Laying tiles yourself to save 6-8 thousand euros?

Should we dare? Are there any aids that make the job easier?

Side room and small tiles, smooth new screed? Sure!

Aid 1: Head - measure the room and coordinate with the tile formats. It's very annoying when 2 cm of tile are missing on one side or a 1-2 cm wide piece has to be fitted in. Always make sure the visible side looks nice and place cut edges, for example, on a side where there are many cabinets or built-in cupboards anyway.

Aid 2: Guide string - If the room is not exactly rectangular, or the measurements fit exactly, start tiling in the middle of the room or 1-2 rows away from a wall and stretch a guide string in the desired tiling direction. OR: If one side is permanently obstructed by built-in cupboards, etc.

Aid 3: Tile spacers - Do not place them into the joint, but place four on top at each intersection. They lead to a noticeably more uniform joint pattern. With 3 mm spacers, you can cheat a mm if it becomes crooked somewhere, you hardly notice it. With 2 mm spacers, it's already tight.

Aid 4: Notched trowel and feeling - mix the tile adhesive not too thick so that the tiles slide well into the bed and lay fully flat. Definitely use a notched trowel, otherwise it will just be a mess!

Aid 5: Tile cutter - For 20x20 up to 8 mm, the standard cutter for around €30 is sufficient. For larger formats, spend more money on better tools. With cheap products for large formats, the edging and cut results are often not so good, and if the large tiles break, you haven't saved much money.

I found grouting the trickiest part afterward. Getting the consistency of the grout right requires some experience: Too stiff and you get hollow spaces and it becomes a sweat-inducing task, too liquid and everything runs away. And timing the final cleaning is also not easy. Too early and you pull the grout out, too late is ten times as exhausting. On the floor, I preferred working with a grout rubber rather than a grout board/rubber float for embedding. When wiping off, use a sponge float and very often fresh water, but not too much of it.

Merazzi immediately fell out of consideration for us as soon as we saw it in real life.

It was the same with Merazzi for us. It's just a shame about the sample order. The Rovere model looked amazing in the photo, but in reality, I would have loved to smash it immediately. If I had ordered and had 105m² of it installed, I would have been mad at myself for the next 20 years.

Whoever lives in the north, don't order anything, there is a Harrys Fliesenmarkt nearby. There is always a good deal to be found with the selection! And good prices. And knowledgeable staff. And you can take it with you right away too. My Harry was the one in Lübeck. In Kiel, Hamburg, Rostock, I think there are some in Itzehoe too.

My husband has now done half of it himself. I don't have to do anything at all - oh how nice! So far it looks quite okay. At one or two spots some glue got on the tile. Now I wonder if it will ever come off after drying? Does anyone know that?

Depends on whether the surface is rather smooth or rather rough. Ceranfeldschaber is your friend.

I've been through it too. My husband was a laborer and mortarer. 30 x 30 cm tiles with spacers. What is really not documented is the fact that the adhesive seeps out in the joints and you get problems with the grout lines. Surely you don't want grout lines. That won't be easy. Somewhere the adhesive always seeps out or sticks. Or the tiles become hollow... anyway: craftsmanship must be practiced until you can do it well. By the way, I laid out the tiles as an amateur all over the room (open living room in the townhouse), corrected it 3 times until everything was straight... after 7 days, 50 sqm with corners were laid and I had a slipped disc and burned fingertips because I couldn't handle the gloves. .... and everywhere that damn mortar ... I would rather build the shell because you can save more there and you don't have to work so precisely. With poor tile laying, you ruin the whole look.