Tilers On the Level
Question: Why do tilers have trouble getting up in the morning?
Answer: Because tilers are bedded in mortar.
Tilers do their thing on the floors and walls of both new and existing homes and commercial premises. Tiles are used to give both a protective and decorative finish. The householder has a choice from a range of tile finishes including ceramic, terracotta, granite, glass, marble and slate. Kitchens, bathrooms, and balconies benefit from the beauty and practicality of wall and floor tiles, as do the surrounds and increasingly the lining of swimming pools.
If you are a self-employed tiler estimating and quoting is a key skill that calls for accurate measurement and good judgment of how long the work will take. Only get down to actual tiling once your client has accepted your quote for the job.
The area to be tiled has to be calculated from the heights, widths and lengths of the measured surfaces. Your profit margin as a self-employed tiler depends on your competence in this early task. Alternatively of course you can work for someone else who does this for you.
Tilers mostly cover internal walls and floors with tiles. The work sites can be on construction jobs ranging from kitchens or bathrooms in homes to fitting out shops, hotels or restaurants. Some tilers also carry out specialist work, for instance on swimming pools and mosaic walls found in landscape gardening.
As an employed tiler, you would follow plans drawn up by a designer, builder or architect. A typical job will inevitably include these skills:
• ‘Marking out’ also known as ‘setting out’ an area to estimate the number of tiles cement and grout needed.
• Cutting tiles to size and shape with hand-cutters or power cutting tools
• Leveling and preparing the areas with plaster, sand or cement
• Fixing the wall or floor tiles and filling in between tiles with grout before finishing off.
• With restoration work, repairing or even removing the current surface before the setting out phase.
The variety of tiling materials is very large, including ceramics, glass, terracotta, stone, granite and marble. On large projects, you will almost certainly be asked to be part of a team with other construction trades people like plasters or carpenters, for example when kitchen fitting or shop fitting.
Tiling is a hands-on, manual, vocation, which you can learn by doing alongside day or block release at a local college or training centre. The aim is to complete a mosaic of NVQ units into an overall level 2 or 3 picture.
To gain the NVQ you must be assessed for competence in several units, that follow the phases of a tiling project as listed above: setting out, preparing surfaces, positioning and fixing wall and floor tiles, mosaic finishes.
To work on any major construction site you will need to keep your Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS)
card up to date because many building contractors demand you have a CSCS card to get on site. The card is proof of your skills and competence. To get one you will have demonstrated your competence in construction health and safety.
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