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Posted in Tiling & Flooring on May 14
 If you are looking for subtle ways of brightening up your bathroom, you could find that mosaic tiles are just the job. They can add texture as they come in a variety of shapes and patterns, and there’s a veritable kaleidoscope of colours to select from too. You can even add some of your own artistic ideas to get a sensational finish, and all your friends will think you’ve had the experts in! If you’re not quite so brave, perhaps you should find a tiling and flooring expert right here on Mr-Skill.
Tips on Design
If this is a first attempt at using mosaic tiles, it may be best to start with a simple concept. Even basic designs can look really impressive with bold highlights and a mix of complimentary colours. This form of tiling can be quite fiddly too, because each tile making up the mosaic needs to be positioned and glued in place individually. It can be quite similar to fitting pieces together in a jigsaw puzzle.
Tips on Colour Selection
Give some thought to the four components of colour, which are:
- Tone
- Temperature
- Hue
- Intensity
If colour composition is not your best subject, rather get a tiling quote right here.
Tone is the degree of lightness or darkness of a colour, whereas temperature refers to the warmth or coolness factor. Hue is the parent group of colours, including red, yellow and blue, while intensity indicates the depth of a particular colour choice.
Taking it a step further, colours of different hues, but with matching tones can be complimentary. However, colours of varying intensity or temperature could end up clashing. When you select your mosaics tiles, consider them in different colour combinations before setting them in glue. Moreover, as you work, glance away from the detail from time to time, so as to keep the bigger picture in your mind. It’s very easy to get confused otherwise!
Choosing Grout for Your Mosaics
The mix that we use to seal gaps between mosaic tiles is known as grout, and we use it to keep out unwanted dirt and dust too. Grout comes in many colour options, so you need to consider carefully, because your choice of grout finish can make or break the overall impact of your job. One of our regular London tiling and flooring specialists advises that if in doubt, use grey as your grout colour. That’s because grey is perfectly neutral, being halfway between black and white!
Tags: clash, colour, colour components, complimentary, coolness, design, find a tiling-and-flooring expert, grout, highlights, hue, intensity, london tiling-and-flooring specialist, mosaic tiles, temperature, texture, tiling-and-flooring quote, tone, warmth
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Posted in Tiling & Flooring on Apr 18
Alas, the lovely carpet you had fitted on the stairs is starting to show signs of wear – hardly surprising when you consider the traffic volume! No matter, a solution is at hand, and is reasonably easy to install yourself provided you are quite handy. The answer lies in a runner rug, which exactly covers the length and width of your existing carpet, and follows the rise and tread of each step too. Once installed, you will experience a luxury cushion effect feel under-foot, as the new rug hugs the old carpet to give off a luxury feel as you walk up or down the stairs.
Cautionary
This article caters for a single staircase with no landings and turns between the floors.
If the scope of work looks a little daunting for you, why not find a carpet fitter right here on Mr-Skill. Then just sit back and relax, and leave the detail to the experts!
Don’t Forget:
- Vacuum cleaner
- Carpet shampoo
- Tape measure
- Marker chalk
Due to the precise nature of this project, we have elected to describe the tasks over two articles. Part One guides you through the planning and preparation phase. The Second Article details the installation process, and follows Article One sequentially on Mr-Skill’s site. Alternatively, you could opt for the east life and get a carpet fitter quote through Mr-Skill instead.
Planning the Detail
Begin by thoroughly vacuuming the old stair carpet. Follow this up with a deep-cleaning shampoo, using a good quality product. Leave sufficient time for the old carpet to dry properly, and ask the household to avoid using the stairs unnecessarily.
Carefully measure the full length and width of the staircase. Now you need to find and mark the centre of each step along the full rise of stairs. Make sure you have equal borders on either side.
Count the number of risers and steps to determine the full length of the runner. Start at the top step, and measure each tread, and rise all the way down the stairs. Our regular London carpet fitters currently have specials on carpet and rug runner prices, so give them a call now! Don’t lose out on a bargain!
Article 2 follows below.
Tags: border, carpet shampoo, deep clean, equal gap, find a tiler and carpet fitter, london tillers and carpet fitters, marker chalk, measure, old carpet, planning, runner rug, strips, tape measure, tiler and carpet fitter quote, vacuum clean, velcro
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Posted in Tiling & Flooring on Apr 18
This is the Second Article on staircase runners, and details the installation process. Please refer to Article One, above, for the planning phase. To summarise, by now you should have calculated the width and length of the runner rug, and have purchased everything you’ll need. Before continuing, don’t forget that you can find a carpet fitter right here on Mr-Skill.
What You’ll Need
- Carpet tacks
- Velcro strips
- Finishing nails, hammer and cold chisel
- Runner rug
As an alternative, why not get a carpet fitter quote from one of our many professionals here on Mr-Skill.
Installation Steps:
- Cut the Velcro strips and secure them at the back of each tread and at the bottom of each rise. The strips should adhere tightly to the back of the runner. This method is preferred to using tacks, which can quickly form wear spots in the middle of the new rug. The strips should be around an inch or so narrower than the width of the runner, in order to conceal them.
- Attach the Velcro strips using finishing nails that easily pass through the old carpet and bite into the wood of the staircase. Keep to the principal of placing the nails about an inch away from the back of the tread and the bottom of the rise.
- Check the direction of the pile of the new runner and position it to face down the stairs. You can now begin installing it, starting at the top flight and finishing at the bottom.
- Gently hammer carpet tacks into the edges of the old carpet. Pull the runner rug taught towards the Velcro strip on the rise, then, place the rug over the tread. Secure the runner with carpet tacks every six inches, to prevent bunching and “creep”. Move down each stair and repeat.
- Anchor the end of the runner rug with floor trim, ensuring that the runner ends at the edge of the final tread and not the middle of the final rise.
One of our regular London carpet fitters says that if you get this far without incident or bad language, then you deserve a congratulatory cup of tea. Now, you can sit back and admire the new view, and you can tell the wife and kids to come out of hiding too! Just joking…honest!
Tags: border, carpet, carpet nails, chalk, cold chisel, find a tiler and carpet fitter, finishing tacks, hammer, london tiler and carpet fitter, measure, measure tape, runner rug, staircase, strips, tiling and carpet fitter quote, tread, velcro
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Posted in Tiling & Flooring on Mar 27
Fitting carpet tiles is a relatively simple job, if you are practical when it comes to DIY. Many of us prefer to engage the services of a professional, and find a carpet fitter through Mr-Skill instead. Carpet tiles are ideal for gluing down onto concrete floors, as well as wooden subfloors in good condition.
 Before you Start - As a cost comparison, why not arrange a free quote for carpet fitting through Mr-Skill. You could be pleasantly surprised at the cost!
The Process of Laying Carpet Tiles
- Ensure that the subfloor is well prepared. Surfaces to be tiled should not be uneven and be clean and dry – use a suitable flooring compound to smooth if necessary. Remember to switch off under-floor heating ahead of laying new carpet squares. Use plywood sheeting to cover wooden floors, securing with suitable nails every few inches.
- Chalk mark two lines across the room, ensuring that they intersect at 90-degrees in the room centre. Check that the guidelines meet where the room’s width allows for full tiles in the centre, fanning out to matching smaller tile cuts against the walls. That way, the carpet pattern makes for a pleasing visual effect.
 Use the applicator to spread glue across the back of the carpet square according to the glue-maker’s instructions. Allow for drying time before laying each tile. - Start laying the carpet squares from the central intersection of your chalk marks, and work in rows across the room with whole carpet squares for as far as possible. Check that your laying pattern is tracking straight with the room walls too.
- Avoid gaps between tiles by packing them tightly against each other, allowing the stich pattern to point in the same direction every time. Most carpet tiles have a pattern indicator arrow on the back to help you.
- Finish off by trimming the outside tile to fit snuggly against the walls on all four sides, and around doorframes and other fixtures.
Our expert carpet fitters in London love the finished effect that well fitted carpet tiles provide, not to mention the comfort-feel under foot! Mr-Skill has carpet fitters in most major postcodes – why not contact one today and get ready to transform your home.
Tags: applicator, arrow indicator, carpet fitters in london, carpet squares, carpet tiles, chalk marks, Find a carpet fitter, finishing cut, fitting carpet tiles, glue, nails, plywood, quote for carpet fitting, right angles, room centre, smooth, snug fit, straight line, subfloor, tight fit, trimming, uneven
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Posted in Tiling & Flooring on Feb 27
First you notice that the grout between the tiles has begun to crack. You wonder whether it’s time to Find a Tiler. After that, the grout starts going darker in one spot. Finally, when you tread on a tile, it rocks slightly as the moisture squishes out.
 Fortunately, this is not the end of the world! The good news is that the tile is loose and will be easy to remove. After that, you can have a Plumber in to fix the leak, and perhaps even replace the tile afterwards yourself.
- Avoid your first reaction to lever out the tile. Chances are that you will chip it, and where on earth will you find a replacement one? One London Tiler I know wets the loose tile generously, and then uses a toilet plunger to create a vacuum and gently ease it out. Try it. You could just be pleasantly surprised!
- Depending on how bad the leak is, you may need to turn the water off. If the water is not bubbling out from where you removed the first tile, you may need to chase the leak by removing several more. This is easy when you gently tap a paint scraper
 underneath the middle of the tile, because the mortar will be water-logged.
- Find a Plumber on Mr-Skill to repair the leak. Then wait patiently until the hole the plumber left behind has dried out completely. After that, back-fill it with a strong mix of mortar, and get a Tiling Quote to put the tiles back and re-grout. If you do the job yourself, use an epoxy as there will be insufficient space for tile cement except where the plumber made the hole.
This information comes to you with best wishes of Mr-Skill, that friendly website where you can find every service that you need. These services include electricians, builders, plasterers, carpenters, gardeners and a whole host more besides. The service costs you nothing, and they are all rated too.
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Posted in Tiling & Flooring on Jan 16
This one’s dead easy, although many people still don’t know the secret of how to do it properly. They end up balancing floor mosaics on a base of tile cement that thinks that it’s a bed of quicksand. You’ll might still Find a Tiler battling this way elsewhere too, although I should think not one from Mr-Skill.
 Lay the shower drain in place two tile thicknesses above the floor, and then construct the shower base around it using a single row of bricks laid flat. Think about the shower enclosure as you do. Your goal is to be able to position it symmetrically.
- Determine the fall you need. The simplest way is to measure up an existing shower, although I’ve always allowed a half-inch drop myself. Obtain a length of wood the thickness of the fall, by say one inch wide.
- Wrap the shower drain tightly in a piece of plastic sheet to prevent it from getting blocked. Lay pieces of the wood down flat around the inside of the shower base to create a frame. If this sounds too complicated, you could always Ask Mr-Skill to Arrange Tiling Quotes instead
- Obtain a supply of flooring screed. Combine this with cement in ratio of two-parts screed to one-part cement. Add water to create a moist but not runny mixture. Add a cup of bonding liquid too if you have some,
 so the mix will adhere really tightly to the base below and the tiles above.
- Wait fifteen minutes to allow the mixture to stiffen. Do not add more water. Trowel about half the screed you think you need into the shower base and smooth it out using a steel float and a flat piece of wood. Add more screed as needed
- Your goal is to slope the screed evenly between the strips of wood inside the shower base, and the floor slab two inches outside of the drain. Don’t panic if it isn’t perfect. You’ll be laying tiles over it after all.
- Three hours later, fidget out the strips of wood inside the shower base and fill in the gaps they leave behind with more screed. A week later, you could begin to tile!
This one of many tips I learned from London Tilers a thousand years ago when I was completing my apprenticeship. Some things never change, do they? Another consistent thing is the quality of service you’ll get from Mr-Skill.
Tags: adhere, base, bonding liquid, brick, cement, drain, drop, easy, enclosure, fall, find a tiler, float, floor, frame, gap, gradient, london tilers, mix, mixture, plastic sheet, ratio, screed, shower, shower enclosure, slab, slope, thickness, tile, tiler quotes, trowel, water, wood, wrap
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Posted in Tiling & Flooring on Dec 26
Floor tiles are often set for life, if for no reason other than that taking them up again is such a noisy, dusty business. Here are some things you need to consider carefully before you Find a Tiler on Mr-Skill. We call them rules because they can dictate how you feel about the finished job.
 Rule No.1 Colour
A lighter-coloured floor tile makes a room look spacious while it also shows the dirt and dust. Darker colours add warmth, and hide the dirt. Go for neutral colours to show accessories off best.
Rule No.2 Texture
Wet tiles are slippery and that’s almost a rule in itself. There’s only one way to make a tile suitable for outside use in wet conditions, and that’s to add a gritty finish to the surface. Best to buy yours already done, because the paint-on solutions wear away.
Rule No.3 Size and Shape
A London Tiler worth his money will always determine your overall goals before recommending tiles. Large ones create a sense of spaciousness, while smaller ones may look busy over larger areas.  Rectangular tiles make a room seem wider when laid across the width. Lay them in the length though, and you’ll get the opposite effect
Rule No. 4 Thickness
When you obtain a Floor Tiling Quote it’s a good idea to specify the thickness of the tile. This is because this makes them heavier and more difficult to cut. As a general rule, a medium thickness floor tile is adequate for domestic use, unless you are planning something different.
The 5th Rule is perhaps the most important principle of all, and that’s Choosing the Right Tiler. And that’s where Mr-Skill comes in. We’ve searched high and low for the finest tradesmen across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom, and we’ll not charge a single penny to introduce you to them.
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Posted in Tiling & Flooring on Dec 14
For some peculiar reason that I don’t quite understand, bathrooms in UK homes are seldom fully tiled. Personally I think developers are being mean. How much can it cost to Find a Tiler to extend a run of wall tiles once the levels have been set?
Here’s a neat way to integrate a mirror on a painted wall with tiles elsewhere in the room.  Let your imagination loose here. The choices are endless!
- Buy the mirror and install it plumb and level with concealed mounts. Obtain sufficient wall tiles of a suitable finish and have them cut to size. If need be, you could get a Tiling Quote to have the cutting done.
- Mark out the area around the mirror where the tiles will go, and mask it off for at least the width of the tiles. Mask the frame of the mirror carefully too.
- Apply a layer of tile-keying liquid between the two runs of masking tape. Attach a batten to the wall to support the bottom run of tiles.
- Glue on the bottom run of tiles using pre-mix tile cement. Allow this to dry for twenty-four hours.
 Return the next day to complete the job, making sure the tiling spacers keep the joints between the tiles neat.
TIP A London Tiler I know well uses epoxy to secure the tiles. This may add a little to the cost, but at least he can complete the tiling on a single day, and get the money back that way.
- After waiting another day for the glue to dry properly, remove the batten and the masking tape, grout the tiles and tidy up the wall.
Little details like this can make all the difference, and add DIY pleasure to a weekend. Aren’t you glad you found a handy website like this? What’s more, you can Find Tradesmen for all larger jobs right here. And it will not cost you a single penny more!
Tags: bathroom, batten, cement, cut, dry, eopxy, extend, find a tiler, frame, key, level, london tiler, mark, mask, masking tape, mirror, mount, plumb, pre mix, quote, set, spacer, tile, tiled, tiling quote, wall, width
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Posted in Tiling & Flooring on Nov 17
If you’ve got tiled floors, tiled splash backs and tiled walls in your home (and we all have these in abundance these days) then the chances are that the grout is looking grotty, unless, that is, you’ve kept your hand to it. Why is this? It’s simple really. As every London Tiler knows, grout is a cement product and cement absorbs grease and grime.
In the bathroom, the dirt is usually mould from steam, soap accumulation and what’s best described as body residues.  Wipe wet walls and glass doors regularly and things will stay under control. Ignore this advice, and in a month or two your bathroom will start looking yucky, and it’s time for elbow grease and chemicals.
You’ll find mildew in the kitchen too, and food spills trafficked by feet across the floor. Some ingredients such as saffron and tomato sauce have amazing staining properties as well as legendary tastes, and you should wipe them right away. If you don’t, suddenly you’ll notice that cute has left your kitchen, and that it’s time to start cleaning up again.
• If things are not all that bad yet, you can try cleaning off the grout with either vinegar, baking soda or sugar soap. A steam cleaner can also help blast the dirt away but watch out for the mess. Never use ammonia-based cleaners on white grout, because they turn it yellow over time.
•  Didn’t work? Then try commercial cleaners like Mr Clean or Lysol, making sure you wash them away completely. Be careful of using corrosive products that can make your hands tingle – especially if your waste water ends up in a soak away.
• Still got problems? Then I’m afraid you need to Find a Tiler to rake out the offending grout and replace it with a matching one. Be careful of trying this yourself though – it’s not difficult to chip an exposed tile edge and you may not have a spare.
We have a comprehensive database of Tilers on Mr-Skill serving every UK postcode, and we can arrange several Tilers’ Quotes for you in just a few hours. Their rates will be better than competitive, and we don’t charge customers for our service. Moreover, our other customers have already rated them for quality.
Tags: absorb, baking soda, body, cement, chemicals, chip, clean, corrosive, find a tiler, floor, food, grout, london tiling company, match, mildew, rake, replace, residue, soak, soap, spill, splash, steam, sugar soap, tile, tilers quotes, track, vinegar, wall, wipe
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Posted in Tiling & Flooring on Sep 21
Wood-Effect laminate flooring has become popular in recent years, as folk discover how quickly they can change a room around, and how easy these floors are to keep clean too. But everything has its downsides and laminate flooring certainly is no exception. The only way to protect yourself from  problems is to Find a Floorer who does the job correctly in the first place.
• Peaking occurs when boards are too tight up against each other and the centres begin to bulge. This is almost invariably causde by a lack of free expansion space around the perimeter of the room, and can be corrected.
• Buckling and Warping are the result of water damage or moisture that could come from underground or might even be in the air. For this reason I have yet to meet a Flooring Firm in London who would consider laying laminate flooring in a bathroom, especially near a shower. Another possible cause of buckling and warping is the absence of an effective balancing substrate.
• Gapping between boards should not occur at all providing they are allowed to acclimatize before being laid. If they do open slightly under very cold conditions, the chances are that gaps will close as the room warms up again.
•  Mould and Mildew are warning signs of high humidity that ought to be carefully controlled, not simply cleaned away. The solution is to root cause the underlying problem and address it.
• Chipping on corners is a sign of abuse during installation. Make sure your Flooring Quote describes the manner in which the work will be done. If it mentions the use of a mallet and tapping block (which are unnecessary in the first place) move away and look again. If the damage happens subsequently, then I’m afraid you bought a poor quality floor.
Another way to avoid these hassles is to Find a Reputable Flooring Firm on Mr-Skill. That’s because we reference-check our tradespeople to make sure their lower prices do not come with loss of quality. How’s that for winning both ways.
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