How to Tile: A Complete Beginner's Guide (UK)

Learning how to tile is one of the most satisfying jobs a confident DIYer can take on, and it is well within reach if you slow down at the planning stage. Most first-timers rush straight to spreading adhesive, then wonder why the joints wander and the corners end up with thin, ugly slivers. This beginner’s guide walks through the whole process in the order a professional works: gathering the right kit, preparing the surface, setting out, fixing, cutting, and finally grouting. It applies to ceramic and porcelain wall and floor tiles in a normal UK home, and it flags the points where calling a tiler is the smarter move.

The tools and materials you need

Good results start with the right kit, and none of it is exotic. For a straightforward wall or floor you want:

A notched trowel in the correct size for your tiles (more on notch size below).
Tile spacers, or a tile levelling system for larger formats.
A manual tile cutter for straight cuts, plus tile nippers and a diamond hole saw for pipes and sockets.
A rubber grout float, grout sponge, bucket and a mixing paddle on a drill.
A spirit level, tape measure, chalk line and a pencil.
Tile adhesive and grout suited to the job, and silicone for internal corners and where tiles meet baths or worktops.

Buy roughly ten per cent more tiles than the area needs to cover cuts, breakages and future repairs, and keep a few spares once the job is done.

Preparing the surface

Tiles are only as sound as what sits behind them. The background must be flat, dry, clean and firm. Fresh plaster needs to dry fully and be sealed with a coat of diluted primer before tiling. In showers and wet rooms, plasterboard should be replaced with a tile backer board and the area tanked with a waterproofing kit before a single tile goes up. Floors need to be solid and free of movement: chipboard and floorboards usually want overboarding or a decoupling mat so the tiles do not crack as the sub-floor flexes. Skipping preparation is the single most common reason tiling fails, so it is worth the extra day.

Setting out: the step beginners skip

Setting out means planning where every tile lands before you fix anything. Find the centre of the wall or floor, then dry-lay a row of tiles with spacers to see where the cuts fall. Adjust your starting line so you avoid thin slivers at the edges and keep full tiles in the most visible spots. On a wall, fix a level timber batten to support the first full row and work up from it, tiling the cut bottom row last. On a floor, work from the centre outwards towards the door so you are never standing on fresh adhesive. Ten minutes with a pencil here saves hours of regret later.

How to apply tile adhesive

Mix cement-based adhesive to a firm, smooth paste and only spread as much as you can tile before it skins over, usually about one square metre at a time. Hold the notched trowel at around 45 degrees and comb the adhesive into even ridges. Notch size matters: small wall tiles suit a 6mm to 8mm notch, standard floor tiles a 10mm to 12mm notch, and large format tiles a bigger notch still. British Standard BS 5385, the code of practice for wall and floor tiling, calls for solid bedding on larger tiles, and a good check is to lift a tile after fixing and look for at least 80 per cent adhesive contact on the back. If the coverage is patchy, back-butter each tile as well, which is essential on floors and in wet areas. Press each tile home with a slight twist and use spacers to keep the joints even.

Cutting tiles

Straight cuts are easiest on a manual score-and-snap cutter: mark the line, score once in a single firm pass, then snap. For L-shaped cuts around a window reveal, score the face and nibble the waste away with tile nippers. Holes for pipes and taps are drilled with a diamond hole saw run slowly with water to keep the bit cool. Porcelain is harder and more brittle than ceramic, so it benefits from an electric wet saw for clean, chip-free edges. Always wear eye protection and cut tiles face up on a manual cutter.

Grouting and finishing

Leave the adhesive to set, normally 24 hours, before you grout. Mix grout to a smooth, lump-free paste and work it firmly into the joints with a rubber float held diagonally across the tiles, filling every line. Wipe the excess off with a damp, well-wrung sponge, rinsing often, and stop before you drag grout back out of the joints. Once it hazes over, polish the tiles with a dry cloth. Leave grout out of internal corners and any junction with a bath, shower tray or worktop, and run a neat bead of silicone there instead, because a rigid grout line in those spots will crack as the building moves. Natural stone tiles should be sealed before and after grouting to stop them staining.

Wall tiles versus floor tiles: what changes

The principles are the same, but floors are less forgiving. They carry weight and take impact, so they need a flexible, often rapid-setting adhesive, solid bedding with no voids, and usually a levelling system to stop lippage between tiles. Wall tiling can use a ready-mixed adhesive for small ceramic tiles in dry rooms, but anything in a shower, on a floor, over underfloor heating or on a timber background needs a cement-based flexible adhesive. If your floor is uneven, out of level or laid over underfloor heating, that is a sensible point to bring in a professional rather than learn on the job.

Frequently asked questions

Is tiling hard for a complete beginner?

A small, flat wall such as a kitchen splashback is a realistic first project. Large floors, showers, wet rooms and anything needing waterproofing are much harder and are where most beginners come unstuck, so build up to them.

Do you tile the floor or the walls first?

In a bathroom most tilers tile the walls first, starting a row up from a supported batten, then tile the floor and finally the cut bottom row of wall tiles. This keeps the wall tiles off the wet floor screed and hides the floor edge.

How long should adhesive dry before grouting?

Standard cement-based adhesive needs about 24 hours before grouting, though rapid-set adhesives can be ready in a few hours. Always follow the bag, as drying times vary with temperature and how thick the bed is.

What size notched trowel should I use?

As a guide, use a 6mm to 8mm notch for small wall tiles, 10mm to 12mm for standard floor tiles and a larger notch for big-format tiles. The aim is full adhesive coverage on the back of the tile with no hollow spots.

Can I tile over existing tiles?

Sometimes, if the old tiles are firmly stuck, flat and cleaned back, and you use the right primer and a flexible adhesive. If any tiles are loose, drummy or damp behind, strip back to a sound background instead.

Tiling rewards patience and preparation far more than speed. Take your time setting out, get the background right and the rest follows. For jobs beyond a simple splashback, or if you would rather have it done properly first time, our team at Bromley Tilers covers wall and floor tiling across Bromley and South East London. You can read the recognised code of practice behind good tiling from The Tile Association and British Standard BS 5385.

020 8058 5574

contact@bromleytilers.co.uk

How to Tile: A Complete Beginner’s Guide (UK)