Tiling in a new single-family house construction - experiences

Hello everyone,

we are currently building and so far only the tiling of the bathrooms (ground floor + upper floor) as well as the utility room has been contracted (via BU). Regarding the other rooms on the ground floor, we have now agreed that tiles should also be placed there. Therefore, I wanted to get some tips and ask whether it might be possible to do it ourselves.

A few facts:
-I am rather a beginner in craftsmanship.
-I have attached the ground floor plan.
-The main entrance is on the right, west is on the left.
-We would preferably like oak wood-look tiles, currently we are considering the size 120x30.
-Except for the guest bathroom and utility room, the same tiles should be used everywhere, a total of about 85m².
-The stair steps will probably be made of beech. I hope that does not clash too much with the oak look.
-We have not yet consulted a professional for advice, although my impression here in the forum is that experts' opinions often differ...

What is currently on our minds:
1. Is it even feasible for a layperson to handle such an area? The move should not be delayed by 3 months because of this...
2. Does anyone have experience with DIY workshops where tiling is taught? I have seen that such things are sometimes offered by hardware stores, for example.
3. Do you have experience with those leveling systems that connect adjacent tiles to keep the same height? Without them, I would suspect it could quickly look crooked in large rooms...
4. Would you lay the tiles crosswise (left-right) or lengthwise? At the moment we tend to crosswise:
-Parallel to the expansion joint between kitchen and dining area and probably also to a joint that is still supposed to come between dining and living area (not on the plan).
-In the direction of the rooms when entering through the front door.
-In the west, the sun sometimes shines lower, so the joints/edges would not stand out as much.
-Parallel to the stair steps.
5. I imagine a random pattern here as the easiest. It should definitely not be uniform.
6. Where would you start best?
-Generally first practice in the kitchen or guest room :D ?
-Other tips?
7. Do you know if tilers usually mind if you buy the tiles separately or do they prefer to procure the tiles themselves? The reason is that I would otherwise buy the tiles soon to avoid price increases and delivery bottlenecks and can spend the bank’s money before the interest-free period ends.
8. The BU will want to know at some point how high our floor will be in order to adjust the screed height accordingly so that it matches with the doors etc. What is the best way to proceed here? The tile is, for example, 8mm thick, the adhesive 1mm, so it comes to 9mm :) Somehow sounds too easy.

Thanks in advance, thanks, thanks, thanks

-I'm rather a beginner at handicrafts.

The question of all questions: What do you expect? Financial savings? Time savings? Fun doing something yourself? Tiling is not rocket science, but especially with the 120x30 format, I would strongly advise against trying it yourself as a complete amateur on 85 square meters. The number of questions you ask suggests that. If it’s about money: better do what you can manage and have talent for on your own: garden, outdoor areas, plastering, painting...? But essential things that you can really mess up without experience, I wouldn’t tackle right away.

The stair steps will probably be made of beech. I hope that doesn't clash too much with the oak look.

hmm… Beech looks different from oak. In my eyes, that doesn’t match for fundamental objects placed next to each other, stairs/floor.

Can an amateur even take on such a surface? The move shouldn’t be delayed by 3 months because of this...

I’m rather a beginner when it comes to craftsmanship.

I would even advise against 30/60. If one tile is off by a millimeter, the whole row is messed up over the length. The next row then has to adjust to the crooked one and so on… you also can’t just take out the row the next morning and correct it again… Tilers charge extra for the length of these tiles because they are harder to lay.. I once tiled the ground floor myself, but I was born with two right talented hands. I’d say this: I was very tolerant with myself. For a perfectionist, it’s very painful over a long time, even if it was a second-hand house… until you overlook many things or put plants everywhere… I also got a slipped disc. In the basement on a small rectangular area, however, I wouldn’t see any problems practicing. Still, I would recommend another flooring or have everything done by the tiler who also does the kitchen and bathroom.

I would also recommend a tiler. In our case, only the bathrooms and the utility room were tiled by the construction company. We declined the rest due to the high price quoted for the tiles and the installation. We then found our own tiler. We showed him the task and asked whether he would supply the tiles or if we could do it ourselves. He was even happy not to have to deal with the selection. Sure, go ahead. He knew the sizes and then recommended the laying pattern. We also included two large expansion joints. Everything worked out great, and in addition, we saved a significant amount by procuring the materials ourselves and contracting our "own" tiler. I can only recommend this to everyone.

Hi, we have 256m2 tiles km new build + 56m2 tiles in the garage.

For large format tiles you need a leveling system, angle grinder with speed control and constant electronics, a few diamond blades, tile drill bits for sockets, flexible adhesive for large format (e.g. PCI CM 90). And importantly a good dry tile cutter. Oh, and beforehand vacuum and prime.

Tip for grout for wood-look tiles: Kiesel Servoperl Royal has the most sand/brown tones and also as silicone.

This is how it looks for us.

For large format tiles, you need a leveling system

I just had wood-look tiles laid in the size 120 x 30 cm, and the execution is below my expectations. Some tiles protrude more than 1.3 mm. I wasn’t sure if my expectations were too high and unrealistic, so I commissioned an expert to take a look.

He said: They worked here without a leveling system; with a leveling system, it would have been better and these protrusions would not have happened. He marked about 15 spots that have a protrusion of 1.3 mm or more.

I informed my tiler about this. He said a leveling system would bring little benefit and also involves additional costs. Moreover, the tolerance limit according to DIN is 2 mm and not 1.3 mm.

But my expectations were also high because I did not expect how "crooked" tiles are allowed to be and still be considered "first-class" goods. The more warped the tiles are, the more the tiler has to level. In addition, a one-third bond pattern of warped tiles emphasizes the differences again.

And one must expect that some tiles have a protrusion of 1.3 mm or 2 mm. That doesn’t look good.

In the basement, I used cheap tiles (25 euros/sqm) in 20 x 120, also rectified. The tiler said those were better (less warped) than the high-quality ones, which cost almost twice as much. There I don’t have such extreme protrusions. They were also laid in a one-third bond pattern.

The technology apparently is not yet advanced enough to fire such large tiles without them deforming.

And "expensive" does not necessarily mean "less warped."