"Bilbo Baggins" wrote in message
...
I am just about to have my first attempt at fixing porcelain tiles (600mm
x
300m ones). Has anybody got any tips which may be useful?

I have bought a decent diamond saw for cutting and I am expecting major
problems when it come to cutting around pipes etc. or drilling holes for
bathroom fittings.

I also understand that I need special adhesive.

KW


I put up tiles that sounds very similar and found fixing them
straightforward, no special adhesive required

I used a cheapo plasplugs electric tile saw and it did a very good job,
cleanly taking 5mm strips off of the whole 600mm length, and I was only
after the 290mm section. ...But as with any tiling job plan it so that thin
cuts are not crucial to job.

Cutting around pipes will depend just where abouts in the tile the cuts need
to be made. Again, this pretty much comes down to your planning of the
layout, ideally you want the big holes to coincide with a join which makes
life much easier. Where the pipes for the shower did not fall right on a
join I only had to cut out maybe a 50x50mm square,then cut a small section
for the pipes from this square section, which looks pretty unobtrusive. For
the waste pipes from the sink I found it easier to half a complete tile, and
then took out a couple of sections with the tile saw, but this is all hidden
by the basin pedestal so you don't actually notice it.

Drilling holes for fixings is a bugger, expect it to take a long time, be
patient, drill slowly and keep the area wet.

An electric tile saw is essential, when using the saw I found it useful to
mark the cut line in pencil, If you do not fill it up with too much water
the line should remain visible, this removes some dependence on the accuracy
of the guide rail and also helps enormously if making small angled cuts.

Drilling holes was most definitely the worst part of the job, fixing and
cutting is straightforwar as long as you plan ahead and take your time.

cheers

David