In December frost prevented me from further tiling and finishing but recent weeks saw me with a new bout of (tiling) energy. Having finished quite a lot and incorporated some ideas that work well here is a low down on tiling with some tips and tricks thrown in.
Patterns
In the kitchen on a large floor area we used large tiles and to avoid uniformity we came up with an offset pattern using small (expensive) inlay tiles.
Upstairs we found interesting yellowish tiles. These would have been rather bland so we cut in small inlay tiles using a semi random pattern.
In the bath we used two different patterns and two different colours.
The loo and bidet are at an angle. This does not use more space, on the contrary one gains usable space.
Preparations – intermediate surface
It’s good to have friends. Paul was drafted in to take out a layer of old tiles and he is still speaking to us….
This left a rather uneven and dusty concrete surface. I used self leveling compound. Although at about 20€ a bag on the expensive side, it not only gives a nice level, it’s also is a great intermediate and usable / cleanable surface. We lived with it for about 6 month and it worked well.Â
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Levels, doors, drains (desague) and tiling at an angle
The main floor of the bath is an inch (3cm) lower than the landing. Using our border tiles we got an excellent finish and one doesn’t really notice the level.
This is perfect as a small drain (desague) – the smallest I could find is 8cm (2.5′) – between shower and bath, does prevent any flooding and is rather convenient when cleaning.
The old wood floor in my office remains and a simple corner profile (wood) glued down does a perfect job.
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On the secondary landing we have a beam / wall covered by old slate that sits proud of the floor and behind is an old wooden floor. Instead of tiling up to it we used some old pieces of wood (happen to T&G). Once the internal staircase goes in there will be some left over old floor board which can than be cut in there. Presently it looks OK….
In the main bath we also had to hide cabling and a small air duct just under the ceiling. So we just glued tiles at an angle. To keep them in place just use two pieces of wood and a clamp. This way one can adjust the length and fix the tiles until glue / mortar has set. I used industrial glue rather than normal tile cement.
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Tile cutting
A friend lend me a simple DIY machine for a while. This works well for straight cuts. As I wanted to do some precision cutting and needed odd angles I bought a professional cutter. Yes, at 450€ it is a bit expensive but hiring one of that quality is 100€ a week and even if I’d negotiated a discount with my friends at Sumistro Monforte, having my own allows me to work if and when. So if you around and need one – drop by and I give you a discount.
It’s just my luck, I’m just short of 1m2 as I forgot to calculate an area of the small outside porch……
Feel free to ask about any of this, drop by if you want to see more or even better book a holiday, stay with us and pick up as many tips as you like.
Expat
PS To lay them, except on walls, I use Webers super flex. Stuff is not “nice” to use but once down – they stay down, even on a flexible surface like wood etc.
