You will need:
- Timber battens
- Spirit level
- Tile adhesive
- Spacers
- Plastic scraper
- Grout
- Trowel
- Rubber-bladed spreader
- Soft cloth
Here's how:
Preparing to tile
1. To establish the rough position of the border tiles, use a long timber batten and mark along it full tile widths (including the necessary spacing in between tiles for grout). Lay the batten on the wall, first horizontally and then vertically, and position it so that you leave an equal gap at either end for the tiles to be cut into the border.
2. Mark the position of the first full tile in the bottom left-hand corner. Using the bottom and left-hand edge of this tile as a guide, mark on the area to be tiled a horizontal and vertical line. Check the horizontal line with a spirit level held on top of the batten and the vertical line with a plumb line and bob suspended from higher up on the wall. Alternatively, use the spirit level held against the batten.
3. Mark these horizontal and vertical lines on the wall and lightly nail two lengths of batten with the top edge of the horizontal batten and the right-hand edge of the vertical batten touching the marked lines.
4. Check that the distance from the marked lines to the edge of the area to be tiled is one whole tile or less. Then screw the two battens firmly to the wall.
5. When you start tiling, butt the first horizontal row of tiles to the horizontal batten and build up each row against the vertical batten.
Note: Only when you have fixed all the full tiles and allowed at least 12 hours for the adhesive to dry, should you remove the battens, fill the screw-fixing holes and fix on the border tiles.
Tiling the wall
1. With the trowel spread adhesive over the walls to cover about one square metre.
Spread the adhesive at an even thickness over this area.
2. Using the plastic scraper - run it at an angle across the adhesive to create ridges for improved adhesion.
3. Start from the right angle created by the two guide battens and begin laying about half a dozen tiles at a time
4. Place another tile on top of tile, flush with floor or ceiling.
Continue in this manner until all tiles have been mounted. If tiles need to be cut to fit into corners or around fittings - see [tiles - cutting].
Grouting the tiles
1. For convenience, use a ready-mixed grout to fill the gaps between the tiles.
2. Once the adhesive is dry and the spacers have been removed, use the spreader to press grout into all the joints.
3. Use a soft sponge to remove excess grout from the surface of the tiles. Leave to dry for approximately 30 minutes and then wipe off 'haze' with a soft cloth to polish the tiles.
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