Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering 1 Nov 02, 2010 9:19 pm Hi Guys, I have a whole concreted outdoor area ~40sqm that will need some kind of tiling or floor covering done and was thinking of trying to do this myself. I have checked out the videos on youtube and it doesn't seem to be that difficult - but I may be delusional I would like to know if anyone who has no experience in tiling before has attempted to DIY? What was your experience? Where you happy with the end result? I guess the reason I am thinking of going down this track is to save some $$ Would be interested in your experiences in this space. Cheers, Project History Deposit - 20/4/2010 Land Settled - 20/8/2010 Council - 30/9/2010 Slab - 17/11/2010 Bricks - 28/01/2011 Roof - 5/02/2011 Gyprock - 4/03/2011 Re: DIY Tiling - Have any newbies tried it? Were you happy? 2Nov 02, 2010 10:32 pm hey - I went to tile the top of a wide brick wall in our alfresco. I think I am pretty handy, but I found it really hard. It was very fiddly, all of the tiling equipment cost me a bit, and when you get the cement/laying stuff on your arms, it burns. I did half, it doesn't look very good. I am waiting for a 'mate' to come finish it off when he has spare time. The wierdest thing was that I found it really stressful everytime I put a tile down. I think I lost a couple of years... Anyway, good luck with it, hope it is more successful than me. Oh and P.s. cutting the tiles was probably the second hardest thing, and I had a good tile cutter. Building with Life$tyle Homes in Perth SOR Key Dates on First Page of my Thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=38761 Re: DIY Tiling - Have any newbies tried it? Were you happy? 4Nov 03, 2010 8:58 am Yep, have done it myself and just follow the instructions and you’ll be right. However, given that you’ve only got a small area to do it may not be the most cost effective option as you’ll need to buy a number of tools (unless you already have them). Tile cutter, angle grinder with tile cutting disc, levels, string line, etc Re: DIY Tiling - Have any newbies tried it? Were you happy? 5Nov 03, 2010 8:21 pm thanks rlay, ok & shez... i guess i'll take this on board.. how much do you think a start up kit could cost or could you hire the gear to make it cost effective? this has been really useful and if you did decide to do yourself.. was youtube enough... or did you buy a book/dvd? Project History Deposit - 20/4/2010 Land Settled - 20/8/2010 Council - 30/9/2010 Slab - 17/11/2010 Bricks - 28/01/2011 Roof - 5/02/2011 Gyprock - 4/03/2011 Re: DIY Tiling - Have any newbies tried it? Were you happy? 6Nov 04, 2010 9:12 am qonyx thanks rlay, ok & shez... i guess i'll take this on board.. how much do you think a start up kit could cost or could you hire the gear to make it cost effective? this has been really useful and if you did decide to do yourself.. was youtube enough... or did you buy a book/dvd? To buy decent gear (new) will cost you quite a bit (ie Sigma tile cutter and so fourth) - you may find it at cash convertors cheaper etc. I'll generally have a crack at anything and I even did a tiling course. But for the small amount of tiling I have done, it is a job I personally leave to professionals. In theory it is simple enough, but the reality is a touch harder I found! Also I am not sure what size tiles you are planning on laying, but bigger tiles are much harder to lay than smaller ones. Re: DIY Tiling - Have any newbies tried it? Were you happy? 7Nov 04, 2010 11:06 am I have done some & my dad did the tiling in quite a few of the bathrooms we've had over the years. I didn't find it difficult, only fiddly. Advice: see if you can borrow a tile cutter for a day instead of buying, work out the optimum size tile to minimise cuts, don't skimp on lines as tile guides. Use spacers - lots of spacers! - to keep gaps even until the adhesive sets. Make sure you get a good number of spare tiles too. Status: sold our first house, moved in with parents, bought our second in Pakenham, still planning to build in a few years time. Re: DIY Tiling - Have any newbies tried it? Were you happy? 8Nov 04, 2010 6:48 pm The DIY tile jobs we see are not really good installs here are some things we see many times over that costs big dollars to fix. High than Low tiles is the main problem we see and it creates problems during maintenance as grout will now be on a 45 degree angle and trap dirt easier. Leveling compounds should be used if substrate is un even on concrete. Tiles popping off , There are many reasons why this happens. 1. Thinset ( tile adhesive ) was applied to a dirty surface or mixed too dry or mixed too wet this can create the floor to pop. 2. Thinset was applied to a dry surface (concrete) always pre wet the surface prior to applying thinset with a damp sponge this will give a stronger bond. 3. The wrong trowel was used, there is a difference in how far the teeth are spread apart, small gaps is for walls the larger gaps is for floors. 4. Sometimes we see the wrong thinset used we have seen people use just cement as thinset this certainly will create major problems. Hollow Tiles 1. The main reason is not enough thinset was used. 2. The wrong size trowel was used. 3. Cement was used instead off tile adhesive. Grout issues sanded grout. There are three problems we see. 1. Grout not being recessed into joint this is a must, a damp sponge is used to smooth grout into joints not the rubber float you should use the rubber float to apply grout than during the clean up with the damp clean sponge work the joint to a nice even finish do not over work the joint this adds to much moisture. 2. The grout feels sandy loose when rubbing your finger over the grout joint once cured. This is from mixing the grout to dry it is not easy to mix grout perfectly the best way is to check is to see if the grout drops off your float if to runny than it is to wet if it does not drop off than to dry and remember to always let your grout mix sit for 5-10 min before installing this stops those little holes we see in grout often. 2a. The grout was off all grout should only be 12 months old and sealed if opened and over 12 mthns old than the grout will never harden. 3. Grout has shrunk this is because the grout was mixed way to wet. Well thats just a small preview off problems we see from DIY and tilers hope that does not scare you. There are some great U tube videos on how to install tiles but be careful as most do not evenb give this advice. Craig Re: DIY Tiling - Have any newbies tried it? Were you happy? 9Nov 07, 2010 9:14 am Thanks Trinia, Huggy & Grout perfect..... all this information is extremely valuable in helping me to make a decision whether to try DIY or get a professional to do it... I think unless i can loan the equipment then I think I'll just leave it to a pro Project History Deposit - 20/4/2010 Land Settled - 20/8/2010 Council - 30/9/2010 Slab - 17/11/2010 Bricks - 28/01/2011 Roof - 5/02/2011 Gyprock - 4/03/2011 We hired Darbecca to do every stage inspection, and I strongly recommend them to anyone that asks me. They were amazing. Thorough reports with photos at every stage,… 6 5336 A question. Im in Queensland and building a new home. We managed to reach practical completion 6 weeks ago but we haven't heard any date for handover yet. Who should we… 0 3053 Thanks mate. Yeah good points! Leaning towards Option 3 to get a bit extra space in the cabinets but not going too crazy high (and expensive). Would require a mini… 13 30539 |