Tiling en-suite DIY

garyh3

Hi All you tilers out there

Im going to tile my en-suite (new house) and looking for a bit of advice.

The ensuite is about 27sq ft with the floor being 2sq ft

For the walls the tiles are all the same and it will be the full lenght all around

Questions

At it upstairs and T&G flooring i have to put down ply. I have the ply left by the old tiler who did our other en-suite.

Do you put the ply down is strips and across the T&G and secure with the 3/4ring shank nails (also left by the tiler). Should I also use good old liquid nail?

What should I do to make sure that the water does not leak around and behind the shower tray? Waterproof mastic? (lots of)

Floor. do you tile the Floor first ? (After I have taken out the toilet and basin)

Walls. Where do you start tiling from. The bottom Middle of the shower tray. There will be no pattern tile.

Any special adhesive or grout needed??? Tubs and Tiles were gonna change me 285 euros just for the Adhesive and Grout (I didnt go with that)

any help really appreciated

Garyh3

Corkey123

The ensuite is about 27sq ft with the floor being 2sq ft

That is one small floor, hee hee

At it upstairs and T&G flooring i have to put down ply. I have the ply left by the old tiler who did our other en-suite.

Do you put the ply down is strips and across the T&G and secure with the 3/4ring shank nails (also left by the tiler). Should I also use good old liquid nail?

There no need to cut it into strips, just make sure the joins are at right angle to the existing boards. I wouldn't use nail to secure the ply, i'd use 3/4 pozi's. Never like to swing a hammer where there is porceline or ceramics. Expensive lesson learnt.

What should I do to make sure that the water does not leak around and behind the shower tray? Waterproof mastic? (lots of)

This is the important bit. If you can, place the tray in position and mark the wall. Then remove the tray and take out the plaster/plasterbaord up to that mark. This will let the tray recess slightly into the wall which will greatly reduce the possibility of leaks as the moisture will run off the tile on to the slight down slope on the tray. Use a good silicon as well. I would also place a very thin skim of floor tile adhersive under the tray to prevent it from moving. Not too much or you may not be able to prise it free again without breaking the tray.

Floor. do you tile the Floor first ? (After I have taken out the toilet and basin)

If you tile the floor first you will be able to place the tray over the tiles to get a smooth looking finish, however it will also provide the problem of having to elevate the tray to prevent it from being unlevel. You could use broken tiles as spacers?

Walls. Where do you start tiling from. The bottom Middle of the shower tray. There will be no pattern tile.

Start from the bottom corner working up and out. This will ensure you have a full tile in the corner of the shower which is the most visible part. Make sure to have a clear plumb line to ensure you can see any non level parts of the wall that need to be accomodated.

Any special adhesive or grout needed??? Tubs and Tiles were gonna change me 285 euros just for the Adhesive and Grout (I didnt go with that)

That seem expensive, unless of course it is 27 sq yard/metre as oppoped to feet as indicated earlier.

Good luck

Viking House

garyh3 wrote:

What should I do to make sure that the water does not leak around and behind the shower tray? Garyh3

We always paint the Bathroom especially the shower area with Aquastop first, a breathable waterproof sealer.
We then put masking tape on the edge of the shower tray, spray expanding foam onto the edges of the shower tray that touch the wall and shove in the shower tray against the wall.
When the roam has finished expanding we puul off the masking tape which leaves a clean finish.
Always use green plasterboard in the bathrooms.
If you are using plywood put the foam around the edges or at joints before you put down the plywood to stop leaks.
With bathrooms your size we would just tank it with a Mira membrane/rubberoid combination and use no shower tray.

Viking House

MartinCorcoran wrote:

Start from the bottom corner working up and out.

If you start from the bottom corner with a full tile you may end up with a thin strip on the RHS of the same wall which looks bad and will show up any unevenness in the next wall. We always divide up the space and have the first tile and the last tile on any wall the same size.

garyh3

Thanks all for the advice

When I took the skitring off it was a bit of a mess so I have used the expanding foam to fill all the gaps.

The shower tray was already in so I have used a waterproof sealer around the edges.

The ply is down I took out the sink and toilet and used a bit of liquid nails and then screwed down the ply..

OK next

Do I need any special adhesive to put down the tiles on the ply or just the normal stuff I can get a woodies?

IF I start in the corner of the trey will I not have a small piece at the end where the trey ends and the wall starts??

thanks again

Garyh3

Viking House

If you start off with a full tile and end up with less than half a tile this looks bad.
Better start off with three quarters of a tile and end with three quarters of a tile.

ctrl-alt-delete

Viking House wrote:

If you start off with a full tile and end up with less than half a tile this looks bad.
Better start off with three quarters of a tile and end with three quarters of a tile.

but you cant be sure that would happen,

best thing to do is mark the middle of the wall and start with a tile either side of that line - ensuring tiles on the end of each wall are the same size. Its dangerous to start with a full tile in the bottom corner of any wall as you cant be sure the wall is plumb.

Marking out the job is the most important aspect of tiling, take the time to think about this and find the best balance between the cuts. Measure the height of the wall also, and find a good balance between the cut at the top and the cut at the bottom. If you havnt got them already buy tile spacers - simple and cheap little things that will make the job easier for you and keep everything square and balanced - dont let anyone else tell you different. 2 or 3mm are sufficient for walls, you may want bigger grout joints on floors 4-5mm in that case.

In terms of marking out, if you are tiling the whole bathroom and not just the shower walls - mark out where each tile finishes in a corner, or how it falls over a door, or the shower tray - you dont want small bits here, as i said above take the time to plan it out.

In terms of the shower tray and the worry of waterproofing it, get shower adhesive for the shower area, and also trim for the top of the shower tray, install the trim before tiling with silicone and thats all you will have to worry about in terms of waterproofing.

if your walls are already painted, sont tile straight onto them - scour the walls with a stanley knife, or some sort of other knife, and it may be a good idea to apply a coating of PVA - mixed with water (not pure) this should provide enough of a surface for the adhesive to bond to. Tiling staright to painted walls can be dangerous, in that i have seen tiles coming off because the adhesive is only sticking to the paint - which isnt really stuck to the wall

good luck.

squire1

garyh3 wrote:

Do I need any special adhesive to put down the tiles on the ply or just the normal stuff I can get a woodies?

Yes. You need adhesive especially formulated for bonding to timber. Most DIY stores should have it. Don't use normal adhesive on a timber surface or you will end up with cracked tiles.

Just as an aside. I met I tiler once who made up his own adhesive for use on timber using standard adhesive and a couple of "special ingredients". Worked really well. Any pro's out there like to divulge the secret ingredients????

philip1111

garyh3 wrote:

Hi All you tilers out there

Im going to tile my en-suite (new house) and looking for a bit of advice.

The ensuite is about 27sq ft with the floor being 2sq ft

For the walls the tiles are all the same and it will be the full lenght all around

Questions

At it upstairs and T&G flooring i have to put down ply. I have the ply left by the old tiler who did our other en-suite.

Do you put the ply down is strips and across the T&G and secure with the 3/4ring shank nails (also left by the tiler). Should I also use good old liquid nail?

What should I do to make sure that the water does not leak around and behind the shower tray? Waterproof mastic? (lots of)

Floor. do you tile the Floor first ? (After I have taken out the toilet and basin)

Walls. Where do you start tiling from. The bottom Middle of the shower tray. There will be no pattern tile.

Any special adhesive or grout needed??? Tubs and Tiles were gonna change me 285 euros just for the Adhesive and Grout (I didnt go with that)

any help really appreciated

Hi I am a tiler. Put WBP plywood on floor with 4 x 25 screws every 6 inches.
Tile the walls first.Spact the tiles up the walls to make sure that you are not left with a small piece either top or bottom.Place a batton of timber as low as you can on the wall and level with a spirit level and start there.

garyh3

Hi All thanks for all the advice...


Err started and did the floor first (aparently a no no) I have not put the grout down yet leaving that till last.

I have tiled the walls and yes I thought I had calculated the floor and walls but I was still left with a small cut at the top (bugger). My rotozip has saved me for cutting around the pipes. I bought a few tile bits for it and its like a hot knife through butter.

SO

Few things to remember....

Measure twice and cut once...
Get a couple of extra boxes of tiles for wastage and cuts
Plan the tile layout
Get big tiles less to put up and cut!!!!
Dont let the wife pick the tiles.....

Garyh3

ctrl-alt-delete

garyh3 wrote:

Hi All thanks for all the advice...


Err started and did the floor first (aparently a no no) I have not put the grout down yet leaving that till last.

Glad you got on well considering. In my opinion though it doesnt matter whether you do floor or walls first. I always do the floor first as i dont like having a grout joint along the wall.

Dilbert75

What thickness of ply would I need to tile over T&G? What grade of ply - WBP, marine, another? Thinking of a small project, doing the en-suite and the bathroom (both small), want to get it straight in my mind first.