Kitchen Essential

Tiles still make the best wall surface between kitchen worktops and overhead cupboards.

They are easy to clean and make a watertight seal between walls and worktops as well as providing an opportunity for colour and decoration.

The most important thing to remember when tiling is to think it all out carefully before beginning. A careful sketch based on laying the tiles out on the worktop is worth the time it takes and will almost certainly reduce the likelihood of mistakes that might not become obvious until towards the end of the job.

1 If you don’t have a smooth rendered or plaster wall to start with you’ll have to fit 6 mm fibre cement sheeting (e.g. Masterboard) as a flat base to which the tiles will be fixed. Nail or screw the sheets into place with 2-3 mm gaps between them to allow for movement.

2 Using a spirit level establish whether your worktops are level. If not, the first row of tiles you fit will have to be one tile up from the lowest point of the worktop and the bottom row will have to be cut to fit later.

3 Draw a level line around the walls as the baseline for your first row of complete tiles. A chalk line may be best for this if a window has to be negotiated. Pin a batten along this line. The first row of tiles will rest on it.

4 Lay your tiles out along the batten using matchsticks or bought plastic tile spacers between them to allow for the grout. Where this is awkward, mark out tiles plus joint widths along a length of batten and use this as a measuring stick. Choose the most inconspicuous spot for the inevitable cut tiles. This is often in a corner. Now decide on where to place your picture or feature tiles.

5 Remember that it is much easier to cut a tile towards the middle than to trim off a small piece. Remember also that you must tile along a level line regardless of whether the verticals and horizontals of your worktops, cupboards and windows are true.

6 Now that you have it all worked out, start applying your adhesive with a notched trowel, about one square metre at a time. Use matchsticks or tile spacers and never, under any circumstances, allow the gaps to vary as you place the tiles.

Start at the centre and work outwards, leaving all cut tiles to the end. Bed the tiles into the adhesive firmly, sliding them back and forth a little and tapping them with your fist or a piece of wood. Use a straight edge to ensure that they are bedding evenly. Ensure that the adhesive does not come up between the tiles. Wipe it out, and off the face of the tiles with a damp cloth as you go.

Leave the battens and matchsticks, if used, in place for at least 12 hours as the adhesive takes a while to gain full strength.

7 Now for cutting in the odd- shaped tiles. When marking, hold a full tile over the last tile laid in the row. Butt the tile to be cut against the wall and under the tile you are holding while you mark the cut with a fibre-tip pen, allowing for grout.

8 A tile-cutting device, hired cheaply, is the best way to go. In the end the number of tiles saved from breakage will almost certainly make for a cheaper, less frustrating job. Place the tile in the machine face up, line up your marks with the scribing wheel, scribe and press down on the handle. The tile should snap cleanly along the scribed line. Do not try to cut off less than 40-50 mm. Lay as you cut them.

9 Fitting around tap holes and power outlets can mean the loss of a few tiles. If possible, avoid having to cut a complete hole in a tile. Instead, lay your tiles out so that you cut sections out of three or four tiles. Cut a bigger hole or bite out of the tile than you need but not so big that the tap or powerpoin t cover-plates will not cover it. Use a tungsten carbide-tipped tile cutter, score the marked line and take it out piece by piece with tile pincers. Alternatively, use a hacksaw with a tile cutting blade. A complete hole in a single tile can be achieved by drilling a starting hole with a masonry drill and cutting out with a tile-cutting blade. Smooth the cut edges with a tile file.

10 Grouting should not begin for at least 24 hours after your last tile was laid. Mix the grout as per the instructions on the pack. If colouring the grout add a small amount of oxide at a time until you reach the desired colour, or use precoloured grout. Apply the grout by hand (use rubber gloves) or with a rubber-bladed grout applicator. Fill all joints to overflowing and wipe off excess with a damp sponge. Use silicone sealant or a proprietary sealing strip on the joint between the wall and the worktop.

11 When the surface is dry remove the excess grout. Dust with a clean polishing cloth.

As most tiles are not available with glazed edges, convex corners will show an unglazed edge unless you have these tiles professionally mitre cut, which is expensive and not always well done. Alternatively, you can buy a rounded plastic corner strip which looks like ceramic, and comes in most colours. It’s easily positioned while laying the tiles.

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