Tiling kitchen floor and part of wall

Discussion in 'Tilers' Talk' started by Marc Berry, Nov 12, 2021.

  1. Marc Berry

    Marc Berry Member

    Hi guys

    I am getting towards the end of the main kitchen fitting, i.e. cabinets, worktop and sink etc.

    When we've saved a bit more money back up will next do the wall tiles and then the floor tiles.

    A family friend who is a tiler took a look. He reckons there is 20-22 sqm depending on breakage and waste. He would charge 35 psqm which we can't afford especially on top of the tiles and materials themselves so I'll try myself

    So i have a few questions and also any other advice would be great.

    1. What would be a good tile leveling system and would the same one work for both wall and floor?

    2. When the wedge is inserted, as well as pushing down on the higher tile, doesn't it pull on the other, thus affecting the connection with the adhesive?

    3. Do i need floor leveling compound? If the floor is generally level from one side to the other with no big holes, is it needed? I haven't yet checked if it's level in all directions but with a quick check with a 6ft level it seemed okay.

    4. If there is a slight difference from one side to the other, I'd therefore start laying them at the high point and increase the adhesive the lower it gets? So as to avoid the tiles sloping.

    5. Any other help appreciated

    Thanks, Marc
     
  2. CGN

    CGN Screwfix Select

    A good tiler will get over a slightly uneven floor, but if you’re new to this then I’d recommend you use self levelling compound to get it near perfect (as long as you don’t mess it up). As for the walls, what tiles are you fitting? Typical splash tiles don’t require a levelling system and they are not a prerequisite for any tiling tbf, but they can certainly help with large format tiles etc.

    Get the prep right and you’ll make it ten times easier but it will still be a learning curve. Good luck.
     
    Astramax and Marc Berry like this.
  3. Marc Berry

    Marc Berry Member

    The walls will be subway tile. My wife said the flat ones not beveled but i thought the whole point of it being called a subway tile was that it was beveled
     
  4. CGN

    CGN Screwfix Select

    It’s just a bit of a generic term. You’ll find the unbevelled tiles nicer to work with, especially on edges and corners as they are a more uniform thickness due to the lack of bevel. You certainly shouldn’t be using a tile levelling system with these.
     
    Marc Berry likes this.
  5. Marc Berry

    Marc Berry Member

    Cheers mate

    Using a self leveling scares me a bit but so does the whole job really
     
    CGN likes this.
  6. CGN

    CGN Screwfix Select

    There’s a learning curve to all of it. Get the longest straight edge you can and survey the floor. If it’s only a few mm out then crack on, but you must take the high spots into account as they could catch you out big time.
    I’d suggest you tile the splash backs first to get a feel for tiling and see how you get on. There’s loads of good videos around these days that’ll help, but any specific questions, then post back. Plenty of good people on here to help.

    Main things to consider though are

    getting the layout set correctly at the start.
    Wall/floor flatness
    Correct size notch trowel for your tile size
    Correct adhesive. In your case, tubbed for your wall tiles, bagged flexible for the floor.
     
    Jord86 and Marc Berry like this.
  7. Jiml86

    Jiml86 Screwfix Select

    The difficulty of the job will be determined by the subfloor, amount of cuts, and size of tile. Its hard to explain in text so I would suggest watching videos on YouTube. A tile levelling system is not the answer to all problems either, you need to be almost there, it won't fix big differences in tile.

    The cost of you doing it yourself vs paying a tiler is also worth considering. Do you already own a tile cutter, wet saw/ angle grinder, drill and mixer trowels etc? Then your time factored in and also the cost if it doesn't go to plan? Not trying to put you off just worth a thought.
     
    Marc Berry likes this.
  8. Hans_25

    Hans_25 Screwfix Select

    That covers most of it! A lot of thinking and planning is needed so once you start laying tiles you don't have an oh **** moment.

    Think carefully where cuts are going to be so you don't end up with slithers, and any lining up/symmetry is catered for. For example, if you have a 600mm or 900mm wide splash back area, you may want the tiles central there, so need to start there and work out bearing in mind how the tiles will be cut at the end of the wall. Pros do this in their sleep (mostly), I'd do it using pen and paper!!
     
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  9. woodbutcherbower

    woodbutcherbower Screwfix Select

    My tip of the day is to leave off all of your decor end panels and plinths until the floor’s tiled. Once done, they can be cut to size and installed. Things like this always look infinitely better when sitting on top of a finished floor. Same goes for skirtings and architraves. Probably sounds obvious, but if you’re new to this …… Good luck with it as other posters have said.
     
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  10. CGN

    CGN Screwfix Select

    That’s what I do with all kitchen and bathroom fits unless unavoidable.
     
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  11. Jord86

    Jord86 Screwfix Select

    Score the wall where the splashback is to go with a sharp Stanley knife to provide more of a key, especially if the wall is painted. Don't lay tiles directly on top of the worktop, measure up their thickness plus a tile spacer thickness then mark a level line all the way around and work to that, that way if the worktop is slightly out of level your tiling won't be affected and will be level. Buy a Rubi manual cutter for about £90, and an angle grinder with a diamond blade.
     
    Marc Berry likes this.
  12. Marc Berry

    Marc Berry Member

    I bought a wet saw a few years back when i did a really small bit of wall tiling in the laundry room just in case i needed to do some more at some point. So hopefully that was a good purchase ready for this lot
     
    CGN likes this.

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