: Avoid common tiling mistakes :
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5 tips when choosing tiles for your bathroom – part one
Anything to do with tiles / tiling can definitely be problematic!
I don’t want to alarm you, the issues can easily be addressed with good preparation and planning. Planning is everything when tackling either a renovation or a new build bathroom.
So grab a wine or a coffee, sit down and have a read!
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The following is a list of critical objectives when researching, selecting and ordering tiles.
1. a professional tiler is a must
2. researching shapes and colours
3. samples
4. tile placement
5. ordering tiles & ordering more tiles
( 1 )
Start looking for an engaged, professional tiler at least six months out from when the job needs doing.
Make sure the tiler can accompany you to sites that have been tiled by him/her to be verified independently. A good tiler will be happy to do this. I can assure you, there are many more bad tilers out there, then there are good tilers. The tiler needs to be effective, efficient and honest with a sound history of tiling.
?➖ If the tiles are not laid professionally, it will be immediately obvious and very costly to redo the bathroom
Unlike a wall, you cannot just paint over a shabby tile job. It is better to be patient, and wait until you can have your chosen tiler verified or a good tiler recommended. Keep looking until you find one.
( 2 )
At least 6 – 8 months before you need to purchase start researching your options so you develop a clear idea of what style you want to project.
If you decide two weeks before you need them, the tiling companies in your area may not have the ones you want. Most tiles come from Italy, China, India so, if you live in the west, they are going to be imported.
?➖ Decide what you definitely don’t like: choose three options you are happy to go with
A good way to fine tune your decision is to decide what you definitely don’t like or want. It is often easier to decide what you do not want, than to decide what you do want. Cull all the styles / looks you don’t want, to arrive at three possible options you are happy to go with.
Will it be contemporary, eclectic, traditional; black and white, colourful, monotone (grey and white with black tap ware); beachy (neutral sand tones or bright blue). All white? Do you want feature tiles?
?➖ I would not recommend feature tiles because they date the look and if you have to sell down the track, your potential buyers may not like them
A much better idea is to add a dynamic element in objects which can be changed. Colour, form and texture can be introduced with towels and bath mats, plants and accessories, like a timber stool or ladder
( 3 )
When choosing floor tile samples, ensure you take “a range of tones within a single palette” home as samples – pale, mid and dark
The samples have to be considered in situ (or as close as possible) to decide if the colour you desire will work in your light. Additionally, you can then assess whether the shape and size of the tile suits the size of the room.
?➖ The tile sample colours must be positioned and checked in the exact area(s) they are going to be laid – that means horizontal for floor and vertical placement for wall
Check placement behind the door, in the corners because different directions of light can change the colour, sometimes dramatically.
( 4 )
Once the tiler has told you how many square metres to order, you can proceed.
Or, you can measure the area yourself.
?➖ Always order 1 square metre or 1 + 1/2 square metres more than you need
Things can happen over which you have no control and you need to have spare tiles.
?➖ Plus, tiles are regularly discontinued so this is a must!
( 5 )
When ordering tiles in a single colour for different areas there are a few things to take into account
?➖ Tiles for “one bathroom” must come out of “one batch”, this is critical
Batches can differ, sometimes greatly, in both size of tiles and colour of tiles.
?➖ It does not matter if the “same tile” for different bathrooms are from different batches, but all the tiles for “one” bathroom must be from “one batch”
This can easily be checked because all boxes of tiles have a “batch number” printed on the side. If you must use tiles from different batches in a single bathroom the odd tiles need to go in areas where the colour or size difference is not as noticeable like, behind the door, under the vanity, in the corners near the door. A good tiler knows about these things.
?➖ It is crucial to get the measurement right for a single batch of tiles for one bathroom, because if you run out of tiles, or a box is dropped and smashed, you may not be able to get any more of them
Thus, another good reason to always buy more than you actually need.
Featured image courtesy of Homes to Love
Image links: Perini Tiles, Roger Seller, Breathe Architecture, Dank Architecture, Redstone Hotel Riga, The Stables
PLEASE WRITE TO ME IF YOU NEED CLARIFICATION OR HELP – I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
➖? : Credentials heads up : ?➖
Two of the many jobs I have had over my career have been as a Manager with Heritage Tiles in Auckland in their then, Nuffield St showroom, and I also worked for Reece plumbing in their showrooms so together I have over tens years experience in the tiling and bathroom industries.
NEXT WEEK: PART TWO
