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OUR SIMPLE GUIDE TO BUILDING
A CONTAINER HOME

Office & Coffee shops Designs

Chapter 14.

TILING & PAINTING

 “ The big finish ”

Tiling 

You can now tile the kitchen splash back, shower and bathroom areas. 

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Want to try your hand at tiling your bathroom or kitchen? Before you begin, here are some handy trade tiling tips to help you master a perfectly tiled wall.

 

  • Before you start your surface should be dry, clean and smooth. If you’re tiling in a wet area (bathroom or around the kitchen sink), the area must be waterproofed and the area straight and flush (no protruding nails). 

  • Choose the right adhesive for the space. There are many brands of adhesive and they’re all designed for specific types of tiles and tile surfaces. Cheap adhesives may decay and cause tiles to crack, so a good quality adhesive is worth spending money on. 

  • Size matters for the novice DIY. Tiling with big tiles is tough, even for seasoned pros. Large tiles are heavy and are expensive to replace if mistakes are made, so DIY novices should stick to tiles no bigger than 300 x 300mm. 

  • Draw up a plan of your floor/wall/splash back and map out where your tiles will go. Spending the time to mark out square lines, and doing a dry lay will pay dividends on the entire job. 

  • Tiles that are placed unevenly may create an uneven joint or ‘lip’ which could be a trip hazard. There’s a new product called the Simple Accurate Levelling System (SALS) which is perfect for precision tiling. It can help DIY’s achieve a flat finish with minimal lippage. 

  • Wait at least 24 hours after laying before grouting and protect the tiles from any water or weather by covering them with old clean sheets. Don’t grout where walls meet floors or where two walls meet, instead apply silicone when the surrounding grouted area is dry. 

Bathroom

Plumbing & Electrical fit off  

Once all your bathroom tiling is completed then it’s time for the plumbing & electrical fit off. This is the stage where you start seeing your bathroom really taking shape.  To be prepared for this stage you’ll need to have all your fittings on site ready to go. These include: 

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  • Toilets 

  • Taps 

  • Baths 

  • Basins 

  • Light fittings 

  • Exhaust fans 

  • Heated towel rails 

  • All other items for the plumber/electrician 

Your plumber can now do the final fit off, install in the kitchen sink, toilet and shower taps, as well as the main sewer connection. 

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Simon Say’s - Warranty Cards & Technical Information 

Once the tradesmen have completed their installations, check all the boxes that your fixtures came with to make sure that any warranty cards or technical info are still there. 

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It’s a good idea to keep these – preferably saved into your job filing system so that you can call upon the information at a later date if any warranty issues occur. 

Bathroom

Painting 

Like all painting, the detail is in the preparation work that is initially done. 

The more time and effort you put into puttying holes, patching and sanding any imperfections along with applying good quality undercoats, the better the finished result will be. 

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Painting Bathroom Walls 

Depending on your design, the painting could take place on items such as ceilings, walls, doors, skirting boards, architraves and windows. 

My main piece of advice is to choose a good quality mold and bacteria resistant paint. 

Bathrooms tend to contain high humidity and moisture levels that can easily lead to moldy rooms if they are not ventilated correctly. 

To avoid this happening, try and have a good mechanical ventilation fan installed. 

Paint Supplies

Simon Say’s 

  • Make sure all fittings, fixtures and tiles are completely covered to prevent any paint getting where it’s not supposed to be. 

  • Prevention is better than cure – and you really don’t want to spoil your shiny new fixtures. 

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