Not sure I am cut out for tiling!

[Goldspoon]

Just tiled my second bathroom (am starting out as a plumber but multi-tasking somewhat to see what else I enjoy).

Just tiled a room (basically a cube 2.4m all sides) with large tiles (60cm X 33cm) and it took me close to 13 days on the tiling (on to new plasterboard with skim), that's not including removing the old ones, just time spent adding new tiles - everything else with the job seemed fast by comparison. I am sure that this is well off the mark timewise lol. I did work bloody hard though - maybe tiling is not for me. Job included tiling around shower tray, shower itself, hole for fan, around door frame, one pipe for a rad from wall. Wall height not even. Tanked around shower area.

What sort of time would your average skilled tiler take?

Pics here: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/julianpatrickgallery/BathroomProjectGreatOrmeOngoing

 

[toptec]

Goldspoon

From a pretty competant DIYer, that looks a pretty fine job to me. All your cuts look sharp and the laying out looks good. Was there a specific reason you went for brick type laying as opposed to upright?

My neighbour has a Pro Tiler in doing his bathroom, floors, walls and new suite. Using the same sized tiles as you are he has been there a total of 18 days. Not finished yet either.

Lucky for the neighbour it is a fixed price job.

I did my bathroom last year, from starting to gut it, new walls, ceilings, plumbing, electrics, tiles, new suite, it took me 20 days, working 5 -8 hour days. Couple of minor delays for materials though.

Yours looks impressive mate.

 

[Goldspoon]

Thanks for that - made me feel a good deal better. My wife said she thought it should take a couple of days!

I am working on a fixed price as well but quite happy as really grateful for the work.

Brick type: personally like it and discussed with bathroom owner and we agreed to go this way.

Very easy to underestimate the time these things take. Fought with one shower panel for hours yesterday until I realised I was misinterpreting the instructions.

 

[lancenotalot]

Very easy to underestimate the time these things take.

Whenever I quote for a job as a price if I think it will take say 4 days I price it as 6,materials holdups,waiting for other trades to finish,customers wanting to chat etc.
Last job spent half a day waiting for power due to fuseboard being renewed,couldn't cut a tile
Another job was ready to start fixing on a tuesday but tiles didn't arrive till the friday and they still thought I would finish on the same date
By the way you work looks good to me and a customer will generally be happy to wait for a quaility job

 

[JamesA]

What were you using to cut the tiles?
Maybe an electric tile cutter would cut the time down. I'd never done tiling before and it only took me a few days.

I bought a £19.99 one from a DIY store as I had to get the tiling done before the plumber came back a few days later.
I wouldn't normally buy an electric gadget for one use, but I've lent it to loads of people since so it's being used.

For me it was stripping the old units and tiles and preparing everything that took 2 weekends.

 

[makitaman]

Tiling always takes longer than you think, always. I'm averaging about 3 weeks to rip out, replaster walls for tiling and paint finish, fit flooring, pipe runs, sanitary ware, showers, pumps, electrics, downlights etc. 18 days for tiling tho................

 

[OvertonPlumber]

let me first say im a rgi and quite a good plumber and fairly good as most facets of the building trade. However i find tiling infuriating. Ive so far only ever tilled 3 things projects. Firstly a bathsurround around 9 square meters plain bumpy whites took 2 long days, start to finish including strippping of.
Secondly i did a 1200 shower enclosure floor to ceiling including repipping shower removing and replacing shower enclosure bumpy whites with a travertine mosaic border around 9 sq mtrs took 4 days ( day spent flipping the ply boards where the prior person has used floor adhesive on the walls)
And my last job

Classic victorian cloakroom

• OvertonPlumber
• 11 May 2008
• 2

Only my third attempt at tiling.

ooo i hate angles took 5-6 days.

so im half thinking ill pay a tiler to do my bathroom

Oh thats under a staircase floor to ceiling just out of shot.

 

[iaith]

First of all congratulations , on what looks like a very neat job.
As for speed I learned a lot from a young Polish lad.
After attaching his baton and measuring the centre of the wall, He then opened up a tub of readymix adhesive and with his trowel dabbed the whole lot in to the wall, then he combed it all flat using a large combing action, He then put the first two rows of tiles on without spacers, after rubbing his hand over the tiles to check for flatness, he put the spacers in. He carried on like this until the wall was completed which was about 15-20 minutes. as for cuts he used a manual cutter and an angle grinder. After he went I checked his work and irritatingly, it was perfect.

 

[lancenotalot]

He then put the first two rows of tiles on without spacers, after rubbing his hand over the tiles to check for flatness, he put the spacers in.

I have always done this as have other tilers I have spoken to or worked with And this is great when tiling a long run,not quite so easy when doing cuts around windows,soil pipes etc