Tiling for Bathroom - help please

inthesticks

As previously said,the tiler should be doing your measuring up for you,so if I was you I would be in discussion with him/her by now
On the concrete floor you could fit a polyeurathane board to make the floor feel not as cold.
I would go to an independent tile retailer for quality advice on what tiles would be suitable and they would be able to match this up with a suitable grout.
Whole boxes may be able to be returned(unlikely if you buy off the web tho),singular tiles I would keep as spares.

(Note to Sprigs) HardiBacker is not waterproof and is not a plasterboard.

ListysDad

Many tilers have their own adhesive and grout preferences. Before buying ask their advice. NEVER use ready mixed adhesive for large format tiles as it relies on air for drying and the middle takes months to go off if at all! Personally I only ever use a rapid adhesive as it means a faster (cheaper) job for you as it can be grouted after three hours.

Be VERY careful with Mapei grout. The WHOLE bag MUST be mixed up even if you are only using a teaspoon full. This is because they inject all the colours separately into the bag meaning if you stir it round you'll get strippy grout. BAL etc mix BEFORE filling the bags. I've learned this the VERY hard way!

There are alternatives to TBB or ply just ask the tiler. In terms of warmth, NOTHING beats the toastie feeling of underfloor heating. There are plenty of threads and advice about it and you will so not regret the expense. We only have ours on in the winter and control the temp according to the outside temp. It's Soo FAB.

larry1981

shown73 wrote: »

As already said, the tiler should be advising you. Colour, style, or acc's are your choice, but he's the expert when it comes to quantity, grout, etc., so it would be best to work with him, wouldn't it?

Morning all, and thanks to all new posters (including the glib reply above :cool:)

In the end, we did take this advice and asked him to do the measuring for us, which he was only too pleased to do.
Ended up in us needing 31m2 of wall tiles, and 8m2 of floor tiles, plus 16m of tile edging, and grout. He is supplying everything else.

Had a long day trawling around the sheds, and ended up in Topps Tiles where we eventually bought the lot.

Walls: http://www.toppstiles.co.uk/tprod1063/section747/Travertine-Filled-Honed-Floor-Tile-40x61cm.html
Floors:
http://www.toppstiles.co.uk/tprod41742/section1180/Pizarra-Black-30x60cm.html
Beige grout and stainless steel tile edgings.

Got 15% off the price of both tiles, and was quite happy. The floor tiles are seriously weighty, and 10mm thick! Had to make 3 trips and haven't picked them all up yet...

A further question- the fella tried to sell me some products for preparing and maintaining Natural Stone, which he assured me was vital... but was £13 litre for cleaner, and £140 for 5 litres of sealant! :eek: This:
http://www.toppstiles.co.uk/tprod1294/section32/Fila-Honed-Tumbled-Travertine-and-Marble-Protector-500ml.html

Being a MSE convert, I of course said no. I looked online but couldn't find any other seller than...Topps Tiles. So, my question is this:

1. Do I need these products?
2. Should I buy these to maintain a nice looking bathroom?
3. If so, is this a good price?
4. Are there any other sellers or products out there which do the same thing?

It is a lot of money so expert advice welcomed please.
I will of course post pics when it's done!

Thanks in advance.

southcoastrgi

Yes natural stone do need sealing or you will get water stains, btw have you told the builder you have bought those tiles because I charge double the price to fit natural stone £25 m2 ceramic £50 m2 natural stone, plus how heavy are they a plastered wall will only hold 20kg/m2 I am doing a tiling job at the mo & his tiles are 32kg/m2 so he has had to screw backing board through the plaster & into the brickwork, plasterboard will hold 32 kg/m2 as soon as you skim it that goes down to 20 kg/m2

larry1981

Hi Keith

The builders have seen the tiles this morning, and no complaints/issues so far with regards to wall strength or extra work!
They are quite heavy though, not sure of the actual weight, but its certainly not 20kg m2- I can carry 5 quite happily, so maybe half that?
The walls are brick downstairs, upstairs may be a different matter as only one wall is brick. Will check.

Do you have any recommendations for the sealant etc? Thanks.

southcoastrgi

For your tiles you will need the cleaner & the sealer, fila sealer is dearer than lithofin BUT with fila you will only have to seal it every 5-7 years where as lithofin will need doing every 12-18 months & it goes further too, so it works out cheaper in the long run, 5ltrs how big is your bathroom it must be huge, 2 coats of sealer one before it's grouted & one after but only thin coats or you will see it, with regard to the weight go to topps & ask for the bal leaflet/book on wall coverings/weight loading & show the builders in my experience most builders haven't got a clue when it comes to this kinda thing.

ListysDad

keithgillyon wrote: »

... in my experience most builders haven't got a clue when it comes to this kinda thing.

Certainly agree with that Keith!

inthesticks

Yes,you will require the cleaner to clean the stone before sealing.
Yes to the sealer,but 2l max not flipping 5l!
And those tiles ARE too heavy for any plaster or plasterboarded walls so it just goes to prove that builders don't know their ****** from their elbows!

southcoastrgi

5.58 tiles per m2 plus between 2kg - 4kg for adhesive & grout, so always go worst case senerio, weigh a tile kitchen/bathroom scales times by 5.58 & add 4kg i think you may be surprised.

larry1981

keithgillyon wrote: »

For your tiles you will need the cleaner & the sealer, fila sealer is dearer than lithofin BUT with fila you will only have to seal it every 5-7 years where as lithofin will need doing every 12-18 months & it goes further too, so it works out cheaper in the long run, 5ltrs how big is your bathroom it must be huge, 2 coats of sealer one before it's grouted & one after but only thin coats or you will see it, with regard to the weight go to topps & ask for the bal leaflet/book on wall coverings/weight loading & show the builders in my experience most builders haven't got a clue when it comes to this kinda thing.

Keith, thanks for your sage advice as always. I have to go to Topps later so will ask for the leaflets as you describe.

I guess I'll have to take the hit on the Fila then- As I said previously I have 31m2 of tile to cover, so not sure if this constitutes 'huge'?
The guy in the store said it needed to be done every 2 years not every 6-7 so buying in bulk- 5ltr for £140.

1ltr in Topps is £32 and covers 10m2, so if I need to cover 30m2 and do this twice as you suggest, then I will need 6ltrs? :eek:
Is this right?
I will also need the cleaner too? When is this applied please- is this correct?

Lay tiles
Seal
Grout
Cleaner
Seal?

Thanks.