How to Prepare If You Want to Tile Some Walls at Home
If you're in the mood for a renovation project, you may be thinking about redesigning one or more rooms in your home and thinking outside the box for a change. Instead of simply painting the walls or applying wallpaper, why not affix some wall tiles instead? You don't have to be conventional here, either. You can lay them out in a variety of different patterns and choose different textures and colours. However, where do you start with this process?
Why Preparation Is Important
There is quite a lot of preparation involved in this project, but the more precise you are here, the better the chance of success. Remember, an average tile is quite weighty, and you need to make sure that it is fixed properly, or gravity will take over and you will wake up one morning to a sorry mess on the floor.
If the wall in question was previously covered by wallpaper, this has to come off in its entirety. Once you've done that, remove any nails, screws or other fittings that you can find. If you can see any loose plaster anywhere, that's got to come down as well. Once you are happy that all obstacles or loose impediments have been cleared, you need to look for any cracks across the entire surface.
Smaller ones will be okay, but if there are any larger cavities, then you will need to fill those and layer them.
Further Work
It's always best to check for consistency before going further at this stage. In other words, you want to make sure that the surface is as flat as possible across its entire width and height. To do this, get a plank of wood and hold it up against the wall in a variety of different locations. If you notice that it is rocking back and forth a little bit, then you have a raised spot which you should sand down until it is flush. It may also help you to stand at 90° to the plank of wood, so that you can look along its length as well.
If necessary, sand down any areas to the correct level. Be particularly careful with this stage of the operation, as if not, the adhesive may lose its grip when placed over an inconsistent surface. In this case, it will be unable to hold the weight of the tiles, which will fall to the floor.
Make sure to clean up the mess very carefully before wiping down the walls with a damp cloth.
Figuring Out the Numbers
Now, you need to figure out how many tiles you actually need. Precisely measure the entire surface and you will have an idea how many tiles of the chosen size you will need to buy. Always get some extra in case you break some when working and keep some handy for the future, in case you need to repair subsequent damage. It may be difficult for you to get the exact type of tile in the future, and you want to avoid any possible mismatch.
Buying the Tiles
Check in with your tile supplier to see what options they have, so you can really get your creative juices flowing.