Tiling, Lush, Lovely & the art of choosing the right look

KATOOMBA COTTAGE UPDATE - ENJOY ;-)
 

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When it comes to tiles there is nothing worse than badly laid nasty looking tiles. It can destroy the look of one of the most intimate rooms in the home. I am a big fan of a great bathrooms, I have a stunning bathroom in my warehouse home and spend a lot of time soaking in the bath. It is a place to get away from it all and to be truly left alone so it has to be just right.

Henry Pan MD and the team from 'Stock Tiles Pty Ltd' Unit 47, 7-9 Percy St Auburn Tel 9870 7316 are just the best and fastest tilers I know. Henry imports tiles and his team race around to fit out some of the best locations. I was lucky they could squeeze me in between a large Hotel complex in Manly and flying to Queensland to work on a resort so their work is top notch.

 The boys make cutting tiles look so simple but not sure I could do it, well yes I could but best to leave it to the experts this time.

 The boys brought there own tile glue for the floors but I insisted in using Emer Proof Tile Bond Flex at vast expense for the walls as I had used the Emer Proof 695 water proofing product I wanted the make sure the tiles would never fall off. It is important to use products that speak to each other. Mind you one bag did cost approx $47.00 as opposed to around $20.00 but it seemed to go a lot further, all works out in the end.

I purchased my tiles from TFO http://www.tfo.com.au/ Tile Factory Outlet and they have so much to choose from. Porcelain to Marble, indoor & outdoor and the prices are great. Address 107 Warren Rd (Cumberland HWY) Smithfield NSW.

DAY 1...........Walls in the main Bathroom & En-Suite

This is Ding mixing the tile glue and Henry (No.2) seems to be the expert tiler, these two work so well together.

 You can see above the 300 X 600 Porcelain tile going over the area of water proofing.

 This is the main bathroom and I have chosen a 600 X 600 porcelain tile that is a Travertine look and so easy to clean.

 Ding perfectly arranging dobs of tile glue ready for Henry to place on the wall.

 You can just make out the Travertine pattern in the tile, hard to get a good photo of a shinny tile. Here are a few more pics of the main bathroom

Also on day 1 the boys worked on the en-suite, I choose a 600 X 600 Marble effect porcelain tile for the feature wall and wrapping back in the shower area, all the tilers by the end of the job, individually said they really liked this tile, 'good tile Boss' ;-). The remaining walls are in the 300 X 600 plan tile.

Day 2...........Floor tiles in the main Bathroom, En-Suite, Laundry and Toilet plus finishing off the wall tiles in the En-Suite.

Henry above & below

 The floors are all with the same tile, a 300 X 300 porcelain. I would have liked a bigger tile but it is not the best for water flow

Henry decided to tile the floor of the laundry & toilet before the walls, not sure why but all looking good.

The laundry above and the little back toilet below

Laundry

Below, the finishing off of the wall tiles in the En-Suite

Day 3..............Wall tiles in the Laundry & Toilet plus the grouting

On day 3, Hong joins the team with Xulong though I missed a photo of him ;-(

 Henry working on the laundry wall tiles which are a 600 X 600 in a soft grey porcelain, same in the toilet below

Grouting, the messy job. One thing I find important but rarely see anyone do is smooth out the grout in the floor waste. Yes I am being fussy again but it is simple to do and when the grout is wet and pliable you can make a lovely smooth finish and the bonus is when water which carries hair and dust etc runs down the drain, it is less likely to catch on the rough edges left by tilers. I will also paint the grout & nasty white pipe black, just a good tip for making the look that little bit sharper.

Then when all have gone and the tiles are set, in come the cleaners...........me!!! First I give the tiles a general wash over with white vinegar but the best results are with the above produce, 'Sure Clean'. You can buy this from TFO and I think Bunnings stock it. I also find this to be one of the best products to get stubborn soap build up off glass. I always have this product in the cupboard for a hard cleaning job.

The tiles look so good and it is hard to capture the feel with a few photos but the rooms have been transformed in just 3 days thanks to Henry's team who did a marvellous job.