I'm tiling my kitchen tomorrow. Three walls above the work surfaces. Any tips?

nuttyknatty wrote:

I'm tiling my kitchen tomorrow. Three walls above the work surfaces. Any
tips?

Don't use "fix'n'grout" (it seems to combine the worst features of
each). Get good ready mixed *waterproof* adhesive (Bal / Nicobond etc)
and a good notched edge trowel.

When grouting get a decent grout float - these are padded rubber faced
trowels - they make grouting so quick and easy since you can work the
grout into the gaps and the clean off almost all of the excess whilt it
is wet. Use a waterproof self mix grout. Do at most a couple of square
yards of grouting before going back over the surface with a slightly
damp sponge. Once fully dry polish off the remaining white dusty residue
with *dry* paper towels.

Treat the grout with Lithofin grout protector to prevent staining.

Electric tile saw is good. The baby plasplugs one for 32 quid from
machine mart is usually a good bet.



--
Cheers,

John.

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nuttyknatty wrote:
I'm tiling my kitchen tomorrow. Three walls above the work surfaces. Any
tips?

Nail (pin) a base batton just less than a tile height along the bottom
so you have a true edge to work from upon which you can rest as many
times up as you like.

Once all dried nicely you can then chop down the tiles for the bottom
row allowing room for grout top & bottom.

Use those tile spacers like matchsticks and poke them in on around every
corner of every tile.

Pull them out when the adhesive is hard wnough to hold the tiles, but
soft enough to allow you to run a spacer up the grout gap to remove
excess adhesive.

get one of those tile saws (like a hand fret-saw) for doing odd shapes
and curves.

Don't forget to wipe off grout with a damp cloth/sponge before it goes hard.

Be very wary of those black plastic grouting tool things designed to run
over soft grout. I have had ones that actually leave traces of black
plastic on the tiles which are nearly impossible to remove.

If you have to remove a tile make absolutely sure every last speck of
adhesive is removed from the tile and wall with a
filler/stripper/scraper thing.

ummm.... that's all I have come across in the past.
Mesure to ensire you don't end up with a tiny sliver of tile to cut at
one end/corner.

Once grout has gone off rock hard, that's when you will find lumps you
forgot to remove. DON'T us a knife or scraper, they seem to leave
un-sightly marks. Best thing I found is a bit of soft wood like 2" x 1"
or something and use it as a scraper. It works a treat without risking
tile damage.

.........

Hope it goes alright. as you'ver prolly started already by now!
:¬)

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