partially tile a floor - finish it a few days later?

doubtfir3

Hi,

I'm almost ready to move into a house, and need to get some tiles laid before the kitchen goes in.

The whole ground floor is tiled, but wanted to check if I can lay some of the tiles (kitchen area) and leave the remaining areas of the ground floor to be done a few days later?

I'm going away next week and the tiler (GF's brother in law) will be going too, but the kitchen guys want to get in on the week of the 6th or will have to delay the kitchen for a while. He thinks the whole job will take about 3-4 days but has only about 2 days available before we go.

The tiles are polished porcelain but are unsealed. Should I seal them before I let the kitchen guys in? Can I do this in sections.

(Yes, I know.. just ask the tiler.. but wanted to have an idea if it can/should be done before I speak to him).

Thanks!

porte

Hey i had the same problem with my kitchen
what i done was let them fit the kitchen first then you can start the tiling from the kickboard or tell them to leave the kick board off and start the tiles just under the kitcen so the kickboard sits on the tile.
if you want to tile under the kitcen then no it makes no difference if you leave it and return to it later.
seal the tiles with a propper porcelain Impregnator sealer before you grout
make sure you do a test first and leave for 24hrs.
Good luck.

Autorotation

I'd totally agree. Fit the kitchen first, then tile. If u tile first there's a big danger of ur new tiles getting scratched or worse. Tell them to either fit an adjustable kickboard or leave it off altogether and fit it post-tiling. Remember afterwards not to grout anywhere a tile meets another object (wall, cabinet, etc), instead use flexible caulk or coloured silicone, grout will crack. Or make sure ur tiler does the above!... Best of luck :-)

doubtfir3

I was a little worried about the tiles being scratched alright..

Thanks for the responses, spoke with tiler at the weekend and he said to let the kitchen guys in and he would be able to do the tiling once the kicker board was left off so should all go fine.. here's hoping!

Regards

quietsailor

A lot of kitchen fitters use clips on the back of the kick boards, this means that you literally clip them on and off, ask the kitchen gups if they use these and to fit them to the kickboard and leave it off. Then after the tiles are laid and finished use a jigsaw or skilsaw to cut it to the right height. If you cut the top of the board any chipping of the board finish won't be seen afterwards