Tilers

Tilers are responsible for all aspects of tile laying in several environments. These often include domestic kitchens and bathrooms.

Another common area of their work is in swimming pool construction. Some tilers will specialise in certain areas, such as marble fixing, restoration, or underwater tile repair.

Others will specialise in mosaic tiles, thus their work contains an artistic element in the laying process.

You will need to hire a professional tiler whenever you require tiles to be laid. Virtually all tilers work on both walls and floors, and they are able to work with a variety of materials, from ceramics to slate. If the job is only a small one then just a single tiler is needed. However, with larger projects, for example, laying swimming pool tiles, a group of tilers will be needed.

A tiler must be able to work out the quantity of materials needed by taking measurements or by looking at job specifications or drawings. Other skills a reputable tiler need include being able to:

look at plans, measure and mark surfaces to be covered and layout work
prepare wall and floor surfaces by removing old tiles, grout, cement and adhesive
fill all holes and cracks, and then clean surfaces
attach tiles to surfaces, using correct adhesive, making sure that patterned tiles match
use tile-cutting tools to cut and shape tiles needed for edges, corners, or around obstacles such as fittings and pipes
space and even the tiles by using tools such as spirit levels, squares and plumb-lines
prepare and apply grout, remove excess grout, clean and polish tiles
lay floors of cement, granolithic, terrazzo or similar composition
apply waterproofing systems