jackson don't do geometric encaustic tiles. That's Craven Dunnill Jackfield. Tofflo Jackson do marble, granite, natural stone etc. May have laid encaustic floors in the past but they don't supply them.
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Missing the point mate, as Tamz from my area and in the trade I found it strange he never heard of them, as for victorian floors my point was who done them certainly not Plumbers
 
Halesowen1 said:
As above, none of us plumbers/gas men would try and do some of the work you do Gal, but the basic tiles going in a bathroom is a simple job. I have never had any training in tiling, did my own and went from there, tiles, borders etc in a bathroom is n ot really challenging is it. That decorative work is for the experienced tiler though.
I have worked on many new build sites and in porivate homes, the standard of tiling on most is no better than I and many other plumbers do, its just they are quicker.
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Plain stuff in homes may appear easier, but the preperation can be the same, using the correct primers, trowel selection, addy/grout selection, correct sealers & knowing about the material your working with.

If your self taught who teaches you these things & why have the hassle when you can sub it out and get it done in half the time & still make a bit off it?

As for house bashing on new builds, the guys are on a pitifull price usally onto poor prep, cant say I blame them for not leaving a top job.
 
Dannypipe said:
I recently bought £1500 quids worth of Rubi Bridge cutter, for tiling.

Do I generally tile, no. Can I tile a bathroom as well as most tilers I have met....yes.

I can't do all the other specialist tiling that Gall.b mentioned. However in bathrooms, I have had to learn how to tile, and plaster. I hadn't done either for about 2 years until the other week.

Tiling is a specialist trade, however to expect a plumber to know how to tile a bathroom, is akin to expecting an electrician to know how to change an immersion heater. They are so closely linked.
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Spending big bucks on a cutter dont make you a fixer

Plumbing and Tiling are miles apart Plumbing is Engineering based and technical. Tiling although tecnical in the product/material side of things thes days is a craft which takes practice and patience. two completley diffrent disciplines.
 
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Never heard of them Brian but most of my stuff is on the East coast. Not in Glasgow too much so unless i had been on a job with them i wouldn't know. Same type of thing i wouldn't expect you to know who Matheson's or Blackhall were unless you had been on a job with them.
 
Was just going by your age Tam :smiley2: Folk of an older generation still hold them in high esteem and seem to trust you more if you know who they are. Tolflo did work all over Scotland there never was & still isnt any big Tiling contractors in the east. Tilecraft and De cecco have all the site stuff sewn up.

Know all the big modern Plumbing/Mechanical mobs froms sites and my mates work for a few too.
 
gall.b-tiler said:
Plain stuff in homes may appear easier, but the preperation can be the same, using the correct primers, trowel selection, addy/grout selection, correct sealers & knowing about the material your working with.

If your self taught who teaches you these things & why have the hassle when you can sub it out and get it done in half the time & still make a bit off it?

As for house bashing on new builds, the guys are on a pitifull price usally onto poor prep, cant say I blame them for not leaving a top job.
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It does not appear easy, it is easy. I am afraid you are trying to big up a job that in my case(simple bathroom tiling) is a very easy and straightforward job. Why subby it out when I can do it myself, as I have to wait for the tiler to come and do it anyway, I can get it done while waiting and earn all of his money, instead of some.
Not having a dig, its just that tiling in the main is not a hard job.
 
I consider myself a very good diy tiler, and can do a fantastic job of a mid end bathroom using ceramics and porcelain.

Most plumbers though don't know about weight limits of tiles and will happily throw travertine up on badly blown plaster for instance or lay it on springy 12mm ply on a floor.

Looking at some of the pictures on the tiling forum with the bullnosed travertine round the swimming pools, its a totally differnt ballgame to just using mid sized ceramics.
 
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Phil said:
We are making fools of ourselves really with talk of diy DVD's, the B&Q one is a joke. Granted it does have good setting out advise but then spoils its self by recommending ready mixed adhesive.

Powered every time for me.
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phil, your right a £2 dvd aint gonna make you a tiler. i think b&q are only selling them to get people to buy there tiles etc but it does give you some basic stuff & it helped me when tiling my own bathroom. i would'nt do tiling in someone elses house though, better left to the professionals. i'm sure the dvd is a joke to a proper tiler.
 
Hullawrerr, i've been following this thread for a few days now & it's all been very interesting stuff. i agree the specialist tiling you see in and around glasgow in the tenements etc are real works of art & must have been done by proper craftsmen. As for plumbers being able to do this type of work, the saying 'ra baws up the slates' comes to mind. some plumbers do tiling & some tilers do plumbing, fair enough, but generally if you stick to your own trade it can be done better and quicker. i stick to plumbing/htg, even after 32yrs , i'm still learning that so i've no chance with tiling.
As for which trade takes longer to learn , i'd say the tiling but thats no because there's more to learn, it's because it takes tilers longer to learn ha ha
 
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