Tiling
A bathroom that needs retiling, a kitchen splashback, a hallway or kitchen floor, or cracked and loose tiles that need putting right. EDDI Construction Ltd tiles walls and floors across North West London, and prepares what goes behind and underneath the tiles properly first. Fully insured, clear on price and straightforward to deal with.
Call +44 7492 350404Most tiling failures have nothing to do with the tiles. Tiles crack, grout lines open and tiles sound hollow when the surface behind them moves, is uneven, or was never fixed properly in the first place. So the first part of every job is the substrate. Old tiles come off cleanly, loose or blown plaster is cut back and made good, and walls that are badly out of true are straightened before tiling rather than filled out with thick beds of adhesive. On floors, a timber base needs a rigid, properly fixed backer board, because the flex in floorboards is what cracks tiles and grout. It is slower than tiling straight over what is there, and it is why the job still looks right years later.
Grout and tiles are not waterproof on their own. Water gets through a hairline crack in a grout joint or a failed silicone bead, and in a shower that happens many times a day. Around showers, over baths and on bathroom floors we waterproof the substrate before tiling, paying particular attention to the corners, the joint where the tray or bath meets the wall, and the points where pipes come through. It is the part of a bathroom you never see once it is finished, and it is what stops a small grout failure turning into a stained ceiling or rotten joists in the room below. Because plumbing is part of the same team, the pipework and the tiling are planned together rather than one trade working around the other.
Kitchen tiling is usually less about water and more about setting out. A splashback runs between worktops, wall units, sockets and a window, and the cuts all land in the most visible places. We set the tiles out before fixing so that cuts are balanced at each end, sockets and switches sit neatly in the pattern, and the line of tiles follows the worktop rather than a wall that may not be level. Where a kitchen is being fitted at the same time, the tiling is sequenced after the worktops go in so the joint between the two is clean.
Tiled floors take the heaviest wear in a house, so the base matters even more than on walls. A solid floor may need levelling compound to take out dips and humps before tiling. A suspended timber floor, common across Willesden, Cricklewood, Hendon and Harrow, needs its boards screwed down, damaged ones replaced and a rigid board fixed over the top. Larger tiles need a flatter surface and full adhesive coverage rather than dabs, or they rock and crack at the corners. Movement joints at the edges and across larger areas let the floor move with the building rather than cracking. Our tilers and carpenters work together on floors, so the base and the finish are handled as one job.
What people notice about tiling is the pattern and the edges: where the cuts fall, whether the grout lines run straight, and how the tiling finishes against a door frame, a bath or an outside corner. We agree the layout with you before starting, including where the pattern is centred and how the edges are trimmed, so there are no thin slivers of tile in the places you look at most. Silicone goes where movement happens, such as around baths, trays and worktops, and grout goes everywhere else. These are small decisions, and together they are the difference between tiling that looks professional and tiling that looks like it was rushed.
Not every tiling job is a full room. Replacing a few cracked tiles, regrouting a tired shower, or resealing a bath that has started to leak are all regular work for us, and no job is too small. Where a loose or hollow tile points to a problem behind it, such as damp or a failed substrate, we will tell you rather than simply sticking it back on. Tiling is also part of most bathroom fits, kitchen fits, refurbishments, extensions and loft conversions we take on, and for landlords it is a common part of getting a property ready between tenancies. You get a clear, written quote before anything starts.
Yes. We tile bathroom walls and floors, kitchen splashbacks and walls, and kitchen, hallway and bathroom floors, and we prepare the walls and floors underneath so the tiling lasts.
Yes. Tiles and grout are not waterproof on their own, so around showers, over baths and on bathroom floors we waterproof the substrate before tiling, with extra attention at the corners, the tray or bath joint and where pipes come through.
Sometimes, but we rarely recommend it. It only works if the old tiles are completely sound and firmly bonded, and it adds thickness at every edge. In most cases taking the old tiles off and preparing the wall or floor properly gives a better and longer-lasting result.
Usually because the floor underneath moves. Floorboards flex when walked on, and tiles and grout cannot. A rigid board fixed properly over a timber floor, the right adhesive with full coverage, and movement joints where they are needed stop that movement reaching the tiles.
Often, yes. If you have spare tiles or the same tile is still available, we can cut out damaged ones and replace them. If a tile has come loose, we check what is behind it first, because a failed substrate or damp needs fixing rather than covering up.
Not always. If the tiles are sound and firmly fixed, raking out the old grout, regrouting and resealing can bring a shower back. If tiles sound hollow or water has been getting behind them, the wall needs opening up and putting right before it is retiled.
You can choose your own tiles or we can talk you through options and quantities. Either way we check the tiles suit where they are going, such as a floor tile rated for floors, before any work starts.
Yes. A splashback, a few replacement tiles or a regrout is just as welcome as a whole bathroom. No job is too small.
North West London, including Wembley, Harrow, Brent, Edgware, Kingsbury, Willesden, Cricklewood, Hendon, Stanmore and Colindale.