Find a Tiler you can trust in Wirral.

Are you interested in fitting tiles in your home or office? If yes, then you’d probably want to know the total cost of getting the project over the line. And being fully aware every job is unique, having a cost per square metre to work with will give you a more accurate price estimation for the overall project. 

First and foremost, the cost of a tiler depends on a wide range of factors such as the type of floor tiles and the size of the area. The cheapest of them all is the vinyl tiles which can be easily cut through and waterproof when properly sealed. As a result, making them a better fit for bathroom floors. Other kinds of tiles include ceramic tiles, mosaic tiles, quarry tiles and porcelain tiles. Each of the types have their own unique qualities including the quarry tiles’ durability and the afore-mentioned vinyl tiles’ waterproof qualities.

Having in mind that the major part of your tiles cost largely depends on the size of the area and the type of tile selected, you can then go ahead to contact your preferred tiling professional for an installation quote. The average price of bathroom tiles installation ranges about £20 to £25 per square metre. Meanwhile for a kitchen floor tiling project, the cost should range between £20 to £50 per square metre.

Finding a tiling professional you can rely on to complete your project and deliver a top quality job while also offering a very competitive price can be almost impossible. The professional you use greatly determines the price of your tiling effort, so there’s the need to review various professionals before making a decision.

Kitchen fitters are often trained carpenters and not all will offer tiling but many will know a tiler that they have worked with in the past. If you are looking to get your kitchen retiled without fitting a new kitchen when it's worth talking to tilers directly to get a range of prices.

It's useful to know in advance what tiles you like, a visit to your local tile store and either pick up a brochure or take some photos. It's probably better not to purchase the tiles at this moment though as often your appointed tiler may be able to get you a better price for the tiles or recommend alternatives. 

How To Remove Tile Adhesive From Wall

Do you feel your tile design choices are outdated and want to replace it with a more stylish one? Or perhaps you’re just struggling to remove the old tile adhesive from your wall. Putting on a new wallpaper or repainting your wall might be a cup of tea, but retiling is surely a different experience altogether. After detaching every single piece of tile from the wall, you’ll still have the strongly glued adhesive to battle with. If not done properly, you may as well damage the wall which will trigger a new additional cost for repair. We’d recommend you get a professional helping hand for the best results if you’re without a proper training or experience. However, this guide will teach you everything you need to know about the process. Let’s get started!

Materials Required

• Steamer

• Protective sheets

• 4-inch scraper

• Clean cloth

• Protective gear - face mask, eye goggles, gloves.

Tile Adhesive Removal Process

• Cover The Floor

Ensure that the floor is well covered to collect the residues falling off from the wall with some protective sheets.

• Heat Up The Adhesive

Using the wallpaper steamer, heat up the adhesive to make it a bit loose and softer. Do this by slowly moving the steamer around and ensure not to stay on one spot for too long.

• Scrape Off The Mortar

When you can tell the adhesive is properly softened, use the 4 inch scraper to wipe it off the wall. Do this until all the adhesive has been completely removed.

• Clear Out The Fallen Residue

Clean up any mortar that has fallen on the floor.

After the tile adhesive removal, your wall may need to be skimmed depending on its state. This is to put the surface in a good and flat condition before installing the new tiles. The wall may also need to be re-plastered if the adhesive is extremely strong.

If you’re thinking about the better option between tiling your walls either before or after fitting a kitchen, you’ve come to the right place! In this article, we’ll give a good insight on the best practices to help you plan and also avoid making costly mistakes.

The short and simple answer to this question is - it depends. It depends on structure of your home or property, your kitchen as well as the surface in question, the materials selected and also your unique preferences. This answer is mainly provided because there’s no tile industry standard explaining when a kitchen or cabinet should be fitted. Therefore, there’s a need to check the suitability of any structure and substrate needs by a professional before you determine the type of tile installation as well as when to install the tile.

If you decide to install the wall tiles before fitting the kitchen, here are some benefits you stand to derive:

✓ There will be no finish cuts or sealant application required for the perimeter joints at the finished sides of the cabinets making the installer’s job a lot easier

✓ This also implies extra square footage for the installer, but less detail as well as trim work.

✓ Water leaks from the kitchen won’t be able to cause much damage.

✓ It allows for more flexibility when remodelling in the future.

However, installing the wall tiles after fitting the kitchen also comes with some advantages. Let’s have a look!

✓ This means less in square footage, but more time in both detail as well as trim work.

✓ The risk of damage to the wall tiles by other trades is significantly minimized.

✓ It’ll be easier to change the wall tiles later on without having to remove the kitchen.

Mosaic tiles is a popular choice amongst most homeowners for several reasons. Not only can they be used to create a colourful and beautiful background for your space, they’re also very easy to maintain while also lasting a very long period of time when properly installed. In addition, they’re very easy to install and can also blend perfectly with other types of tiles. If you’re thinking about fitting mosaic wall tiles in your home or office, you’d probably want to know how you can go about the installation. The installation process is actually very easy but if you do not have the confidence required to pull this off, then we’d recommend you call in a reliable professional who can guarantee the best results for help.

✓ Prepare the surface. This involves switching off the power to electrical outlets, removing wall plates as well as other accessories anchored to the wall and protecting the countertop and other surfaces.

✓ Draw reference lines. Determine the layout of the mosaic tiles.

✓ Install a tile finishing trim. This should be done at the edge of the tiled surface with flat head nails. Then use a 3/16 inches notched trowel to spread a thin coat of tile adhesive over a small section of wall, to one side of the vertical line.

✓ Spread the adhesive. Use the notched side of a trowel to spread the adhesive.

✓ Lay the first sheet. Use the reference lines as a guide to the first mosaic tile sheet.

✓ Verify adherence. Push the sheet gently into the adhesive to ensure that it adheres very well to the wall.

✓ Tap the tiles lightly. Use a rubber mallet to tap the tiles lightly to ensure the sheets are set firmly on the wall.

✓ Caulk the joints.

How To Lay Tiles On Concrete

Installation of tiles on concrete sub-floors can be done with relative ease under adequate guidance. Here is what you have to do.

lPrepare The Concrete Subfloor

• Ensure the concrete is dry, clean and must be at least 6 weeks old.

• If there are dips and humps, level the concrete using a levelling compound.

lSet Out

• Working from the centre outwards, take a measurement of the floor (both length and width) and draw a cross at the centre.

• Lay out the tiles from the cross with a space of 3mm between each tiles. This will allow for movement stresses within the floor and later to be filled with grout upon installation of the tiles and adhesive dried.

lCut The Tiles

• Due to the particularly had nature of some floor tiles such as natural stone and porceclain, high quality tools are usually required to produce a clean cut through the tiles. With the help of an electric wet cutter alongside a slide cutter and nippers, your job would be made a lot easier.

• For a better result during intricate cuts, make use of a cardboard template.

lFix The Tiles

• The tiles should be fixed using a cement-based adhesive.

• Ensure to refer to the packaging or product data for the mixing ratios information.

• Stir the mixture till its lump-free

lApply The Mixture

• Spread the mixture onto the concrete sub-floor to create parallel ribs with the help of a floor trowel.

• Push the tiles into the parallel ribs.

• Clear out any excess adhesive from the tiles surface with a damp sponge.

• Do not walk on the tiles for at least 2 hours.

lGrout

• Once the adhesive is dried, wipe out any dust, adhesive or dirt from the tiles’ gaps.

• Mix about 4 to 5 parts of grout powder with 1 part of water and ix together.

• Apply the mixed grout diagonally across the tiles using a soft rubber grout float.

• Wipe out excess grout from the tiles surface and allow the tiles to dry.

• Stubborn residues can be cleaned using any washing up detergent with warm water within 24 hours after grouting.

Are you looking to tile your bathroom floor very soon? Well, we’ve got you covered! Tiling is not the easiest skill to acquire and definitely not one you’d not want to try out on your bathroom with some practices. For the best results and to get it right the first time, we’d recommend you hire the services of a reliable professional especially if you’re inexperienced or without a bathroom tiling training. Hopefully, this quick step-by-step guide will put you in the right direction.

Bathroom Floor Tiling Procedures

• Make Sure You Have A Levelled Subfloor

✓ Your subfloor’s stability is crucial for the success of your tile laying.

✓ Once done, then you can start planning how to level the floor.

✓ Identify the highest point of your floor and place a really long level to determine the dip and hump spots.

✓ Fill in the identified low spots with mortar.

• Cut The Tiles

✓ Using a wet saw with a diamond blade and pump, cut through the tiles to get the appropriate shape.

• Choose The Appropriate Adhesive

✓ To best adhesive is probably the one written on the label and suggested by the manufacturer.

✓ If uncertain, you can make use of a modified mortar

• Prepare The Area

✓ Using the prepared mixture of your mortar, prime the surface by spreading it on the floor with the trowel’s flat side.

✓ Once done, you can add more mortar with the ridges of the trowel.

• Space The Tiles

✓ Tile spacement depends largely on the surrounding walls. Straight walls equal straight tiles, if not your judge would be required to ensure a great outcome.

✓ If the wall is straight, make a space of about an eighth of an inch. The bigger spacing, the higher the possibility for the grout to become visibly discoloured.

• Use The Right Grout

✓ With sanded and unsanded grouts having a variety of colours, choosing the ideal grout can a tricky affair.

✓ The size of the spaces play a huge role in determining the best choice.

✓ Use a sanded grout if the spacing is an eighth of an inch or more. However if less, make use of the unsanded grout.

How To Remove Tile From Wall

Have you stumbled on some stylish new tiles you wish to install in your home, be it bathroom, kitchen or living room? Or perhaps you just feel your old tiles have outstayed their welcome and need a to install a more modern and appealing wall tile. The first step before installation of the new tiles will be to remove the old ones which can be done by following these simple steps below:

lSafety

• To remove wall tiles, you’d have to chip them away and that implies shards of porcelain, ceramic or glass flying around. Hence, your safety should be a top priority.

• Use safety goggles and protective gloves to protect both your eyes and hands.

lCover Up

• With several sharp objects flying everywhere, all objects in the room are far from safe.

• Use a cardboard or old sheet to protect the room and valuable objects from damage.

lAssemble The Tools

• For wall tiles removal, you need just two tools - a hammer and a chisel that’s a bit thin.

• In the event whereby a chisel is not available, you can make use of a flat headed and large screwdriver.

lGet To Work

• Feel for a loose tile to start with and if successful, chip it out with a chisel.

• If you can’t find a loose tile, then break one by sticking the centre of a tile with a chisel and hit it hard with a hammer.

lRemove All Tiles

• Once you’ve been able to chip away or break the first tile, you can easily get access to other tiles.

lClean Up

• Try to get as much dried adhesive off the wall as you can by gently tapping it with the chisel and hammer so as not to damage the wall.

• Once done, put away the cardboard and dust sheet which should have collected much debris.

• Use a brush and dust pan to clean out the loose pieces (if any).

Wall tiles removal can be a very dangerous process which should be left to a professional especially if you lack a proper training or experience. This is not only to prevent anybody being hurt, but also to avoid any possible damages to the wall or any valuable object which can result in additional cost on repair or replacement.