Ok, so you have decided where to start from on your first wall (as discussed in my previous article), you are now going to need to apply your adhesive. Do not "dot and dab" your tiles by blobbing lumps of adhesive in the centre and corners of your tiles and then pushing them onto the wall - a common mistake when attempting Do It Yourself Tiling.
You will need to use your notched tile trowel and spread the adhesive evenly onto the wall, take your tile and very thinly "butter" the back using the flat edge of the trowel, this will ensure that the adhesive on the tile keys in with the adhesive that you have spread on the wall. A little bit of even pressure on the tile should then give you a firm fix.
When fixing your next tile, be sure that it sits firmly against your tile spacer and that if you run your fingers over the joint between them there is no lip - you are aiming for consistent joint sizes and a wall that is smooth when you run your hand over it. Sounds easy? If tiles were all exactly the same size and walls were all perfectly flat then maybe it would be that simple, but in reality with uneven walls you will find yourself juggling adhesive thickness to achieve a good finish. A good tip if you are using some tiles that are not consistent in size is to buy some wedge shaped spacers, one of these now and then may prove necessary to keep your grout lines straight, although this isn't often necessary as the cross type spacer (rather than the peg type) will help to keep your grout lines in order. To check that your horizontal lines are straight and level, you can drop a straight edge and spirit level across the top after completing every two or three rows. When you are standing at the end of the wall you want to be able to look along the grout joints and see perfectly straight lines, not wavy ones!
