Preparation Before Tiling a Bathroom
Before you begin tiling, you must make sure the wall you are tiling on is completely smooth and free of any previous grout tile adhesive or wallpaper. Attempting to cover over this will inevitably make the surface of tiles uneven on your wall.
If there is any loose or flaking paint on your wall remove what you can with out damaging the plaster on the walls using a scraper or an abrasive sponge and cover over with a stabilising primer.
Now would be a convenient time to make your own gauge stick, which will help plot the position of your tiles on the wall. You need to have a piece of softwood and several tiles across it including equal spacing using tile spacers for the grouting canals, then mark off the position of each tile along the stick.
Setting Out Tiles in Your Bathroom
The shape and size and dimensions of your bathroom will ultimately determine on how you set the tiles on your wall. Mark the lowest point in your bathroom for your first row of tiles using a temporary nail and batten a small guide to the wall, aligned with the mark. Use a spirit Level to ensure that this is completely perfect and horizontal. Mark the centre of the wall using the gauge to set out the rows of tiles on each wall. If the border tiles measure less than half the width of a tile, you will need to reposition the rows sideways by half a tile. Use the spirit level to place a guide batten against the last vertical line and nail the batten to the wall.
If you have to tile around an object such as a window, use this as your starting point so that the surrounding tiles are of equal size. Cut tiles should be placed at the back of the window. Again, use a guide batten above the window to position the row of tiles.
Cutting Your Bathroom Border Tiles
When you have completed the main area, the border tiles will need to be cut into shape so that they fit against the ceiling, adjacent walls and the skirting boards. Placing the border tile face down and with one edge next to the wall, mark the area.
Now you must cut the tiles taking into consideration the normal spacing between the tiles. Use a washable felt tip pen to transfer the mark to the face of the tile. Then take the tile cutter and holding it against a steel ruler, score across the face in one firm stroke. After scoring the tile stretch a length of thin wire across a panel of chipboard, placing the scored line over the wire and press down on both sides to snap the tile. Alternatively, you can use a purpose-made tile-cutting jig to perform the task.