Able Skills’ trainee tiler Peter has successfully completed the final week of the NVQ 8 Week Tiling Course.

The last week is dedicated to complex tiling tasks as tilers are sometimes asked to undertake specialist projects which require intricate cuts and beautiful finishes.

He said: “Final week done. I went back to tiling this week, tiling a Victorian pathway which was slow but very rewarding. One thing I learned from this week is that you have absolutely no room for error with this stuff. Feel confident that I could take on the pathways but only in the summer lol.”

Able Skills will continue to support Peter through his learning process and are proud to note that he is likely to achieve the full NVQ qualification.

“I was registered for my NVQ this week and received my portfolio. Had a discussion with Max about compiling my portfolio and went through some case studies of previously completed portfolios which made the process very straight forward.”

“I have got some work lined up so hoping to gain the NVQ as soon as possible,” he added.

If you want to follow Peter into the tiling industry then you should visit our NVQ 8 week tiling course page.

Able Skills can provide training at weekends if you have work or other commitments through the week as we aim to make learning available to as many people as possible.

Able Skills’ trainee tiler Peter has successfully completed week six of the NVQ 8 Week Tiling Course.

He said: Hi all. I am exhausted lol! Just completed my sixth week tiling a fitted bathroom. I worked to a specification which included preparing, setting out and tiling the bathroom. Here are some pics, hope you like. I am really happy with it.

Able Skills’ trainee tiler Peter has successfully complete week five of the NVQ 8 Week Tiling Course.

Despite missing the first two days of the week through illness, Peter had the opportunity to catch up with the rest of his course mates due to the flexibility of training provided at Able Skills.

He said: “Had a bad start to the week as I was sick Monday and Tuesday but fortunately I was able to complete my course from Wednesday right through to Sunday.”

Week five of this tiling course briefly moves away from tiling to concentrate on aspects of preparation.

Trainees learn about waterproofing requirements for areas such as wet rooms and gain knowledge about floor screeding in order to prepare the most uneven of floors for tiling.

Peter said: “I covered a lot of surface preparation this week, fixed aqua panel cement backer boards and then tiled using single part flexible adhesive and also fixed plasterboards and tanked out using WP1 then tiled the tanked out area once dry.

“During the drying off period, I tiled a box which required a 3 way mitre and then tiled an arch which enabled me to tackle some challenging cuts which were really difficult.

“Also did some prep on floors laying self levelling compounds and had a go at screeding. Mark from BAL came in to do a class demo on their products which was excellent .Going straight through till Friday now so training 10 days in a row!”

Peter is now looking forward to week six where he will work to a specification in a fully fitted kitchen or bathroom area.

Trainee tiler Peter has thoroughly enjoyed the fourth week of his NVQ 8 Week Tiling Course.

The fourth week of this tiling course teaches trainees how to tile with 4” x 4” Natural Tumbled Marble and 12” x 12” Natural Slate.

Able Skills’ trainee tillers will also learn which adhesives are required to seal natural stone and understand how to enhance the natural features of such stones.

Peter said: “What a great week on natural stone tiling course this week. I worked in a fully fitted kitchen area and installed 100 x 100 mm tumbled marble onto the wall areas followed by 300 x 300mm uncalibrated slate on the floor area.

“First we undertook a really informative class on adhesives and grout selections for these materials and received demonstration on how to correctly fix and cut the marble and slate.

“Fixing took a lot longer than it did with the previous weeks training but have to say that I am really pleased with the end result. Never had a clue four weeks ago about selections of adhesives, grouts sealers etc.”

Rubi Tools representative Darren came to Able Skills tiling training centre in Dartford to demonstrate how to use tools such as tile cutters.

“Had a really good class session with the Rubi tools UK rep Darren (see photos) who spent a few hours with our group letting us sample various Rubi tools. Roll on Monday,” added Peter.

Week five of the tiling course will concentrate on aspects of preparation with a look at waterproofing requirements for areas like wet rooms and floor screeding.

Able Skills’ trainee tiler is back to update you with his progress on the NVQ 8 Week Tiling Course.

Peter is already into the fourth week of the NVQ tiling course, having successfully completed weeks two and three at our dedicated tiling centre in Dartford, Kent.

During the second week of advanced training, Peter was provided with the tiling skills to tackle more complex areas, such as how to tile around obstacles, in order to give him the opportunity to build on his speed, technique and confidence.

Peter received a tiling handout on the first day of the third week before proceeding with the 6218-119 City & Guilds practical assessment aspect if the tiling course.

Week three is an assessment of your skills and successful candidates will receive a City & Guilds certificate and portfolio detailing the work they have done.

He said: “Received practical on how to cleanly remove old fixed tiles with the tiling grout rake but what was much more fun was using the Fein Multimaster (what a tool I must have one, think I will order from Tradetiler this weekend).

“Also installing brick effect this week was interesting although setting out took a little while and then drilling tiles to allow capped pipe to go through.”

Having a City & Guilds certificate and portfolio is very useful for trainee tillers as they can use it to show prospective clients when they are providing quotes or tenders.

Check back each week to see how Peter progresses with Able Skills.

As part of Able Skills’ commitment to provide open and honest training we have enlisted one of our students to blog about his experiences with us.

Through his weekly blog, our newest trainee Peter will aim to educate those people who are keen to train with us about what really happens on an Able Skills tiling courses.

After months of research, Peter chose to take the NVQ 8 Week Tiling Course with Able Skills in order to become a competent and qualified tradesman with the skills to undertake any tiling project.

“I have put in a lot of effort and research into selecting my training provider. I have been looking around since before Christmas but booked my course early in the New Year,” he said.

Peter started his tiling course on February 14th and is booked in for a solid eight weeks of intensive training with the first week teaching him the basics of tiling.

During the eight weeks, Peter will be build a portfolio containing photographic evidence and certificates which will put him on the path to achieving an NVQ.

“I hope to keep you all updated with my progress and will try to post some pictures of work achieved,” he added.

In order for Peter to gain an NVQ qualification he must be registered with an NVQ Assessment Centre and Able Skills will register him under our centre as part of this tiling course package.

Peter is required to wear his own suitable clothing and protective footwear for safety but Able Skills provide all tools and materials throughout the eight weeks for him to learn with.

Check back each week to see how Peter progresses with Able Skills.

The skills of tiling lie with a combination of practical and technical ability, acquired depth of knowledge and experience, all wrapped up with a flair for design and presentation. It’s often the reason why many men and women take up the trade as a full time professional tiler because there is always a new design challenge to solve and the results are satisfyingly on display when completed!

At the heart of tiling is the core problem of creating a visually neat and perfectly harmonious layout! Every wall or floor space is different with the central challenge of arranging tiles around doors and windows, features and fittings, top to bottom, left to right, using the most of each tile!

The attention to the smallest spacing will have a big impact on the final result. We all can simply look at a finished wall of tiling and respond to the level of workmanship in the fine detail and we feel it’s either pleasing and right or it’s not! Many amateur DIY tilers can spend many frustrating hours on their own home projects and still not see why the results are not working as they should!

There are many types of tiling courses available today, according to individual requirement. A short wall tiling course at basic diploma level can be extremely useful to obtain the key essentials in just a day or two, while a 5 day introductory tiling course provides an invaluable opportunity to become more acquainted with a number of necessary subject areas and their accompanying skillsets.

The basic principals of setting out wall tiles can include a long checklist of items, ranging from laying the tiles evenly around a horizontal feature, e.g. window or basin so that equal width tiles are on both sides, trying to achieve a full tile height above the side of a bath or worktop to avoiding the use of narrow strips of tiles at corners and at the top and bottom of a wall and aiming to end with a full tile where the tiles only go partly up or along a wall.

Achieving equal tile width at the ends and equal height at top and bottom of a wall can lead to off centre tiling around a major feature with tiles too narrow and therefore, very hard to cut along the edges. Aligning the pattern to a main feature can lead, once again, to tiles being too narrow along the edges and especially, great difficulty to cut an L shaped tile where both arms are narrow. Where patterns are involved or oblong tiles, additional considerations will be added to an ever growing checklist!

Basic guidelines can often sound or look simple when read from a DIY manual or online, but the reality can be very different when getting hands-on! The essence of tiling is always about trying to place tiles evenly about a feature which may lead to narrow end tiles. Some rooms will, inevitably, appear to be almost impossible to tile in a manner that satisfactorily meets all the standard guidelines!

However, there are ways to overcome specific problems and professional tiling courses are the best way to learn the theory and body of knowledge underpinning the precise skills needed to obtain verified NVQ tiling course qualification standard to progress a career within the construction industry.

Training discipline is always a challenge when learning to handle building materials. Learning to work with a soft, messy substance like tiling grout is absolutely critical to providing the final quality of finish that distinguishes between a so–called completed job looking like the results of dubious DIY handywork and the immaculate precision of the professional tiler.

There really is no substitute for learning exactly how to get the job finished properly on an approved tiling course, rather than spend a considerable amount of time attempting to get the job right by trial and error – but still not discovering the real method of correct application. It maybe kind of OK to say ‘that’s good enough’ when fixing one or two backsplash tiles in your own home, but it certainly won’t pass muster if you attempt to offer yourself as a ‘tiler’ in a paid work environment!

A better understanding of how to satisfactorily complete home tiling projects may be obtained on a basic Wall and Floor Tiling Diploma course, or better still, a more detailed 5 day introductory tiling course which presents students with an all round overview of key tiling problems.

Practice, of course makes perfect, but you still need to learn the actual practical skill in the first instance, and the very necessary accompanying knowledge in order to understand why a certain method is the only real way to carry out a job rather than take short cuts! In the construction industry, there are many who still are prepared to take unnecessary risks or through lack of correct training, commit terrible blunders.

Candidates who are thinking of taking up tiling as a fulltime profession or who wish to add to their knowledge and trade skills have a wide range of tiling courses available, ranging from a 3 week to 8 week full City & Guilds Professional NVQ tiling course. Fully completed and verified, they can be of vital help to tiling students to go on to apprenticeships and acceptance with employers in order to develop their experience and career in the trade.

In the tiling profession, as elsewhere, there is no flouting of the rules, not least, at the last stage of grouting! It’s vital to ensure that the correct type of grout is to be used, especially where waterproofing is essential. Tiling can’t be rushed to quickly finish a job and get paid! Grouting should be carried out after all the tiles have been fixed and allowed to firm up and, therefore, they must be left for least 24 hours after the last tile has been fixed.

Careful attention to detail in the preparation stage is key, and before the application of any grout it is important to make sure that the tile faces and joints are all clean and any small amounts of tile adhesive left on the glaze or squeezed out of the joints must be removed before grouting.

Grout is available as either premixed or as a powder for mixing with water. Premixed grout may be at the right consistency at the commencement but will begin to ‘go off’ as soon as the packet is opened, whereas powder grout allows the trained eye and hand of the tiler to mix the grout to the right, smooth, lump free consistency. If the mixture is too runny, the grout will run out of the joints before it sets , but if the mixture is too stiff, it will not be flexible enough to easily work into the joints.

Actual grouting application technique requires working with a combination of sponge, squeegee or grout float as a part of the crucial cleaning-as-you-grout process. Learning to work precisely, smoothly and with speed before the grout stiffens at each stage is a key part of mastering the discipline of professional tiling tuition.

The large variety of tiles in many different types of materials now available has, inevitably, created a demand for their presence on the walls and floors in both domestic and commercial applications and the ability of a tiler to be fully competent to install wherever required.

It is crucial that a professional tiler would have gained all-round training on approved tiling courses at an established training centre like AbleSkills with fully equipped teaching facilities, which provide accredited NVQ tiling course qualifications by an industry-recognised body such as City & Guilds.

Following its application in numerous leisure facilities, office and workplace premises there has been a growing trend within the residential sector towards installing porcelain and vitrified tiles to walls, rather than the ceramic type. However, porcelain and vitrified tiles, unlike porous bodied tiles, shrink in the firing process and consequently, specified allowances have to be made to dimensional accuracy in the manufacturing process. As a result of the differing methods of manufacturing processes and materials, larger, thicker format tiles, complying with BS6431 are being produced.

Current British & European Standards for ceramic tiles define tolerances for dimensions and for centre curvature of tiles, depending on tile type and size. The tolerances for tile fixing set down within British Standard BS5385 for tile fixing are demanding and, as a result of the differences in manufacturing and fixing tolerances, special consideration has to be given to fixing tiles, which are either fully vitrified or semi-vitrified, glazed or unglazed, to walls.

It’s important to be aware that any tile installation process requires meticulous preparation and assessment of an area to be tiled. Very often, both the underlying wall and floor structure will not be uniform, waterproof, or otherwise suitable for laying of particular types of tiles and will need to be brought up to regulatory standard. Similarly, wall and floor surfaces must be closely examined, and if necessary completely replaced, before tiling work can commence.

Candidates enrolled on a professional tiling course obtain vital units of knowledge, practical skills and experience in order to be thoroughly versed in site preparation issues such as tanking / screed laying, sand / cement rendering, plaster and plasterboard weight restrictions, curing and drying, etc. Tiling students on particular tiling course units will also learn to deal with a variety of installation challenges presented by, for example polished vitrified and porcelain bodied tiles, large format tiles, rectified or calibrated tiles, extruded tiles, pressed tiles, tolerances. 

Learning to work with tiling adhesives and grouts is a key subject area involving learning awareness of issues such as the use of polymer enhanced adhesive to meet the requirements for a cementitious class, or applying C2 adhesive defined in BS EN 12004 and working with grout approved to the standards of BS EN 13888, and applied as defined in BS5385.

Considered to be one of the most popular of the natural stone finishes, travertine tiles are often a first choice by homeowners to be installed in their home bathrooms, kitchens and hallways, as well as for external paving and masonry. It has long been an established favourite of different commercial sectors, most notably the leisure industry.

Today’s professional tilers need to be fully competent to work with a large number of tile materials, finishes, especially individual surface stability, preparation, adhesives and grout. From relatively straightforward ceramic tiles to the specialised laying of natural stone, an individual embarking on a career in tiling should consider learning to tile on more than one type of approved NVQ tiling course, and gain valuable competency in key tiling knowledge and skillsets known to be required in the modern tiling industry.

Travertine, which originates from Italy, is a high quality, durable building material, available in its pure form as white or in many warm or cool variants of yellow and brown, near black and many finishes, from honed, filled and tumbled edges.

Travertine is available in three grades of finish:

First Grade : Premium – A smooth, even appearance often used in monumental applications and found in church buildings.

Second Grade : Midgrade – A higher number of shade variations used for most home applications.

Third Grade : Commercial – A natural appearance, mostly unsorted, often cracked, chipped, or broken and predominantly used for outdoor use.

Working with travertine tiles also requires the use of the correct tile adhesive and grout for the particular material. It is vitally important to gain knowledge of the different types of tile adhesive on the market, from ready mix, including waterproof grades and non slip, chemically-based cement adhesives that can take polymer strengtheners and multi stick, anti vibration types, often used for fixing to timber floors.

Installing travertine tiles requires specialist instruction before commencing installation. At AbleSkills recently extended Tiling Centre, a marble slate course is available to cover the necessary skills required. Also available is a Victorian and Mosaic tiling course and candidates should also be aware of a 5 day introductory tiling course too. A number of integrated City & Guilds NVQ tiling courses of varying lengths, from 3 to 8 weeks are key to developing a career to enter the building industry as a fulltime qualified tiler.