Tiling, flooring and decoration

Tiling starts with the background, not the tile. Moisture-resistant board in wet areas, then the tanking system applied and cured to the manufacturer's schedule - corners, penetrations and joints detailed with the system's own tapes and collars, because showers leak at the details, never in the middle of the wall. Tiles are set out from a datum so cuts land symmetrically, fixed with the specified adhesive at solid-bed coverage in wet areas, and grouted after curing. Falls to floor drains are verified with a level and a bucket of water before the silicone goes in - a dry floor that ponds is a wet room that fails.

Floor finishes are hostage to the screed beneath them. Moisture is verified with hygrometer or moisture meter readings recorded against the finish manufacturer's limits - resilient finishes and timber have no tolerance for a damp slab, and cupping, lifting and mould are the three signatures of a floor laid too early. Flatness is checked against the specified regularity; timber is acclimatised; underlays and adhesives follow the specification; expansion gaps are left at every perimeter and covered, never filled. Finished floors are protected immediately - hardboard or membrane, taped at the joints.

Decoration closes the sequence. New plaster takes a thinned mist coat, then full coats with proper drying between; surfaces are filled, sanded and inspected in raking light before the final coat, because the final coat hides nothing - it only seals in whatever is beneath it. Cutting lines at ceilings and colour changes are what the eye catches first. Each finish has a moisture and flatness tolerance the substrate must provably meet, and the room-by-room sign-off with photographs is what separates a handover from a remediation programme.