Laying tiles yourself to save 6-8 thousand euros?

Large format living spaces - never. Have you ever worked with a leveling system?

With the wood-look tiles, make sure to see them in person, if you haven't already. And not just under artificial light in the store. The photos online are all useless (lighting, color reproduction on the screen, etc.). You can't see the surface texture there either, and there are significant differences. Merazzi was immediately eliminated from our selection when we saw them in real life.

Yes, the thing with photos is a bit tricky. But we already have sample tiles of all the tiles at home. Ok, apparently it's not that easy, then I'd better leave it. Especially with the pictures of Marazzi, you can see that they were apparently grouted very narrowly...

I would like to join this thread. We want to lay small tiles (20x20?) in the workshop (20m²). Actually, we had someone who wanted to do it for us as a hobby. Unfortunately, he went to the hospital last week for eye surgery – he’s not supposed to move around much at the moment. That could take a while.

Now we are also considering doing it ourselves. We are inexperienced as well, but it’s just a side room and the tiles are quite small. We already primed and the surface is very clean and even because of the new screed. Should we dare? Are there any tools that make the job easier?

I can only agree with the others! I tiled the small bathroom myself with 60x30 tiles, and I think it turned out very neat (for first-time tiling). But the area was quite moderate, and above all, it is not the main living area, and with 120x20 you have a completely different tile format.

I would definitely have the main areas done by a professional; you end up really annoyed otherwise. Because I think with tiles it should be perfectly installed to really look good. The tiles I installed are slate-look with texture, so slight deviations are less noticeable there.

And if you really want to do it yourself, do the math first. You have to get additional materials, need a good tile cutter, time, and a few more tools.

: Are you at least somewhat handy? If so, you can definitely tile a secondary room with that format. A tile cutter is probably essential; you won't get by without cutting at all. Otherwise, the usual notch trowel, sponge board, etc... Or one of the leveling systems, but with that format you might need a bit more of that.

ok apparently it's not that easy, then I'd rather leave it

Tiling floors really isn't rocket science – with standard formats that you can still easily lift alone. So about 30x30 cm. There are no problems with raised edges yet. However, with long formats or large tiles, the tile corners must be pressed separately and these things are by no means handy.

Tiling walls in the bathroom, preferably half-height with finishing and edge profiles, recesses and projections and numerous penetrations (fittings, radiators, drain grids in the shower) is a completely different story.

I have done both myself at home – for the first time. Not everything is perfect but it is also an old building – so it doesn't stand out that much. In a new building, I would at least rely on professional help in the bathroom. In the living area on the floor I see no problem, only with the formats you mentioned.

: Are you somewhat skilled in handiwork?

I always got a 1 in crafts. Does that count?

You need:
- 8x8 tooth washer
- 3mm tile spacers
- tile wedges for the baseboards
- rectangular trowel, screed bucket, ideally a mixer
- good tile cutter (can be rented)
- bucket of water
- sponge
- small angle grinder with 110 ceramic disc
- 80 or 100 cm spirit level (to check that the tile doesn’t start to warp)
- tape measure + pencil, square
- hacksaw if you want to install edge trim somewhere

Whether Werken == 1 is enough, I don’t know