Tiling topics

Plain-English guides to the questions people ask most about tiling, written in our own words from the lessons of the tiling path.

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6 of 6 topics

Backgrounds and Preparation

Can you tile onto plasterboard?How much tiling plasterboard, plaster and backer boards can carry, why skimmed board takes less, and why the limit counts the adhesive and grout too.
Tiling over underfloor heating (and who connects it)What a tiler does with an electric heating mat, what an electrician must do, the Part P routes in England and Wales, and why the adhesive needs to flex.
Wet rooms and tanking explainedWhy tiles and grout aren't waterproof, what tanking is, where it goes in a shower or wet room, and the plumbing jobs that come before the tiler.

Materials and Tools

Which tile adhesive class?What the letters on a tile adhesive bag mean, from C1 and C2 to T, E and S1, which tiles need an improved adhesive, and how grout classes work.

Setting Out and Fixing

Setting out a tiled wallHow tilers plan a wall before fixing: a level datum line, a gauge rod and a centre line, so the wall ends in even cuts instead of thin slivers.

Finishing and Customers

Why tiles crack or sound hollowThe usual reasons tiles sound hollow, crack, lift in a ridge or grow white salts: poor adhesive cover, movement, wet backgrounds and missing joints.

Tiling Topics: Plain-English Guides | TradeTraining