Prepare a wall for tiling — HomeGraft

Clear, check and repair your wall so it is flat, sound and ready for tiles, whatever it is made of.

PT-01Clear the room and protect surfacesTake down curtains and move furniture clear of the wall. Before you remove any switch plates you're not tiling around, switch that circuit off at the consumer unit and prove it dead with a socket tester or voltage tester — the switch on the wall doesn't make the terminals safe — and keep it off until the plates are refitted. Lay dust sheets on the floor and tape down edges so grout dust and old tile debris don't spread. Turn off any wall lights on the circuit if they're close to the work area.

2 each · Dust sheets

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1 roll · Masking tape

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PT-02Work out what type of wall you've gotTap the wall in a grid pattern. Solid brick or block sounds dull and solid everywhere. A stud wall sounds hollow between studs and solid on the stud line — track the solid spots with a stud detector or a magnet (screw heads under plasterboard attract a magnet). Dot-and-dab plasterboard sounds hollow in patches with no regular pattern, because it's stuck to the masonry in blobs rather than fixed to studs. Lath and plaster feels slightly springy when tapped and sounds hollow with a faint rattle from the laths behind.

1 each · Stud detector

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1 each · Small magnet

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PT-03If you're fixing into a stud wall, tell timber from metalDrill a small pilot hole where you plan to fix, right on the line the detector found. Timber dust means a timber stud — drive a wood screw straight into its centre. Fine grey metal swarf means a metal stud, common in flats, new builds and anything refitted since the 1990s — never use a plain wall plug or wood screw here, they strip straight through 0.5mm steel. Use a self-drilling metal-stud screw or a toggle-type hollow-wall anchor rated for the job instead.

10 each · Metal-stud self-drilling screws

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4 each · Toggle-type hollow-wall anchors

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PT-04Find pipes and cables before you drill or cut anythingCables and pipes can run almost anywhere in a wall, not just in the usual safe zones. Use a cable and pipe detector, but still assume something might be there and prove it isn't before you commit — detectors miss deep cables, cables in metal conduit, anything behind metal-backed board, and a metal stud frame confuses cheap detectors further. Find your stopcock now, usually under the kitchen sink, and check it turns freely so you can shut off water fast if you hit a pipe. If you have any doubt, isolate the circuit at the consumer unit before drilling and turn off the water at the stopcock before cutting into anything that could carry it.

1 each · Cable and pipe detector

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PT-05Strip old tiles, wallpaper or flaking paintChip off old tiles with a bolster chisel and club hammer, working from a broken tile outwards. Strip wallpaper with warm water and a scraper, or a steam stripper for stubborn layers. Sand back any loose or flaking paint to a sound, firm edge — tile adhesive won't grip anything that's still moving.

1 each · Bolster chisel

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1 each · Club hammer

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1 each · Wallpaper scraper

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PT-06Fix or patch the board or plaster to suit the wall typeOn solid brick or block, hack off any loose plaster back to sound masonry and re-skim or fill. On timber studs, screw any loose plasterboard back to the stud centres with drywall screws at 300mm spacing. On metal studs, use self-drilling drywall screws sized for the track, never wood screws. If dot-and-dab board sounds hollow over a wide area rather than just at the joints, the adhesive dabs have failed — it needs fixing back to the masonry with fresh dab adhesive or a mechanical fixing long enough to reach the wall behind, not just a surface screw. On lath and plaster, small cracks can be filled, but any area of loose or bulging plaster should be cut out back to sound laths and patched with a plasterboard offcut screwed to the timber behind, or left to a plasterer if it's extensive.

20 each · Drywall screws (timber)

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1 bag · Board adhesive (dot-and-dab repair)

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1 each · Plasterboard offcut

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1 bag · Bonding plaster

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PT-07Fill holes, cracks and jointsApply ready-mixed filler with a filler knife, pressing it into cracks and screw holes so there's no air trapped underneath. Build up deeper holes in thin layers, letting each one dry before adding the next. Once dry, sand flush with the surrounding surface using medium then fine abrasive paper.

1 tub · Ready-mixed filler

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1 each · Filler knife

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3 sheet · Sanding paper (medium and fine)

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PT-08Prime the surface so the adhesive gripsOn new plasterboard or bare plaster, seal with diluted PVA (roughly 1 part PVA to 5 parts water) and let it go tacky before tiling. On old, very absorbent brick or block, use the same diluted PVA to stop the wall pulling moisture out of the adhesive too fast. On painted surfaces, give a light sand for grip, then apply a specialist tile primer or PVA coat. Leave to dry fully — check the tin, but PVA usually needs a few hours minimum.

1 litre · PVA bonding agent

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1 set · Paint roller and tray

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PT-09Check the wall is flat before you tileHold a long straightedge or spirit level against the wall in several directions to spot high and low points. Sand or knock back any high spots, and fill any dips — standard tile adhesive can bridge small gaps but not more than about 3mm. Recheck once repairs are dry.

1 each · Spirit level

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1 each · Long straightedge

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PT-10Clean up and leave the wall readyVacuum all dust from the wall and floor, then wipe the wall down with a damp cloth to remove any remaining grease or dust film — tile adhesive won't bond well over either. Bag up rubble, old tiles and offcuts for disposal, and check your local council's rules on disposing of builders' waste. Leave the wall fully dry before you start tiling.

1 each · Vacuum cleaner (workshop or household)

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2 each · Cloths

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2 each · Heavy-duty rubble bags

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