Never done tiling before. Plan was to try it for my first time on my current bathroom. Unfortunately I have had a bit if a mare with my walls. The shower tray is vaguely triangular 152x80 and has just one fixed piece of glass (on the 80 length). The walls to be tiled are the short wall with the 80 bit of the shower and a toilet and back along the long wall to just past the end of the shower. The tiles ar 45x45 travertine so I will be tiling 3.5 tiles by 5 high on the end wall (full width) and 3.5x5 along the long shower wall; the tray is 160mmm high so I will tile on top and in fill the 3 tiny bits to the floor.

The problem is that the shower tray corner is 'well open' meaning I am looking at 15-18mm extra thickness at both extremities left and right. The walls are vertical meaning I must maintain the error all the way up on the end wall in order to fit the shower glass and either lean back to the wall with the tiles (will look odd/wrong) or maintain the 15-18mm all the way up the edge of the long wall (not esp pretty), which is the bit you see when you enter.

The other choice is to put all the gap on the end wall: 30mm of tile adhesive anyone? But at least it will look right.

Think I should try this myself or take the expensive easy way out and get someone in? Views most welcome. Also on how to deal with the gaps. Ta very much.

450 square travertine? Buggers to cut? Full height tiling? Filling in over a shower tray? And to top it off you are thinking of bringing out the tile face by large dollops of adhesive that I can assure you will shrink and pull your tile out of trim.

Perhaps this is not the moment to be adventurous Gotanewlife.

Have you thought of just tiling up say 900 generally and only tile the shower to the glass height? A full height mirror over the 900 section will hide a lot of cuts and bruises and open up the space.

Ahhhhhhhhh. OK. Points taken! Thanks. I will also be putting 2 half tiles over the bathroom sink unit so that's perhaps a more suitable first tiling job.

Actually it is not full height, 2.25m (plus 3 small 16cm fill-ins) though so maybe need a ladder on/over tray - roof slopes down from 3.10m over long side of shower to 2.70m.

Tiling to 900 only saves placing 3 whole and 3 half tiles out of 15 whole tiles and 10 half tiles.

I am already tiling to just to just above the glass in that I am tiling to 2.25m Over tray) so to be any lower would just mean cutting whole tiles.

Snyggapa - your Epsom guy sounds good, will he travel to Italy?

Anyone else? Also any thoughts on leaning the tiles vs straight 15+mm thickness or going for the nice edge where it can be seen and going from zero to 30mm adhesive thickness over 3.5 tiles and 1.5m? As for sure I will need to suggest which I prefer to the tiler. Ta.

No windows but I have already put on Mapelastic and I really can't face starting again, I am also under time pressure, I have not seen backerboards over here but they are too expensive anyway. The wall I need to 'adjust' is pre-bonded PB over 30mm EPS IWI. Obviously I 'could' re-PB the whole end wall and reapply Mapelastic but lacking will energy motivation.....

Actually, just thought, I have some ordinary 12mm and 9mm PB off cuts. I think I'll glue these on to take up the worst of the difference but only up to near the top of the tiling area and it won't come as far back as the already waterproofed shower part of the wall. Then slap some tile adhesive over the top to take out the steps and roughly level. Keraflex S1 says it should be applied up to 15mm anyway so I'll make sure the difference is well under that.

So 3 to 1 for getting a pro in. Any more?

Posted By: GotanewlifeSo 3 to 1 for getting a pro in. Any more?

IMO its a money vs. time question
More money for a pro - but can they do it in the timescale you need it finished.
Cheaper if you do it - but have you got the time / inclination to do the job.

Tiling is not difficult, just fiddly and lots of attention to detail and its all about getting the first row up exactly right. Contrary to what you might think small errors never even out with plus and minus bits but I have found that they always seem to accumulate and get worse as the job progresses, so you can't leave small errors hoping it will come right later.

Posted By: GotanewlifeActually, just thought, I have some ordinary 12mm and 9mm PB off cuts. I think I'll glue these on to take up the worst of the difference

Sounds like a good plan, even if you get a pro in, because it would make his job easier (=cheaper)

BTW I can tile when pushed but usually get a pro because its one of those jobs I don't like and would rather be doing something else.

Thanks guys. Don't worry about Mapelastic - it is perfect for the job and much better than the shower kit Mapie also do, though I do use their shower band to seal the tray wall joint. And the off cuts will not go over the area where the shower enclosure goes (where is already 'tanked'). It has an internal window (high above the shower) to a very well lit bathroom next door and yes I have MVHR

I am about to ring 1 or 2 people - one problem is that the only pro around here was just done for house breaking and selling on and I would never use again and the others I know are not really 'pros' - typically it will be done on Sunday for cash. I have learnt a lot from the tiling forum so I can tell a pro now! Thanks for the link. Not committed either way yet.

when we had a tiler in (the guy from Epsom, he may go to Italy but I guess it won't be cheap :) the preparation took his as long as the work. So measuring, lining, making sure that there were no silly cuts or sloping cuts that would end up with a slither

Once he got round to tiling, it was damn quick

Hi, I hadn't done any tiling before doing our bathroom. I tiled one wall 1.7m long by 2.45m high floor to ceiling and the opposite wall from the bath to ceiling, along with two smaller "returns" each side of the door. I'm pleased with the result, in fact I think it looks as good if not better than the pro work a friend paid a LOT to have done.

But, and it's a big but, it did take much longer than I expected and I had to redo a lot till I was happy with it, so it's probably not something I'd do again.

I used 500 x 250 mm tiles arranged in brickwork pattern and used quite wide grout lines (about 5mm) which do not show up imperfections as much as narrower ones.

I did spend quite a bit of time working out how to lay the tiles, balancing not having small slivers of tile with continuing the pattern round the corners, setting the bath height so that the row of tiles below the ceiling would not be too small and neither would the row of tiles on the opposite wall at floor level etc. Also had to think about the relative position of the shower mixer valve and tiles so that I could drill the holes in a single tile rather than through grout lines. Even for a small and simple layout there was more to consider than I first imagined.

Ed

+1 for Owlman's advice. Alarm bells going off everywhere. Get some brands in- Shluter, Hardiebacker/ Knauf Aquapanel. Plasterboard behind travertine? Santa Maria!

Agree with many of the points above - 450 travertine is certainly not something I'd recommend attempting unless experienced, let alone with what sounds like some peculiarities in the wall to cope with. Definitely get a pro - one with their own kit. I agree with marktime - asking a tile merchant for some contacts is worth a try.

As mentioned above brick bond works best with rectangular tiles - but also be aware that it also shows up any imperfections in the wall flatness, unless carefully fixed.

Mapelastic looks OK to waterproof the plasterboard, however travertine is normally thicker than ceramic tiles - 10 to 20mm or more - so heavier. I would check exactly how heavy (and add the weight of the adhesive too) and make sure it doesn't exceed the load capacity of the plasterboard - which may be in the region of 20kg/m² (check with the manufacturer). A layer of Mapelastic on top may or may not make a difference. Correctly fixed, backer boards can potentially cope with between 40 and 60 kg/m², depending on the brand.

I agree about the wall flatness - I had to "butter" allot of the tiles and this was the issue that meant I had to redo quite a bit. As you lay the tiles in the row you have to ensure that the short ends meet on the same plane as it's easy to press the joint in too much, which shows badly when you lay the next row. I ended up using lots of little bits of little bits of spacing material which I'm sure isn't the pro way to do it ;)

Ed

OK in no order:

- Mapelastic with mesh very strong indeed, total overkill on PB for shower but also strengthens PB - backer boards not needed.
- Have also used mapegum and mapeband to join tray to walls and on internal wall corner over existing Mapelastic (because I could!!!)
- Wall levelled with 2x9mm PB, then 1 x 12mm PB then smoothed/feathered with Keraflex tile adhesive.
- Tray fitted with <5mm out on one wall and <8mm out on other - not great but not unmanageable either - at least they are vertical.
- Tray feet, perimeter and a couple of less well supported spots bedded into R2 non-shrinking fibre-reinforced all in one mortar.
- 3mm tile spacing decided.
- Bought concave shower waterproofing ali strips and will use to finish only edge visible of Travertine (normal edging 2mm too narrow).
- Have successfully 'cut' tiles with manual breaker, yes broke rough through whole depth but the top face only slightly chipped relative to using a dry diamond wheel designed for stone on my cross cut saw or using stone cutting disc on my angle grinder or using a diamond rim on my angle grinder. The only cut edges will be <50mm lengths adjacent to toilet (rest covered by skirting boards), tray and forming internal angle against wall; hence all will be siliconed with matching silicone not grouted and any chips virtually invisible. Leading edge (also cut) will be covered by the 2.40m ali strip and stuck with the same silicone so I expect a near perfect look.
- Tiles will be sealed before and after grouting
- White adhesive will be used
- Tiles will be 100% back-buttered to prevent tiger strips showing

In short the only thing not 100% resolved is the strength of the 12mm PB but I considered that a good chunk has been reinforced with laminating the PB (!!) and with the Mapelastic, also there are 2 strong corners, and i always use lots more screws than is needed into the the metal stud work wall. The IWI wall is the risk from delaminating of the PB from EPS but there are a few mechanical fixings, the strong corners the shower glass support will work against this wall too and the toilet. It is a very small risk IMO.

So yes a lot involved in tiling and I have everything under control except the skill to place the tiles beautifully and that's where my guy comes in tomorrow (no car so I have to pick him up from a nearby town) and yes no kit and yes he grouts internal corners (except he won't mine) and yes he would grout just placed, unsealed Travertine but he has the one thing I don't have: skill. All work at my own risk but oh so cheap and available. I will work with him of course, mixing, humping, cutting and overseeing.

I'll post a couple of pics v soon.

Posted By: Jeff BI suspect when it's finished you'll stand back and say "cor blimey (or words to that effect!) I could have done that myself". Whatever, you will have gained a lot of experience such that when the next tiling job comes along you'll definitely go the DIY route.

Well Jeff, you made 2 points and you are 100% right one one of them and 100% wrong on the other. Tiler came and 120 Euros and 8 hours later the tiles are in position. There's no way I could have done it that well and actually I don't think I could have managed even a 7/10. But the other adjacent bathroom will have just one wall tiled and I have not bolloxxed the wall up, so with no corners, everything straight and vertical and not natural stone stone tiles (not that we have bought them yet), I will definitely being tiling myself.

So this tiler is the people equivalent of a failed state, no money to his name, lives hand-to-mouth, no car, his mobile battery doesn't fit and is held in place with his role-em yourself filters, aside from the smoke smell he reeks, as in polluted the entire house with his presence. Romanian, but has lived here for 20 years. He is 39 and started tiling full time when he was 18 and he talked at speed and without break for almost the entire 8 hours - I understood less than 10% but it was just enough to grunt and pretend I was interested. God it was painful BUT it was artistry at work.

I'll post a couple of pics in a day or two when I have grouted it. Thanks again all.

If you are happy with the result so far, why not have him go the extra mile? Sounds like a good 120 euros worth of supporting someone and getting a satisfactory job done. I agree about the smell though.

Looks good. Who's the orange-o-phile?