Accessories

It depends on the tile format, the trowel notch and how flat the substrate is — a large-format tile on an uneven wall swallows far more adhesive than a small one on a flat board. Every bag and tub lists its coverage per square metre; work from the area you measured for the tiles themselves, and round up rather than down.

If the substrate is out by more than a few millimetres across a two-metre span, yes. Large-format tiles and click-fit flooring are both unforgiving of a floor that is not flat — tiles lipping at the edges and planks that creak or unclip are usually a subfloor problem, not a product one.

Cement-based adhesive is mixed on site, sets chemically and is the stronger of the two — it is what heavy tiles, floors and wet areas need. Ready-mixed is convenient for light wall tiles in a dry room, but it dries by evaporation, so it should not be used on floors, in showers, or under anything large.

A threshold or T-bar where two floors of the same height meet, a ramp or reducer where the heights differ, and a scotia or beading around the perimeter to cover the expansion gap. Pick the trim after the floor, since the profile has to suit the board thickness.

More than most people expect. A grout close to the tile colour lets the surface read as one plane; a contrasting grout draws every joint and turns the format itself into the pattern — which is the whole point of a metro or a herringbone. Decide it against the tile itself, in the room's own light.

Yes. Send the room dimensions and the tile or floor you are considering, and the sales team will put together the adhesive, grout, trims and fixings to go with it so nothing is missing on the day.