Please Help With My Tiling Dilema

11 years ago

My husband and I are renovating an old house. About half of the work we've done so far has been DIY, half has been with contractors.

My dad was supposed to do all our tiling. He is a VERY experienced DIY'er who did all the tile in his bathrooms using the Schluter/Kerdi system. He planned on using the same system for our house.

He is now unable to do the tile for us. We have purchased the Kerdi drain for our shower, and have laid plywood on the floors as the underlayment for our tile using Ditra.

We cannot afford to hire a tiler this year. Our project would cost over $10,000 just in labor if we hired a pro.

My husband and I have never tiled. It is crazy to think we could do the tile job ourselves? And, if we do, should we stick with the Kerdi system, or just do it the regular old way?

Our current contractor could assist us if we get stuck doing it the "regular way". My dad could assist us if we do Kerdi, but not much. He could just give advice over the phone.

What do you think we should do? We have done all the plumbing and electrical for the whole house ourselves and passed inspections with flying colors, so I think we are generally competent people!

Thanks

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Comments (6)

weedyacres
11 years ago
If you're generally competent DIY-ers, you can tile. For flooring I'd definitely use Ditra. It's easier than the "regular old way" of cement board.

For Kerdi tiling in the shower, go to the bathrooms forum and search for mongo's kerdi thread. It's a great step by step with lots of photos, and there are plenty of us over in Bathrooms that will be happy to help you DIY it.
StoneTech
11 years ago
Yeah, you might go over to John Bridge.com and post your question. We are dedicated to ONLY tile issues.
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doug_gb
11 years ago
Tiling is all about planning, thinking ahead, and layout. Spend the time upfront and research, you should be OK.

As a DIY'er / Engineer here's a few tiling tips I've learned: Make sure that the thinset and the tile are compatible. Tile that is really heavy may cause the thinset squish out - and make the floor uneven. Use 1" mosaic tile or river stones on the shower floor - much more traction for barefeet and they fit the contour of the shower pan. It is much more difficult to set large tile - cause the underlayment must be absolutely flat. It's more difficult to lay tile that has a small grout line.

I think you should get a pro to install the shower pan with the Kerdi drain - and leak test it. The rest of it, you should be able to do yourself.

The John Bridge forum is great. Also he sell's an E-Book (in pdf form) that covers all aspects of tiling.
Joey_Schmoey
11 years ago
Where to start!? I have been setting tile for over 20 years in MI, where mud walls and floors are a must, or i should say "were." Now there are MANY products like those you mentioned for use by contractors and DIY's as a substrateÃ¢ÂÂ¦ and yes, Kerdi and Ditra should work in most areas, however not all because you must pre-build with them ~in mind~ and I don't know if that has been done?.
So, all that being said: 10 grand for labor price only!? That would be a VERY good job for ANY tile setter indeed. If you have that much sq ft of tile to install in your remodel, then you doing it yourselves has moved from DIY to being your own contractor/laborer. In short, I would say to either pare your project, or hire a professional.

This post was edited by Joey_Schmoey on Mon, Jan 28, 13 at 20:26
doug_gb
11 years ago
Joey, you are a nut case. Take your meds.
Joey_Schmoey
11 years ago
Doug_gb, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you may be the one who needs the help. To simply call someone nuts and tell them to take meds is, at the very least, out of line. How you arrived at that conclusion from my post is a mystery. But i'll try to figure it out.
Was it because i went against your advice? Because I do. Rosylady says "We have never set tile before," and therefore your "advice" is, "Hey,sure! Read a PDF file! Watch a YouTube video!"
Was it because I mentioned mud-setting tile? Does that somehow offend you?
Was it because i bring up the fact that, as Rosylady says, she received a quote for, "$ 10,000 labor only," and that if she has that much square footage it would be too much for someone who has never set tile? (In metro-Detroit, the going rate for tile LABOR ONLY..is around $3 to $3.50 a sq. so $10,000 worth of tile work would be about 3,000 sq ft).
Was it because I said, "You must pre-build with Ditra/ Kerdi in mind? I, for one, saw no pictures of any of the 3,000 sq feet they intend to install or have installed. Did you see any pictures?
In closing, and i hope you respond, with more than, "You're crazy," I find it negligent to tell a DIY'er, who has asked, "Am I crazy if we try this?" to, 'Yes, go ahead and set 3,000 sq of tile. If you screw it up, it's as easy as re-painting." If they DIY this WRONG, they have to bust out the tile and probably throw it away, then hire someone to clean, prep, and install AGAIN. But not until after they buy NEW tile and materials.

Sorry Rosylady, it needed to be said.