Tiling DIY advice: fitting tiles on painted wall Advice and information on tiling and fixing tiles to a variety of surfaces

[RALLYPUG]

I am to fit tiles around a new kitchen worktop.The walls are painted and my question is does the paint have to be removed or scored for the adhesive to be effective?

[thedoctor]

Not usually necessary and if the paint is not loose or flaking and shows no signs of bubbling or lifting then you should be ok to tile on top of it. If you are not sure see the paint stripping project for an incredibly easy way to lose the paint.

[IRENE COOPER]

I am tiling my kitchen and have choosen 5 different colours they are 100mm x 100mm - how do I go about choosing where to place the differnt colours.

[thedoctor]

If you want to have them in any kind of symetrical pattern then design one on paper before laying. If you want a random finish, put them all on a table, close your eyes, mix them up and put them in a pile. Open your eyes and lay them as they are piled. Truly random is very often the best effect.