Bathroom tiling - Tips

A good way to save on construction costs is to tile the bathroom itself. There are some things to keep in mind to make the project a success.

More than sticking panels into the bathroom

The scope and cost of the necessary work is often underestimated. The substrate must be cleanly plastered and if necessary solidified and sealed. In addition to tiles and glue cause agitator, tile cutter, tooth spatula and trifles, such as a sponge board, additional costs. Especially in the bathroom many recesses in the tiles are necessary, special pliers or cutting tools are therefore essential if you want to tile yourself.

Large and expensive tools can often be rented in hardware stores. Since the bathroom requires many cuts and holes on the tiles, high-quality cutting equipment is absolutely necessary. It makes no sense to save on these tools.

Tile selection

Tiles are subdivided into abrasive classes, slip resistance, skid resistance and water absorption. Even if the costs are to remain low, no major compromises should be made in terms of quality. Only for walls the abrasion class one is sufficient, for the floor at least the class two must be used. Higher classes are not required, but they will not hurt.

The bathroom in tiles: Individual designs for well-being To the gallery >>

The bathroom in tiles: Individual arrangements for well-being To the gallery >>

The bathroom in tiles: Individual designs for well-being To the gallery >>

The bathroom in tiles: Individual designs for well-being To the gallery >>

The bathroom in tiles: Individual designs for well-being To the gallery >>

The bathroom in tiles: Individual designs for well-being To the gallery >>

The bathroom in tiles: Individual designs for well-being To the gallery >>

Tiles of class three are able to cope with the burdens in heavily used living rooms, a bathroom certainly does not belong to that. Surefootedness is classified in classes R9 to R13. The choice should fall on nasty group R10 to R13. The slip resistance is divided into A, B and C. A high slip resistance (C) makes sense. Furthermore, floor tiles should absorb little water. Porcelain stoneware is a bit more expensive but fulfills all requirements for high quality floor tiles for bathrooms.

The amount of tiles required is calculated from the number of square meters that are tiled, multiplied by 1.12 and divided by the size of a tile in square meters. This amount is necessary because there is always a break when laying. Also glue, grout and silicone should be bought abundantly. As the grout and silicone are visible later, the batch number must be taken into consideration, as with the tiles.

First plan then lay

No laying plan should ever cause anyone to lay the tiles. The length of a wall is usually no multiple of the tile width with joints. For the wall to be symmetric, each row must begin and end with an equal section. The most difficult thing to do when creating your own installation plan is to tile it yourself.

Tiling is done on walls from top to bottom, so the tiles divided in length are located at the bottom. If only one base is tiled, split tiles should be avoided. Also on the ground it depends on the symmetry. Here is always tiled to the door.

Before the actual tiles, it is necessary to seal the walls and floor in the spray water. For sealing special sealing compounds are suitable for brushing. Only when this layer is dry, the tiles begin.

Now, first the wall, then the floor tiled. Once the glue is dry, grouting is done. The last operation is grouting with elastic mass. At edges, grout with silicone instead of grout.

What does tile laying look like in practice? *

• Newly tiled kitchen with black, shiny tiles
• Newly tiled kitchen in matte slate look
• Newly tiled bathroom with floor and wall tiles

*) Sample works by MyHammer craftsmen in the before / after comparison

Video: where to start tiling|