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Just a few comments taken from e mail and our free to join tiling tools at www.protilingtools.co.uk tiling forums, tile forums – www.tilersforums.co.uk Visit the forums to see these are real people\’s comments below. ————————————————————————————- Some comments from past delegates, see more on our latest news page. ——————————————————————————————- Hello All Just a quick update to anyone who\’s replied to any of my posts. After numerous questions and quizzing, I decide the best thing to do was to visit PITT themselves, so this afternoon I drove for an hour to see them. When I arrived, I was greeted at the door, and offered coffee now that doesn\’t happen when I go shopping I was greeted by Phil ( hello mate ) and taken into the treasure trove that is PITT\’s stock warehouse With no idea of what I actually wanted to buy, I spent the next 2 hours been talked through everything from which product, to how to apply it. Phil helped me work out everything, except how to get my credit card out at no point was anything pushed on me, unlike others who want to sell to you and make you dissapear, I asked about certain buying certain items, and he told me I wouldn\’t need them, now any sales manager would S**T at that, push your ware on to the punter, but it was quite the opposite and it works, I came away with everything I needed to do the job, no silly extras or gimmicks, and I felt like I\’d been truly looked after. I know it always seem\’s a bit dubious when you read posts like this, you tend to think it\’s a relative or friend just helping to plug the site. I can assure you 100% I have no affiliation with PITT, but what I can assure you is, that after just one visit it\’s evident that this is a true proffesional business in every sense of the word. I would expect this kind of service buying a million pound house…….not a £10 bag of grout, it\’s so nice to be made welcome. Paul…. You have truly set up a company that offers everything that a customer expects to receive, your staff are both polite and friendly and are clearly knowledgeable of their trade, I wish you all the luck in the world for the future, and don\’t be suprised if I\’m not pitching up for one of your courses in the future. Phil…. A massive thank you for all the time you spent ensuring I got what I needed, I can\’t really say enough without sounding like a fool, but I\’m sure you know anyway, not only did you give me good advice, you saved me money, which is important to anyone, I can\’t wait to get those silicone tools going and she did want the chrome trims And finally thank\’s to everyone who has taken the time to reply to my posts, all your help is welcome, and you ain\’t heard the last from me. Best wishes to all Jed. Jan 27 2007, 11:24 PM Glad I could help Jed, hope the tiling goes well and I am sure youwill have fun with those silicon tools . Let us know how you do. Phil Jan 28 2007, 08:58 PM Well, it would be nice if all the guys out there that doubt PITT, made the same effort as Jed to find out for themselves what they are missing. They may well not be so quick to slag off a company that really does care about the tiling industry!!!!!! Dale DWT Tiling & Bathrooms Jan 28 2007, 11:46 PM Totaly agree dale, nice 1 TANKER Jan 29 2007, 10:06 PM —————————————————————————— NOT A DELEGATE COMMENT BUT STILL WORTH A MENTION The trades direct part of our business is just as professional. Thanks for the reply. after taking a look at Trades Direct I realised that they (and of course PITT) are 20 minutes down the road from me! I popped in yesterday and would like to say a big thanks to all there, but especially Phil who took over half an hour to sort me out (that\’s a compliment!!!!) Me being a humble DIYer looking to buy some \’decent\’ products, with a piece of my cut stone in hand seeking advice was met by (at one point) 4 of the PITT Professionals, taken into their workshop, during their lunch break (sorry about that) and then given the considered opinions on the best products that would most suit my needs. It would have been easy for them to just send me away (I haven\’t even been on a course there and only discovered them a week or so back), or to have just sold me several expensive products, but gentlemen, you are a credit to your profession and I have no doubt having seen your set-up that your approach to training is equally professional. It was a pleasure being there listening to your advice, with Phil listing the individual products for me, and sending me away with the \’stage 1\’ gear that I need. What\’s more, the \’off the shelf\’ price to me, a DIYer was £50 cheaper than a certain well known \’big\’ tile outlet, and their quote didn\’t include sealers and the two trowels that I will need! All in all I can highly recommend the establishment. As requested, you name will be remembered and passed on by me whenever appropriate…..and if I make a pig\’s ear of the job I will be looking for a half decent tiler to sort me out!! Jan 19 2007, 07:32 PM Pilot Pete ———————————————————————————————— Hi Jase/Paul Just a quickie to thank you for your time spent today showing me round the centre & confirming the info I\’ve read from your site & Forum. I did also get a lot more useful info which has definitely swayed me to come & do my training at PITT. Just a bit of figure crunching at mo but hope to make a booking in next few days… Great to speak to both of you! I couldn\’t have asked for a more spot on, enthusiastic approach from Jase. Nice one & I\’m sure it\’s gonna be good!! I think the website, asks for suitable clothing you don\’t mind getting dirty…I think I can pick up one of them Red n White Striped shirts just to knock about in…He! He! Cheers Guys & Many Thanks. Look forward to catching up with you soon & in meantime will spend plenty time on here, getting some inside scoop & networking with others. Cheers Andy Jan 15 2007, 07:37 PM ————————————————————————————————— hi i did the 10 day wall & floor course in december and can assure you its well worth it. can\’t believe how much i learnt. hopefully going to come back and do a plumbing course too when i can afford it. Jan 3 2007, 01:52 PM Taken from tileforums.com tileforums.com/index.php?showtopic=2822 ——————————————————————————————– E Mail to PITT Hi Paul, came on the brilliant 3 week course in Oct but didnt register on `Find a Tiler` is there any chance? I did send email to Jase but i dont know if he`s on holiday. KPS Tiling and Supplies, LongEaton, Nottingham and Derby area. Just about all set up for the New Year so fingers crossed it will work out? Once again thanks for a Brilliant and Professional Course and a MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all. Regards Paul Scanlon —————————————————————————————————- Hi Paul & everyone at PITT, I am writing this to update you all on where we are at, I say we as its Cheryl writing this not Tony he,s working none stop at the moment and I did promise you we would put something on I still havent thanked you all for the fantastic course I did with you (Natural Stone) I have two jobs on at present (Sealing a Bathroom which Tony is tiling at the moment and re-coloring grout on a Kitchen floor) and a number of others lined up for next year, I have also sold a number of products to a contractor and private customers we deal with For those who know nothing about us Tony started tiling part time about 18 months ago but only did the Pitt course about 4 months ago, since then he has given up his Factory job, we have two building contractors who regularly give us work, he has just tiled a number of bathrooms at a place called Dunepoint in Lytham St. Annes, the development won an Award in the Daily Mail Northwest property inovation awards, I know many of you have had knighmares with site work but there are still a number of developers who still look for quality, put your price in and don\’t worry if they are not prepared to pay its not worth your time or expertise. We have just recieved an application to tender for a houseing assosiation for the renovation of 300 properties we are not going to touch it for the simple reason the terms & conditions are terrible it reads like payment will never be recieved, its just not worth it, read everything! I have done the Natural Stone course so I do the sealing, cleaning, recolouring etc. I also do all the admin, we have recently taken on our first empolyee on a Part time basis, he helps out with the grouting etc In the new year we are looking at getting a small storage unit, and hopefully another van, when we take on a new tiler it goes without saying they will be from or sent to Pitt for training Due to the training we have recieved from Pitt the Property Developers we work for take us seriously and ring for advice in regard to there tiling they are looking at the soundproofing systems developed by Bal for there next development & sealing the grout Yes, things are tight money wise due to all equipment products we need etc but we are managing and recon we may almost breakeven by Feb. 6 months after going it alone, anyone out there who is scared so where we but with pitts help & support we are looking forward to next year the quality of work Tony is now doing is speaking for itself & we find that our customers always ask for another area or room to be done or pass the card to someone else. Tony had a request to fix a tile for an older couple who lived near us what price! we gave them 6 cards & asked them to give them out we got 2 jobs from it! Anyway thats all for now Cheryl & Tony Ps Paul the PTT sounds really good please send us any info, we\’d like to be involved APS Tiling Dec 11 2006, 06:30 PM ————————————————————————————————– Hi Just completed the 4 week Wall, Floor and Plumbing course with the guys at PITT and thought I\’d use this forum to say \’Thanks\’ and also offer my opinion to any budding tilers out there who may be choosing a training centre just like I was a few weeks back. I was looking for a complete change having got totally fed up with the office politics and lack of job satisfaction – I worked in the marketing side of the travel industry. Luckily a mate told me about the big demand for \’professional tilers\’ – bad ones are \’two a penny\’. Having researched and spoken with quite a few training centres – my gut feeling took me to PITT (even though it was in no way the nearest to me as I live in London). What a result! The training was top-class and far exceeded my expectations. I\’d previously had a go at my own bathroom but other than that, I had no clues on what was involved. The professionalism of the team at PITT and the product knowlege that they have provided me with has given me the confidence to aim high and go after the top-end of the market as opposed to just doing splashbacks / simple jobs. If you are considering where to spend your hard earned money on re-training into the tiling industry – I don\’t think you can do much better than PITT. Yes, like me you may find easier options closer to home but if you are serious about inveting in your \’new business\’ wisely – consider carefully which centre you choose – there is lots of bad ones out there (just pick up the phone to a few of them!) Big thanks to Jase, Steve and John for all your help and top class training – not forgetting Phil, Kev, Paul and all the girls in the office. ps What a great bunch of blokes we had on the course! Andrew (12 June 88/ England 0: Ireland 1 ) Dec 2 2006, 04:55 PM ————————————————————— Hello, we have just booked a Wall and Floor course. There will be 2 of us arriving Monday morning from the Leicester area. Wall course 4/1/2006 Floor 15/1/207 We chose this course over all the others out there because Paul Riley has a very good professional reputation. We also looked at the virtual tour which shows just how professional the setup is. After speaking with lots of people who run other courses and also visiting a few outfits I knew this was the number 1 course of choice. For anyone interested on next years Floor course, I got a good deal on accommodation stopping with Travelodge on 15/1/2007 at only £15 a night per room. The room deals are not available for next week as we booked too late. MrAlanB Nov 29 2006, 02:01 PM ————————————————————————————————– Hi everyone at pitt still have found memories of that ten days last year god is it that long still keep in touch with daz, on the phone every other day asking me for advice, what a cheek!!! also randy russ ,think he could be inside now for selling dodgy stuff on ebay last i saw he was selling a complete tiling tool kit on the cheap(only joking) Been a pretty good first year some good months some bad and still refining the art of tiling but improving with every job, hope its going well for you guys once again would like to thank you for a great course and i would strongly recommend it to anyone who reads this, just no one from Teeside, Best regards DARREN ACDC TILING Nov 22 2006, 09:01 PM ————————————————————————————————— Hi all at pitt sorry for the delay. Thank you for a fantastic wall and floor tiling course I had a great time. I have become very boring talking to people about tanking. I have recommended your course to lots of builder friends. I\’m very excited about starting my first tiling job after christmas. I have two connecting floor jobs. So beware jason I will be phoning you alot after christmas so I may become your stalker for a while. Thanks again and if anyone is going to madrid for christmas I\’m performing a crane show on the main square until 4th jan. talk soon beth beth Nov 21 2006, 11:36 PM —————————————————————————————– just thought i would let you know i have just acheived my nvq 2 and applied for my cscs card done it all through the citb must say that what you learn at pitt makes doing this so easy hoping to do my nvq 3 in new year thanks to all at pitt for all the help and assistance. Nov 19 2006, 11:00 PM davey1203 —————————————————————————————————- Finished my 5 day wall tiling course on Friday , and would highly recommend it. Lack of funds prevented me from staying on for the floor course this week , but i shall return Many thanks to Jase and Steve , top , top blokes. They must have the patience of saints ! Would like to say the 2 boys were the most important on the course , but sorry lads that award goes to Norma. PITT will have to start training someone up for when Norma retires in January. Food was fantastic all week . I actually tried to pay for it not knowing it was free !! Good luck to the rest of the lads who are staying on for the floor course next week , great bunch of lads, and hope you all have as much fun as last week. Re the course, i have absolutely no doubt whatsover that i\’ve been taught how to tile a wall in the correct way , now it\’s up to the individual to get out there and do it. On my way home last night i was checking out the tiling in the Motorway cafes, i know for a fact i could have done a better job. Thanks again to the PITT people and hopefully see you again in the new year. Gerry (The wraparound tiler) Nov 11 2006, 03:44 PM ———————————————————————————————- I completed the wall and floor course last week. If your looking for a change in career PITT is the place to go to learn a new trade. I have learnt so much in 2 weeks. The facilities are great and nothing is too much trouble for any of the team there. north-towers Nov 1 2006, 09:21 PM ——————————————————————————————— 12 months today to starting my business!! Must say it\’s been a very good year. Can\’t believe how quick it\’s gone. Had lots of easy stuff and lots of technically difficult stuff that I would never had dared to even think of when I was tiling years ago!!! Said it before and I\’ll keep saying it – right information delivered via excellent teaching methods followed by a superlative technical backup service – the proof is in the pudding Must say a very big THANK YOU to ALL the guys and gals at PITT, the guys from Aqua Mix, Colin at Kidsgrove Kitchens, the tech guys from BAL, the staff at Topps Tiles in Burslem and not forgetting all you guys on this forum!!!! and all my customers whop had faith in me! Cheers! Toots Oct 31 2006, 10:54 PM ————————————————————————————————— Thanks Paul for a fantastic, incredibly worthwhile course. Thanks to all at PITT(again) for everything, it\’s worth the trip just for the hospitality! Norma, your lunches make me wish i could drop in everyday! Special thanks really have to go to Bill, Frank and Ian from Aqua Mix. What they don\’t know about the treatment of natural stone really doesn\’t seem to be worth bothering about. The way the information was imparted and demonstrated to us was superb and left all of us on the course with the realisation that the training we had received wouldn\’t just be extremely beneficial on a day to day basis, but could open up many other opportunities aside of tiling itself. Thanks to all the other lads on the course who also helped make it such a pleasurable experience. easylay Nov 1 2006, 06:47 PM ———————————————————————————————- I have read your postings over the weekend, and can see exactly where you are coming from. I am a 100% full blown skeptic, and I am not easily fooled by scammers or folks out to make a fast buck. It is not professionalism that I would have called into question regarding anyone that has trained on a short term training course, but experience. I have been tiling on and off for nigh on 20 years, sometimes as a diyer at other times as a handyman for other companies. I attended a pitt training course only a couple of weeks ago, and can only say that I am shocked at the lack of knowledge and skills that I had. The time spent at the training facility is mainly on setting out procedures and tile fixing using the correct methods and tools as set by british standards., this training is the foundation that everything else can be built on through time. To put this in a lifelike scenario you go to a job, you set out and then you fix. If a problem arises you deal with it as you would have done in the past ie use your experience. Put me or another new trainee in that position, and we will contact the technical helpline, and use their experience to enable us to deal with the problem. This does not show lack of professionalism, just lack of experience. To finish off, is it not better to support someone who, through hard work and expense to themselves wants to succeed in this industry, rather than slagging the off and putting them down at the first chance you get. Thanks to the staff at pitt, I feel that I am in a far better position now to offer a quality service to customers that I\’m sure they will be delighted with. gizmo Oct 23 2006, 01:14 PM —————————————————————————————– Some very interesting points of view regarding this topic. I have been tiling \’on and off\’ for the past 20 odd years. My first pro job was in 1988 (restaurant kitchen) and took a week to complete. The skills I had and built up to that point I took from job to job and there came a point that I didn\’t learn anything new; I just repeated the experience I had built up (which looking back was rather limited!!). For a few years I also got into painting & decorating (try teling them that their trade isn\’t real!) and worked for a local contractor who gave me all the tiling work he got. After suffering a bike crash I got easier work but after a while (long one!!) I got bored and wanted to get back into either tiling or painting but for myself. I knew that to make it work I needed far more knowledge than what I possessed at the time and after seeing an ad to \’become a professional tiler\’ in the national press I looked into it. After a bit of research I came across PITT, albeit accidentally, and took the plunge. 12 months on I can honestly say that I would not have the business that I have now if I hadn\’t invested in myself and what I learned at PITT really did make a huge difference (and yes, you can learn a hell of a lot in a short time scale especially if you are willing to learn and the info put across is correct and properly presented!!). However, after talking to others that have done \’courses\’ on various trades there appears to be a bit of a lottery as to whether you get an excellant, mediocre or just plain crap training centre. This very same lottery also applies to customers who are after a trades person in any trade (we\’ve all seem builders, plumbers, tilers et al with 20 years \’experience\’ still making bodges and balls ups AND getting away with it!!!! If those in the industry, especially with experience on many fronts, or time served feel there is validity to at least exploring the reasons for an association then a certain amount of trust should be given to allow then to do this. Findings can always be discussed and questions can always be asked – open mindedness allows the creation of many things and also the solving of many problems. It is only by looking at all aspects of an argument that progress can be made, afterall freedom of speech is what our forefathers fought and died for!!!! Sometimes we need to see a bigger picture and this can be done through the exchanging of ideas. I would very much like to see where this association can go and how it can represent all those within the tile industry and also all those it serves. \’What the fool doesn\’t understand he mocks, thinking he\’s showing superiority; where in fact he\’s just displaying latent idiocy.\’ It is good to be skeptical but not to the point that it limits you – if you have a point of view (good, bad or indifferent!!!) that you think can make a difference to our industry then please bring it to the table. Toots Oct 23 2006, 02:26 PM ——————————————————————————– Just a forum question with answers, this topic can be found at tileforums.com/index.php?showtopic=2410 Evening lads Put a post on earlier in the week saying that i was thinking of doing the PITT course early next year and the response i had back was good, thanks!! Ive noticed that alot of you seem to do the plumbing side of things too is that because there isnt enough demand for tiling just on its own or there is more money to be made doing full bathrooms? Would like to hear your comments. Thanks 2tile Hi 2tile Its pretty simple really once you become a tiler soon things start cropping up in kitchens and bathrooms where you need or could do with a knowing a fair bit about the plumbing side of things. This knowledge in turn gives you the ability to do complete bathroom refurbs not just the tiling for which you earn more money. So I like many others have been back to PITT to do the plumbing course to enhance my skills. Like the tiling course I have never looked back and I have paid for both courses over and over again. I am sure others will agree. Tilinglogistics Kev .. Cheers Kev Thought that would be the case! And i know big money can be made in the bathroom game as i have a mate thats just done 4 years of evening classes to do his plumbing but he still works full time in a factory to scared to go it alone and to be honest ive seen his tiling and its not the best to say the least but saying that hes never had a complaint, so it shows i guess the training you have needs to be good but i guess you need to have the get up and go attitude to make it work……….. Got to be honest the thought scares me sh**less at the mo……………!!!!!!! 2tile . You are not the first and you won\’t be the last mate. I don\’t think there is a single person on this Forum that wasn\’t scared the first few times but it soon passes with Paul and Jase as your fairy Godfathers to ring if your stuck or if you are really stuck you can ring the Fairy Godmother Steve. Bibi4now Kev .. Kev is spot on in what he says. There is more money to be made in full bath refits if you do it all than the sum of just either tiling it or plumbing it. There is plenty of work out there and there are customers who are discerning and who are prepared to invest more for a quality job, their problem is finding the right person. 90% of my work comes from recommendations from satisfied customers and I get 100% of these jobs I look at. Tiling and plumbing gives you far more control over your projects and gives you far more options to choose from. 2tile you will be fine after your first job, we all have to start somewhere but you will be surprised at what you can achieve, just take a picture of the grin across your face when you complete your first jone!! Toots . Cheers Toots One step at a time i guess the only problem with me if im going to do a job it has to be spot on im abit of a perfectionist……. and everyone says thats my down fall because it slows me down but surely in tiling thats a good quality to have, you can normally tell when someone takes pride in their work. P.S Live in Kidderminster (Worcsershire) what would you say the going rate for this area is? 2tile .. 2tile. When you have done the PITT course, do some jobs in your spare time first. Don\’t get me wrong, you will still be awake all night sh*ting yourself, but it makes it alot easier when you finally go for broke and set up full time on your own. And just to add to the other guys comments, you earn alot more money doing the full lot rather than just tiling it. ——————– DWT Tiling & Bathrooms . totally agree with the lads i usually do full bathroom refurbs the amount ov money yo can earn from theese is amazing easily you can walk out ov some 1s house with a grand in ur hand for a weeks work tell me ov a factory job that you can earn that much in a week usually i can walk out ov a job with a grand a week easily i get a lot ov my work from recommendations but i do advertise aswell id say go for it Dale . I did the 2 week tiling course in Feb and went self employed in June. It was a slow and scary start but now going reasonably well, all thanks to the excellent training and support from the team at Pitt. Did a kitchen splashback in August and customer has just had me back to do kitchen floor. Now she wants full bathroom refurb so I\’m going to do the plumbing course. Think I\’ll practise on my own bathroom first tho! Richard K End of topic ————————————————————————————————— just like to say a big thank you to all at pitt for a superb 10 days training. i thought i was an ok tiler until i started the course. now i know better. the training is second to none, the facilities are excellent and the buffets are ok. just kidding norma, the lunches are outstanding, and the mrs has put me on a strict diet since i came home. i am hoping to get my business up and running at the start of 2007 and without the help from pitt there is no way i would have had the bottle to even consider going self employed. anyone reading this and still unsure about taking the plunge and doing the course. DO IT!! its the best Jase, i hope you can help, i took the mrs to b&q; to get one of pats datum lines but the wee guy in the shop said they had just run out. thats me knackered now. once again thank you all very much stuart york Oct 14 2006, 10:29 PM —————————————————————————————————- Hi to the guys at PITT- Firstly I\’d just like to say a massive thankyou to everyone down at the centre- In particular to Jase, Steve and Paul. What started out as a daunting prospect when contemplating a career change soon turned out to be one of the best experiences I\’ve ever had. To anyone thinking of whether to book onto a course, all I can say is a resounding \”Yes!\”. The structure of the course was so professionally ran from start to finish- in fact, when I had to go back to work the following week I honestly thought what a great bunch of people I\’d just met- if only I could get paid to do be on the course what a perfect life it would be! Ah well, what I took away from those first two weeks is alreadly paying dividends…A plumber came round to sort out a leaking soil pipe (How I wish I\’d done my plumbing course already ) and saw my newly laid floor- after chatting for a while, he said he used to do a bit of tiling (don\’t most plumbers say that? ) and he was really impressed with how I\’d worked out my cut sizes! I explained I\’d recently trained and he said (no word of a lie) that he thought it looked a bit too good to be a DIY job, and that I looked like I knew what I was doing- What a sucker! On a serious note though, I can\’t tell you how proud I felt and that that comment alone has given me so much confidence. I\’ve also befriended a Spark to pass off my underfloor heating installations too! Just think, if you\’re even just considering a 1 week or a 2 weeker- all this after just the 2 week course I booked the 4 week course, but unfortunately due to working commitments (I am a Jeweller as my username suggests and am selling the business as we speak) I was unable to do it all in one go. I can\’t tell you how dissapointed I felt, as it was such a great bunch of people on the course with me Also, I dipped out on the \”special project\” in the fourth week but I\’m glad James, Colin, Daz, Andy & Co did PITT proud- the pics, as I said on the link put up by Paul, looked amazing. It is testament to all at PITT that I have, however been able to split up the course to suit my needs- the flexibility is so helpful if like me, you\’re already in a form of employment and taking 4 weeks off on the bounce is too much there are plenty of options available. In fact I\’m back mid October for the 3rd week (plumbing) and back end of November for the Finalι I do have a question as well though- I am part way through doing approx 5m of splashback tiling in said kitchen. Well Mrs Jeweller had gone down to Waxmans (where I have a nice trade account already- It\’s amazing what Jases\’s acting lessons will do for you ) and they had an end of line \”Rosa Marble\”- normally about £78 per sq m- they let us have for £45 cash, the lot! Unfortunately the natural stone bit is covered in more detail in the 4th week I believe, and when I last came down to PITT I forgot to get some sealer So Mrs J decided to get some impregnating sealer by HG and another that goes on top of this… I fixed the tiles on using Dunlop Waterproof (AA) and was going to grout the 3mm gaps with the same as I did the floor tiles with- a limestone colour dunlop flex wall and floor number I think- would this be okay? Also like Jase said, do I; Fix. Seal. Grout. Seal again? Oh, and the aquamix grout sealer worked a treat on the floor too as young Eddy (our Jack Russell pup) pissed all over one corner last night! Again, thankyou all for everything- I can\’t wait for the plumbing in a couple of weeks! Neil P.s. Special thanks of course, to Norma for looking after us all so well- she is an absolute angel. The_Jeweller Oct 3 2006, 11:21 AM ——————————————————————————————- Hi Ryan, I did the 10 day floor/wall tiling course at PITT a couple of months ago and like yourself had no prior experience of tiling.The training/instructors are top draw and in my opinion the best you will find.Add to that the after training support and you are well on your way to a more rewarding career.Look no further, call them and i promise you wont regret it. Paul Sep 7 2006, 04:12 PM charbium ————————————————————————————————- just wanted to say a big thanks to jase & kev this week. I must have rang them 20 times but they are always there to hold your hand and sort your problem out. Jase – the boards went up a treat just as you said thanks mate. Hope when i get used to this sort of problem i won\’t have to ring as much The help line is worth the course money alone Sep 3 2006, 08:11 PM ianw —————————————————————————————————- To be frank anyone considering a change of career to tiling really needs to get this bit in there head – the tech help after the Pitt course will go a long way to ensure success. Without it I believe many may become a cropper. It is the most important thing I\’ve got from all the courses I\’ve done at Pitt by far. Do not under estimate it\’s value!! Aug 24 2006, 11:49 PM ——————————————————————————————- JUST FINISHED A TWO WEEK TILING COURSE AT PITT AND ITS BEEN THE MOST ENJOYABLE AND CREATIVE EXPERIENCE I,VE HAD. I,D LIKE TO THANK EVERY ONE AT PITT, ESPECIALLY JACE,KEV,STEVE AND PAUL . STILL WORKING IN MY JOB BUT HOPING TO GO FULL TIME TILING IN OCTOBER, GOT A COUPLE OF QUOTES FOR FRIENDS NEXT WEEK SO HOPING IT WILL START FROM THERE. I,D LIKE TO THANK ALL THE LADS WHO WAS ON THE COUSE WITH ME, I MET SOME GREAT MATES (ESPECIALY THE FUNNY GYPSY FROM IRELAND) ONLY JOKING TERRY. MANY THANKS AGAIN AND I,LL SEE YOU ALL SOON AT PITT WHEN I COME AND GET MY ADHESIVE AND GROUT . CHEERS LEE Aug 24 2006, 09:21 PM ——————————————————————————————- Big thanks to all the guys in pitt and course participants for making it a verry interesting and worthwhile two weeks. Great training center, great trainers, great 10 day course and a great bunch of blokes on the course. Well worth the trip over from Ireland. First price up for 20m2 of porcelain L shaped kitchen floor this weekend. You will se me appearing on the forum as AQUA from now on. Aug 24 2006, 04:10 PM terry ——————————————————————————————- As many people read these forums with a view to doing a training course, I wanted to let them know what they can expect in the way of help from the after course technical helpline I have recently completed a 10 PITT course (going back for the 5 day plumbing next week), and have just started my first tiling job. Whilst it was fairly straight forward (100mm sq tiles, wavy edge , over a couple of worktops), I was still a little unsure about a few \’simple\’points i.e what to do with the walls after removing tiles, whether to use trim etc. I rung PITT for a bit of \’hand holding\’ & was straight away put through by Angie to Kev. He was very helpful and answered my questions without making me feel stupid in anyway for asking what may seem basic questions. I have spoken to him three times over the last couple of days, and have been very grateful for the advice & have been very impressed with Kev\’s professional approach. I have also spoken to Steve about a plumbing problem recently, and he too was very helpful & understanding. Thanks Steve managed to soleve the overflow problem after speaking to you . So I would like to reassure any one thinking of doing a PITT course, and wondering if they will get any back-up when they leave, that they can feel confident that the professionalism & help doesn\’t end when you leave the course. They really are there to help you succeed. Aug 24 2006, 12:08 AM keano1 ———————————————————————————————— i\’ve just completed the 10 day wall & floor course.Thanks to all the lads at Pitt for a fantastic 2 weeks the training on the course was second to none.18 months ago i did a four day tiling course at a different tiling school & i\’ve been tiling on my days off work since then.A couple of months ago i decided i would pack work in & go tiling full time.i thought a little extra training could speed me up & i wanted to learn how to tank showers & wetrooms,i\’d been asked numerous times if i could do this. My wife actually found the tile forum & the info on Pitt training & when she showed it me i was so impressed that i booked to do the wall & floor course.Having just completed the course i now realise i new jack shit about tiling,Pitt has given me the knowledge & the confidence i needed to pack work in & become a quality tiler streets ahead of all the cowboys out there.Pauls determination to provide the best training school in Europe shine\’s through & everyones dedication at Pitt will make sure he gets there.i\’ve now packed my job in (scary) & i\’m just in the process of promoting my services so any advice would be welcome,i have a couple of jobs coming up in the next month but thats all up to now.Once again thankyou to everybody at Pitt hope to see you soon & all the best to the great set of lads who were on the course with me.TONY(APS) Aug 21 2006, 10:27 PM APS Tiling ——————————————————————————————— Big, big thanks to all at PITT, especially Jase, Steve, Kev & Paul, for a fantastic 10 days on the wall and floor course, top tutors, top blokes. I\’m certainly not the first and definitely wont be the last to sing PITT\’s praises, but they\’re well deserved. Anyone who\’s come on this forum thinking about making the step towards a career in tiling shouldn\’t wait any longer or look any further, book the course! Best investment i\’ve made. Have to also mention the great bunch of lads i shared the course with for the last couple of weeks with, Tony, Glynn, Lee, Terry, Darren, Mark & Charles. I couldn\’t have wished to have met a nicer bunch of blokes and have hopefully made some lasting friendships to boot. 11/10 Aug 18 2006, 10:36 PM easylay ——————————————————————————————- sorry i have taken a bit of time to get on here but i can only type one fingered. I see i have missed a bit of banter between my good mate dot & dab and the balding hull boy. So now on to say how good the 2 week tiling course was. I would recommend it to anybody as I had only done the odd bit of dot and dabbing. I have come away from there with a whole new skill and trade with a bit of practice. So big thanks to jase &kev; as they always had time to show and teach to the highest standard. Hope I didn’t get on your nerves to much by taking the p . Also thanks to every body in your team who looked after us. PITT is defiantly the place to go to get trained. ps A big thanks to all the boys for some top nighs on the beer .Our chats in the pool room will be remembered for a long time. Aug 17 2006, 04:07 PM ianw ——————————————————————————————- I have recently completed a two week wall and floor tiling course at pitt. I would like to say a great big thanks to all of the team at pitt, for not only providing me with a vast quanity of tiling knowledge but making the course so enjoyable. I can highly recommend the training centre to anyone who is wanting to learn how to tile the correct way. The way in which the course is structured is brill, with every tiling aspect imaginable covered, it was a massive confidence boost, cheers kev and jase. Aug 16 2006, 10:09 AM mark1 ——————————————————————————————- Hi Everyone,Just finished pitt 10 day floor and wall tiling course.Just like to say special thanks to Paul for his worldly advice, Angela for sorting out my accommodation and generally being on the ball, and sharon for the Tasty food that kept us all going! The Course gives you enough information and knowledge to get you out there and get tiling. Very professional staff and set up, friendly atmosphere and good working enviroment. Big shout out to the instructors Jase and Kev, who apart from being top blokes made learning quick, easy and fun, these guys really know their stuff well done and thanks again guys. So anybody thinking of going on a pitt course I would highly recommend them,by the way I checked out two other firms near me first, one being Bentleys in Dunstable and the other Abaccus in Luton, don\’t even go there!!! Glad I chose PITT, All the best everyone.Well Done. Darren. Aug 15 2006, 03:28 PM daz27 ——————————————————————————————- Yes,yes,yes, i know, shock horror! Can you believe it, another happy chappy, thanks to the wonderful team at PITT I\’m only 60% of the way through but the course has been fantastic, tuition and facilities are second to none and everyone is as friendly and helpful as it\’s possible to be. My previous knowledge of tiling was, i suspect, the same as most delegates….er…..limited, and even though i\’ve never lacked self belief, the confidence i\’ve gained so far from the sheer quality and professionalism of the training has left me brimming with confidence. This is the start of a big life change for me and i can\’t wait to get started on the 25th September, my first day of trading. You\’ll be seeing plenty of me in the future as i\’m sure i\’ll be needing the wisdom of you good folks on here. Hopefully, in time i\’ll be able to return the favour to someone else in my present position. As a brief and slightly embarrassing aside, Toots dropped in during today\’s lesson and was introduced to us by Paul. Well trust me to make myself look a tw*t! A someone who has had bikes for 27 years and takes a great pride in my knowledge of them i had noticed his avatar on previous visits and blurted out \”you\’re the guy with the VFR?\” Er…no. If you happen to read this Toot, please accept my apologies for my embarrassing mistake, i\’ll learn to look closer next time. What makes it worse is i own a T595! If you happen to frequent T595.net you\’ll have a good story to make me shamefaced with! Aug 14 2006, 08:42 PM easylay ——————————————————————————————- For all you lads & lasses who are unsure as to whether you should do a course at PITT, I would say …..GO FOR IT I have just completed the Wall & Tile course with some of the best lads you could ever possibly meet. We were all in the same boat on the first day i.e none of us knew each other, had done none or very little tiling, and were unsure what to expect. Well after our initial \’fears\’ that we would never take it all in, and that \’setting out\’ was like brain surgery, we put our faith in our top trainers Jase & Kev. Those lads are so understanding & good at what they do. I would also like to thank Paul, Ang, Phil, Sharon, Norma, Steve & John for their contributions to a great learning fortnight. I think I speak for all of the lads Ian, Mark H, Mark R, Big Si, Alex & myself when I say that we are all very confident that we can give \’experienced\’ tilers a run for their money as we have been trained \’the correct way\’. As was said on the course if you have been doing it wrong for 20 years, then you will always do it wrong. I was the oldest one on the course at 48 (but the best looking !!), and am now going to have a complete career change when it would be \’easier\’ to stay in my cosy but boring, mindnumbing job with it\’s petty office politics. The enthusiasm & belief that I can try something new has been in large part due to the fantastic training I received at PITT, and the security of knowing that there is always someone there to help if I need advice. I like to think I have also made some great mates who intend to stay in touch with in the future. I can\’t believe that I\’m also missing the Bennett Arms !!! I was so impressed with PITT that within 2 days of getting home I also booked for the plumbing course on August 28th, so that I can do full bathroom installations. Now that my friends is…………………………….THE FUTURE !!!! So if you\’re thinking about it ……………………JUST DO IT. Don\’t die wondering Aug 10 2006, 11:12 PM keano1 …………………… Very nice comments indeed, I and the rest of my staff live and work so hard for the kind of words you post on the tileforums, you are so kind to give the expressions that make it worth while getting out of bed 7 days a week to teach people who really do deserve professional training and want to be the best. Please let me thank you once again and yes you have help from 8-00am till 9-00pm 7 days each and every week for as long as you need our help. Staff members when you read this as with many posts on the forums please believe it’s your hard work that makes it all possible, so from PITT Ltd thank you. Paul Riley Managing Director Aug 10 2006, 11:24 PM ——————————————————————————————– Question from tileforums.com hi all just found this forum and im basically looking for the usual first time advice answers etc etc sorry if its all being asked before , basically im intrested in tiling proffessionally for a living , im currently self employed with two jobs first one is as a billposter putting up the big posters you see on the streets the money is good but the hse is killing the money/time ratio this job is one week on one week off which is how i would plan to start tiling is this a good idea? my second job is erecting marquees on my weeks off this used to be my full time job since the age of sixteen! twelve years on i had enough off working 16 17 18 hour days being away seven days a week but good money basically im worried that doing a course might not make me experienced enough to be pro and do you need any formal qualifactions like other trades sparks etc etc ? what sort of hours do you guys work ? and ive got my own 52reg swb transit would this be ok or too small ? sorry for the questions again but as most of you will understand changing careers is daunting with bread needing to be on the table of course (thanks gordon) any advice appreciated Aug 10 2006, 06:06 PM belly ……………….. Answer Hi belly I left a job (money not bad either!!) to run my own business. It was very daunting at first so know how you feel but over the last few months business has developed and I\’m now at a point where I\’m setting on a young trainee. I had done tiling before for several years (cowboy status ) and didn\’t think I\’d learn that much (was I surprised???) but knew from day one that I could do it. Also did the plumbing course in feb (knew nowt about plumbing though!!) but did my first full bath refurb in June and customers told shop owner (kitchens – he gave me the lead!!) that they\’d recommend me to Buckingham Palace (he must be one of these anti-royalists ) so you can do it if you really want to. If this is the path you want to tread then I believe that PITT is the ONLY place to go – the training is exceptional but more importantly (and I really am speaking from experience here!!) the ongoing help and support afterwards will keep you afloat. BTW the van will be fine, you don\’t need quals and I work long & hard but the pay\’s good and so is the job satisfaction Good luck belly Aug 10 2006, 07:41 PM ——————————————————————————————– First chance I have had to get on the net and give some feedback on the 10 day floor and wall tiling course I finished last week. The course was great. I had done a bit of tiling prior to attending the course and after listening to what Jase and Kev had to say, realised I had made some woeful mistakes. Jase and Kev were not patronising in the slightest when we asked stupid questions and they fully explained the reasons behind what they were saying. The training was well structured and accommodated all levels of experience. The food was good (especially the curry Sharon). It also helped that I was training with a cracking set of lads who liked to have a bit of a crack, which the trainers often joined in on. The visits to the Bennett Arms every night will be remembered for a very long time. If you are thinking of booking a course, this is the place to do it. I have seen other training centres and PITT is by far the best. Plus there is the 91 hours of technical help available after the course which I hope to put to use if I can ever pluck up the courage to leave my current job (got a house, car, mrs, child etc and on a good wage so security is the problem, not the fact I am not confident in doing a good job). If anyone wants to pm me regarding the course to get an honest answer, then please let me know. Just one slight bit of a negative, the Hotel was not the greatest and needs an update, but this didn\’t really matter to me as I spent most of the time in the pub! Aug 9 2006, 10:20 PM dot n dab ——————————————————————————————– Question from www.tileforums.com Hi everyone,Im seriously considering enrolling on to the 10 day tiling course as i am in desperate need of a career change and tiling is top of the list. However, I have never had a manual job of any kind,and I am worried that after spending circa 2k on the course and tools etc. that I may not have had sufficient training to be let loose on the general public or even carrying out bad work. Can anyone put my mind at rest? Aug 7 2006, 01:52 PM gallatic …………………………………… Answers given on www.tileforums.com Hi, well I\’ve just finished the 10 day course and I feel very confident. I know for a fact that the skills and knowledge they give you are sufficient to do a professional job: only last week I heard of job an established tiler did for a friend of my wife\’s. Before I\’d done the course I would have believed everything he said because he was a \’professional\’, but I now know that he didn\’t know what he was doing, and I went into detail (I think my wife was shocked at how much i knew!). For someone to have a complete career change (like myself) it is worrying, but the bottom line is that it\’s down to you to make it work as a career. The skills and support that the guys have given me (and continue to do, after you\’ve finished) are in my opinion first class. I\’m glad I did it and I\’m sure that many more will agree. Good luck anyway, what ever you decide. Aug 7 2006, 02:15 PM Big Si

Book now specialists Advanced Course Posted on 20/04/2006 at 12:49 PMAqua Mix Trained Independent Care & Maintenance 2-Day Applicator Courses May 29-30 or June 1-2 Become one of a very select group of Aqua Mix Trained Independent Care & Maintenance Applicators with the tools and know-how to specialize in trouble shooting, sealing, cleaning and refinishing of tile, natural stone and grout surfaces for both residential and commercial installations. Aqua Mix is an industry leader in hard surface cleaning and maintenance products. We are uniquely qualified to train you, or a designated employee, to take advantage of this business enhancement by becoming an Aqua Mix Trained Independent Care & Maintenance Applicator. This comprehensive classroom and hands-on workshop is designed and taught by professionals in the Care and Maintenance business. The curriculum includes the newest techniques and information on the latest products for hard surface cleaning and maintenance. Instructors will provide the practical step-by-step training needed to begin an applicator business or to expand the services of your existing business. The 2-Day Advanced Courses include: Ceramic Tile & Porcelain • Identification of different tile types • Cleaning & Maintenance • Sealing • Wax Removal • Stain Removal Grout • Cleaning & Maintenance • Sealing • Re-coloring • Stain Removal Natural Stone • Natural Stone Identification • Cleaning & Maintenance • Sealing • Stain Removal • Natural Stone Restoration (Re-polishing & Honing) Product Knowledge On : • Sealers • Cleaners • Problem Solvers • Floor Finishes • Hands-on Application Methods Marketing • Business Development Strategies • Sales Techniques • Advertising LOCATION: At the PITT training facility: Professional Independent Training Techniques Limited 62 brick kiln lane Parkhouse Ind Est Newcastle-under-Lyme Staffordshire ST5 7AS United Kingdom COST: £275 including one night\’s accommodation inc VAT INSTRUCTORS: BILL TRAN, VP TECHNICAL SERVICES AQUA MIX USA FRANK TOMS, DIRECTOR INTERNATIONAL SALES AND MARKETING AQUAMIX USA IAN TAYLOR, EUROPEAN SALES & TECHNICAL MANAGER, Aqua Mix Inc

B. A. Award to pitt Ltd Posted on 04/02/2006 at 09:41 AMLondon and Thames Today issue 68 BA award for outstanding services in training and development. Professional independent training techniques gains recognition with prestigious award One of the many advantages in London being chosen to host the 2012 olympic games has to be the specialist employment it will generate in providing the infrastructure necessary to run a spectacular event of this magnitude and those with the requisite skills to carry out high quality tiling and plumbing projects are likely to be in much demand. One training establishment that has built up an impressive reputation in providing a wide range of specialist training courses is the acclaimed PITT located in Staffordshire, just off the M6 motorway jct 15 or 16. Flexibility is the key to PITT\’s success in that courses are available at the weekend or in the evenings to enable those at work during the day to take part. Tuition is available throughout a diverse range of subjects such as ceramic wall and floor tiling, as well as training in related subjects such as basic plumbing, health and safety, etc for the uk traders, retail staff, distributors, and diy enthusiasts. There is also a real working plumbing centre on site to enable students to carry out practical work such as installing a bathroom etc. Able to draw on his vast experience within the ceramics trade, having managed a similar training centre for the largest adhesive and grout manufacturer in the country managing director Paul Riley together with the centres dedicated team of tutorial staff, can help you further your career, or give underpinning knowledge to beginners and DIY enthusiasts within a friendly, welcoming environment. Paul Riley commented : The centre is completely independent from any manufacturer or sales related business, however we do aim to source assistance from outside companies who are able to pass on their skills and expertise in offering support and advice on related product such as specific tiles or adhesives, etc. The directors at the London and Thames Today publication were so impresed with the wide range of courses and the high level of specialist tuition available that they voted overwhelmingly in favour of PITT receiving the coveted BA Award for Outstanding Services To Training and Development 2005. Acknowledged both locally and nationally, this award serves as a disinguishing factor that ranks PITT amongst the best in its sector and stands as a benchmark as to the excellent resources and outstanding tuition prospective students can expect from this award-wining training centre. Delighted at receiving the award, managing director Paul Riley commented: I would like to thank London and Thames for the overwhelming vote to put us at the top in our field, however the vast hard work and dedication shown by all our staff has been key in building such a professional centre…thank you all so much indeed. An innovative trade tools shop providing a wide range of trade tools, tiles and associated products , many exclusive to PITT. Click for tiling tools, trade tools, plastering tools – www.trades-direct.co.uk. BA AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICES IN TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Extended Technical help line New for 2006 Posted on 30/12/2005 at 12:46 PMYes after the last 18 months success of our well used technical help line over the 88 hours per week every week 2006 delegates and existing delegates will now have a full help line from 8-00am till 9-00pm 7 days a week 362 days a year, that\’s 91 hours each and every week to help you in this very rewarding tiling industry. Call now on 01782 566166 for a friendly chat about our courses

Comments from past delegates after their tiling and plumbing course Posted on 06/12/2005 at 12:30 PM Visit tiling news here tilingnews.co.uk Just a few comments taken from e mail and our free to join tiling forums, tile forums – tileforums.com Visit the forums to see these are real people\’s comments below. ————————————————————————————- Some comments from past delegates, see more on our latest news page. ——————————————————————————————- Hi Paul & everyone at PITT, I am writing this to update you all on where we are at, I say we as its Cheryl writing this not Tony he,s working none stop at the moment and I did promise you we would put something on I still havent thanked you all for the fantastic course I did with you (Natural Stone) I have two jobs on at present (Sealing a Bathroom which Tony is tiling at the moment and re-coloring grout on a Kitchen floor) and a number of others lined up for next year, I have also sold a number of products to a contractor and private customers we deal with For those who know nothing about us Tony started tiling part time about 18 months ago but only did the Pitt course about 4 months ago, since then he has given up his Factory job, we have two building contractors who regularly give us work, he has just tiled a number of bathrooms at a place called Dunepoint in Lytham St. Annes, the development won an Award in the Daily Mail Northwest property inovation awards, I know many of you have had knighmares with site work but there are still a number of developers who still look for quality, put your price in and don\’t worry if they are not prepared to pay its not worth your time or expertise. We have just recieved an application to tender for a houseing assosiation for the renovation of 300 properties we are not going to touch it for the simple reason the terms & conditions are terrible it reads like payment will never be recieved, its just not worth it, read everything! I have done the Natural Stone course so I do the sealing, cleaning, recolouring etc. I also do all the admin, we have recently taken on our first empolyee on a Part time basis, he helps out with the grouting etc In the new year we are looking at getting a small storage unit, and hopefully another van, when we take on a new tiler it goes without saying they will be from or sent to Pitt for training Due to the training we have recieved from Pitt the Property Developers we work for take us seriously and ring for advice in regard to there tiling they are looking at the soundproofing systems developed by Bal for there next development & sealing the grout Yes, things are tight money wise due to all equipment products we need etc but we are managing and recon we may almost breakeven by Feb. 6 months after going it alone, anyone out there who is scared so where we but with pitts help & support we are looking forward to next year the quality of work Tony is now doing is speaking for itself & we find that our customers always ask for another area or room to be done or pass the card to someone else. Tony had a request to fix a tile for an older couple who lived near us what price! we gave them 6 cards & asked them to give them out we got 2 jobs from it! Anyway thats all for now Cheryl & Tony Ps Paul the PTT sounds really good please send us any info, we\’d like to be involved APS Tiling Dec 11 2006, 06:30 PM —————————————————————————————————- Hi Just completed the 4 week Wall, Floor and Plumbing course with the guys at PITT and thought I\’d use this forum to say \’Thanks\’ and also offer my opinion to any budding tilers out there who may be choosing a training centre just like I was a few weeks back. I was looking for a complete change having got totally fed up with the office politics and lack of job satisfaction – I worked in the marketing side of the travel industry. Luckily a mate told me about the big demand for \’professional tilers\’ – bad ones are \’two a penny\’. Having researched and spoken with quite a few training centres – my gut feeling took me to PITT (even though it was in no way the nearest to me as I live in London). What a result! The training was top-class and far exceeded my expectations. I\’d previously had a go at my own bathroom but other than that, I had no clues on what was involved. The professionalism of the team at PITT and the product knowlege that they have provided me with has given me the confidence to aim high and go after the top-end of the market as opposed to just doing splashbacks / simple jobs. If you are considering where to spend your hard earned money on re-training into the tiling industry – I don\’t think you can do much better than PITT. Yes, like me you may find easier options closer to home but if you are serious about inveting in your \’new business\’ wisely – consider carefully which centre you choose – there is lots of bad ones out there (just pick up the phone to a few of them!) Big thanks to Jase, Steve and John for all your help and top class training – not forgetting Phil, Kev, Paul and all the girls in the office. ps What a great bunch of blokes we had on the course! Andrew (12 June 88/ England 0: Ireland 1 ) Dec 2 2006, 04:55 PM ——————————————————————- Hello, we have just booked a Wall and Floor course. There will be 2 of us arriving Monday morning from the Leicester area. Wall course 4/1/2006 Floor 15/1/207 We chose this course over all the others out there becuase Paul Riley has a very good professional reputation. We also looked at the virtual tour which shows just how professional the setup is. After speaking with lots of people who run other courses and also visiting a few outfits I knew this was the number 1 course of choice. For anyone interested on next years Floor course, I got a good deal on accomadation stopping with Travelodge on 15/1/2007 at only £15 a night per room. The room deals are not available for next week as we booked too late. MrAlanB Nov 29 2006, 02:01 PM —————————————————————————————————— Hi everyone at pitt still have found memories of that ten days last year god is it that long still keep in touch with daz, on the phone every other day asking me for advice, what a cheek!!! also randy russ ,think he could be inside now for selling dodgy stuff on ebay last i saw he was selling a complete tiling tool kit on the cheap(only joking) Been a pretty good first year some good months some bad and still refining the art of tiling but improving with every job, hope its going well for you guys once again would like to thank you for a great course and i would strongly recomend it to anyone who reads this, just no one from Teeside, Best regards DARREN ACDC TILING Nov 22 2006, 09:01 PM —————————————————————————————————– Hi all at pitt sorry for the delay. Thank you for a fantastic wall and floor tiling course I had a great time. I have become very boring talking to people about tanking. I have recommended your course to lots of builder friends. I\’m very excited about starting my first tiling job after christmas. I have two connecting floor jobs. So beware jason I will be phoning you alot after christmas so I may become your stalker for a while. Thanks again and if anyone is going to madrid for christmas I\’m performing a crane show on the main square until 4th jan. talk soon beth beth Nov 21 2006, 11:36 PM ————————————————————————————— just thought i would let you know i have just acheived my nvq 2 and applied for my cscs card done it all through the citb must say that what you learn at pitt makes doing this so easy hoping to do my nvq 3 in new year thanks to all at pitt for all the help and assistance. Nov 19 2006, 11:00 PM davey1203 —————————————————————————————————— Finished my 5 day wall tiling course on Friday , and would highly recommend it. Lack of funds prevented me from staying on for the floor course this week , but i shall return Many thanks to Jase and Steve , top , top blokes. They must have the patience of saints ! Would like to say the 2 boys were the most important on the course , but sorry lads that award goes to Norma. PITT will have to start training someone up for when Norma retires in January. Food was fantastic all week . I actually tried to pay for it not knowing it was free !! Good luck to the rest of the lads who are staying on for the floor course next week , great bunch of lads, and hope you all have as much fun as last week. Re the course, i have absolutely no doubt whatsover that i\’ve been taught how to tile a wall in the correct way , now it\’s up to the individual to get out there and do it. On my way home last night i was checking out the tiling in the Motorway cafes, i know for a fact i could have done a better job. Thanks again to the PITT people and hopefully see you again in the new year. Gerry (The wraparound tiler) Nov 11 2006, 03:44 PM ———————————————————————————————— I completed the wall and floor course last week. If your looking for a change in career PITT is the place to go to learn a new trade. I have learnt so much in 2 weeks. The facilities are great and nothing is too much trouble for any of the team there. north-towers Nov 1 2006, 09:21 PM ———————————————————————————————— 12 months today to starting my business!! Must say it\’s been a very good year. Can\’t believe how quick it\’s gone. Had lots of easy stuff and lots of technically difficult stuff that I would never had dared to even think of when I was tiling years ago!!! Said it before and I\’ll keep saying it – right information delivered via excellent teaching methods followed by a superlative technical backup service – the proof is in the pudding Must say a very big THANK YOU to ALL the guys and gals at PITT, the guys from Aqua Mix, Colin at Kidsgrove Kitchens, the tech guys from BAL, the staff at Topps Tiles in Burslem and not forgetting all you guys on this forum!!!! and all my customers whop had faith in me! Cheers! Toots Oct 31 2006, 10:54 PM ————————————————————————————————– Thanks Paul for a fantastic, incredibly worthwhile course. Thanks to all at PITT(again) for everything, it\’s worth the trip just for the hospitality! Norma, your lunches make me wish i could drop in everyday! Special thanks really have to go to Bill, Frank and Ian from Aqua Mix. What they don\’t know about the treatment of natural stone really doesn\’t seem to be worth bothering about. The way the information was imparted and demonstrated to us was superb and left all of us on the course with the realisation that the training we had received wouldn\’t just be extremely beneficial on a day to day basis, but could open up many other opportunities aside of tiling itself. Thanks to all the other lads on the course who also helped make it such a pleasurable experience. easylay Nov 1 2006, 06:47 PM ————————————————————————————————- I have read your postings over the weekend, and can see exactly where you are coming from. I am a 100% full blown skeptic, and I am not easily fooled by scammers or folks out to make a fast buck. It is not professionalism that I would have called into question regarding anyone that has trained on a short term training course, but experience. I have been tiling on and off for nigh on 20 years, sometimes as a diyer at other times as a handyman for other companies. I attended a pitt training course only a couple of weeks ago, and can only say that I am shocked at the lack of knowledge and skills that I had. The time spent at the training facility is mainly on setting out procedures and tile fixing using the correct methods and tools as set by british standards., this training is the foundation that everything else can be built on through time. To put this in a lifelike scenario you go to a job, you set out and then you fix. If a problem arises you deal with it as you would have done in the past ie use your experience. Put me or another new trainee in that position, and we will contact the technical helpline, and use their experience to enable us to deal with the problem. This does not show lack of professionalism, just lack of experience. To finish off, is it not better to support someone who, through hard work and expense to themselves wants to succeed in this industry, rather than slagging the off and putting them down at the first chance you get. Thanks to the staff at pitt, I feel that I am in a far better position now to offer a quality service to customers that I\’m sure they will be delighted with. gizmo Oct 23 2006, 01:14 PM —————————————————————————————– Some very interesting points of view regarding this topic. I have been tiling \’on and off\’ for the past 20 odd years. My first pro job was in 1988 (restaurant kitchen) and took a week to complete. The skills I had and built up to that point I took from job to job and there came a point that I didn\’t learn anything new; I just repeated the experience I had built up (which looking back was rather limited!!). For a few years I also got into painting & decorating (try teling them that their trade isn\’t real!) and worked for a local contractor who gave me all the tiling work he got. After suffering a bike crash I got easier work but after a while (long one!!) I got bored and wanted to get back into either tiling or painting but for myself. I knew that to make it work I needed far more knowledge than what I possessed at the time and after seeing an ad to \’become a professional tiler\’ in the national press I looked into it. After a bit of research I came across PITT, albeit accidentally, and took the plunge. 12 months on I can honestly say that I would not have the business that I have now if I hadn\’t invested in myself and what I learned at PITT really did make a huge difference (and yes, you can learn a hell of a lot in a short time scale especially if you are willing to learn and the info put across is correct and properly presented!!). However, after talking to others that have done \’courses\’ on various trades there appears to be a bit of a lottery as to whether you get an excellant, mediocre or just plain crap training centre. This very same lottery also applies to customers who are after a trades person in any trade (we\’ve all seem builders, plumbers, tilers et al with 20 years \’experience\’ still making bodges and balls ups AND getting away with it!!!! If those in the industry, especially with experience on many fronts, or time served feel there is validity to at least exploring the reasons for an association then a certain amount of trust should be given to allow then to do this. Findings can always be discussed and questions can always be asked – open mindedness allows the creation of many things and also the solving of many problems. It is only by looking at all aspects of an argument that progress can be made, afterall freedom of speech is what our forefathers fought and died for!!!! Sometimes we need to see a bigger picture and this can be done through the exchanging of ideas. I would very much like to see where this association can go and how it can represent all those within the tile industry and also all those it serves. \’What the fool doesn\’t understand he mocks, thinking he\’s showing superiority; where in fact he\’s just displaying latent idiocy.\’ It is good to be skeptical but not to the point that it limits you – if you have a point of view (good, bad or indifferent!!!) that you think can make a difference to our industry then please bring it to the table. Toots Oct 23 2006, 02:26 PM ——————————————————————————————————– just like to say a big thank you to all at pitt for a superb 10 days training. i thought i was an ok tiler until i started the course. now i know better. the training is second to none, the facilities are excellent and the buffets are ok. just kidding norma, the lunches are outstanding, and the mrs has put me on a strict diet since i came home. i am hoping to get my business up and running at the start of 2007 and without the help from pitt there is no way i would have had the bottle to even consider going self employed. anyone reading this and still unsure about taking the plunge and doing the course. DO IT!! its the best Jase, i hope you can help, i took the mrs to b&q; to get one of pats datum lines but the wee guy in the shop said they had just run out. thats me knackered now. once again thank you all very much stuart york Oct 14 2006, 10:29 PM —————————————————————————————————- Hi to the guys at PITT- Firstly I\’d just like to say a massive thankyou to everyone down at the centre- In particular to Jase, Steve and Paul. What started out as a daunting prospect when contemplating a career change soon turned out to be one of the best experiences I\’ve ever had. To anyone thinking of whether to book onto a course, all I can say is a resounding \”Yes!\”. The structure of the course was so professionally ran from start to finish- in fact, when I had to go back to work the following week I honestly thought what a great bunch of people I\’d just met- if only I could get paid to do be on the course what a perfect life it would be! Ah well, what I took away from those first two weeks is alreadly paying dividends…A plumber came round to sort out a leaking soil pipe (How I wish I\’d done my plumbing course already ) and saw my newly laid floor- after chatting for a while, he said he used to do a bit of tiling (don\’t most plumbers say that? ) and he was really impressed with how I\’d worked out my cut sizes! I explained I\’d recently trained and he said (no word of a lie) that he thought it looked a bit too good to be a DIY job, and that I looked like I knew what I was doing- What a sucker! On a serious note though, I can\’t tell you how proud I felt and that that comment alone has given me so much confidence. I\’ve also befriended a Spark to pass off my underfloor heating installations too! Just think, if you\’re even just considering a 1 week or a 2 weeker- all this after just the 2 week course I booked the 4 week course, but unfortunately due to working commitments (I am a Jeweller as my username suggests and am selling the business as we speak) I was unable to do it all in one go. I can\’t tell you how dissapointed I felt, as it was such a great bunch of people on the course with me Also, I dipped out on the \”special project\” in the fourth week but I\’m glad James, Colin, Daz, Andy & Co did PITT proud- the pics, as I said on the link put up by Paul, looked amazing. It is testament to all at PITT that I have, however been able to split up the course to suit my needs- the flexibility is so helpful if like me, you\’re already in a form of employment and taking 4 weeks off on the bounce is too much there are plenty of options available. In fact I\’m back mid October for the 3rd week (plumbing) and back end of November for the Finalι I do have a question as well though- I am part way through doing approx 5m of splashback tiling in said kitchen. Well Mrs Jeweller had gone down to Waxmans (where I have a nice trade account already- It\’s amazing what Jases\’s acting lessons will do for you ) and they had an end of line \”Rosa Marble\”- normally about £78 per sq m- they let us have for £45 cash, the lot! Unfortunately the natural stone bit is covered in more detail in the 4th week I believe, and when I last came down to PITT I forgot to get some sealer So Mrs J decided to get some impregnating sealer by HG and another that goes on top of this… I fixed the tiles on using Dunlop Waterproof (AA) and was going to grout the 3mm gaps with the same as I did the floor tiles with- a limestone colour dunlop flex wall and floor number I think- would this be okay? Also like Jase said, do I; Fix. Seal. Grout. Seal again? Oh, and the aquamix grout sealer worked a treat on the floor too as young Eddy (our Jack Russell pup) pissed all over one corner last night! Again, thankyou all for everything- I can\’t wait for the plumbing in a couple of weeks! Neil P.s. Special thanks of course, to Norma for looking after us all so well- she is an absolute angel. The_Jeweller Oct 3 2006, 11:21 AM ——————————————————————————————– Hi Ryan, I did the 10 day floor/wall tiling course at PITT a couple of months ago and like yourself had no prior experience of tiling.The training/instructors are top draw and in my opinion the best you will find.Add to that the after training support and you are well on your way to a more rewarding career.Look no further, call them and i promise you wont regret it. Paul Sep 7 2006, 04:12 PM charbium ———————————————————————————————— JUST FINISHED A TWO WEEK TILING COURSE AT PITT AND ITS BEEN THE MOST ENJOYABLE AND CREATIVE EXPERIENCE I,VE HAD. I,D LIKE TO THANK EVERY ONE AT PITT, ESPECIALLY JACE,KEV,STEVE AND PAUL . STILL WORKING IN MY JOB BUT HOPING TO GO FULL TIME TILING IN OCTOBER, GOT A COUPLE OF QUOTES FOR FRIENDS NEXT WEEK SO HOPING IT WILL START FROM THERE. I,D LIKE TO THANK ALL THE LADS WHO WAS ON THE COUSE WITH ME, I MET SOME GREAT MATES (ESPECIALY THE FUNNY GYPSY FROM IRELAND) ONLY JOKING TERRY. MANY THANKS AGAIN AND I,LL SEE YOU ALL SOON AT PITT WHEN I COME AND GET MY ADHESIVE AND GROUT . CHEERS LEE Aug 24 2006, 09:21 PM ——————————————————————————————- Big thanks to all the guys in pitt and course participants for making it a verry interesting and worthwhile two weeks. Great training center, great trainers, great 10 day course and a great bunch of blokes on the course. Well worth the trip over from Ireland. First price up for 20m2 of porcelain L shaped kitchen floor this weekend. You will se me appearing on the forum as AQUA from now on. Aug 24 2006, 04:10 PM terry ——————————————————————————————- As many people read these forums with a view to doing a training course, I wanted to let them know what they can expect in the way of help from the after course technical helpline I have recently completed a 10 PITT course (going back for the 5 day plumbing next week), and have just started my first tiling job. Whilst it was fairly straight forward (100mm sq tiles, wavy edge , over a couple of worktops), I was still a little unsure about a few \’simple\’points i.e what to do with the walls after removing tiles, whether to use trim etc. I rung PITT for a bit of \’hand holding\’ & was straight away put through by Angie to Kev. He was very helpful and answered my questions without making me feel stupid in anyway for asking what may seem basic questions. I have spoken to him three times over the last couple of days, and have been very grateful for the advice & have been very impressed with Kev\’s professional approach. I have also spoken to Steve about a plumbing problem recently, and he too was very helpful & understanding. Thanks Steve managed to soleve the overflow problem after speaking to you . So I would like to reassure any one thinking of doing a PITT course, and wondering if they will get any back-up when they leave, that they can feel confident that the professionalism & help doesn\’t end when you leave the course. They really are there to help you succeed. Aug 24 2006, 12:08 AM keano1 —————————————————————————————————– i\’ve just completed the 10 day wall & floor course.Thanks to all the lads at Pitt for a fantastic 2 weeks the training on the course was second to none.18 months ago i did a four day tiling course at a different tiling school & i\’ve been tiling on my days off work since then.A couple of months ago i decided i would pack work in & go tiling full time.i thought a little extra training could speed me up & i wanted to learn how to tank showers & wetrooms,i\’d been asked numerous times if i could do this. My wife actually found the tile forum & the info on Pitt training & when she showed it me i was so impressed that i booked to do the wall & floor course.Having just completed the course i now realise i new jack shit about tiling,Pitt has given me the knowledge & the confidence i needed to pack work in & become a quality tiler streets ahead of all the cowboys out there.Pauls determination to provide the best training school in Europe shine\’s through & everyones dedication at Pitt will make sure he gets there.i\’ve now packed my job in (scary) & i\’m just in the process of promoting my services so any advice would be welcome,i have a couple of jobs coming up in the next month but thats all up to now.Once again thankyou to everybody at Pitt hope to see you soon & all the best to the great set of lads who were on the course with me.TONY(APS) Aug 21 2006, 10:27 PM APS Tiling ——————————————————————————————- Big, big thanks to all at PITT, especially Jase, Steve, Kev & Paul, for a fantastic 10 days on the wall and floor course, top tutors, top blokes. I\’m certainly not the first and definitely wont be the last to sing PITT\’s praises, but they\’re well deserved. Anyone who\’s come on this forum thinking about making the step towards a career in tiling shouldn\’t wait any longer or look any further, book the course! Best investment i\’ve made. Have to also mention the great bunch of lads i shared the course with for the last couple of weeks with, Tony, Glynn, Lee, Terry, Darren, Mark & Charles. I couldn\’t have wished to have met a nicer bunch of blokes and have hopefully made some lasting friendships to boot. 11/10 Aug 18 2006, 10:36 PM easylay ——————————————————————————————- sorry i have taken a bit of time to get on here but i can only type one fingered. I see i have missed a bit of banter between my good mate dot & dab and the balding hull boy. So now on to say how good the 2 week tiling course was. I would recommend it to anybody as I had only done the odd bit of dot and dabbing. I have come away from there with a whole new skill and trade with a bit of practice. So big thanks to jase &kev; as they always had time to show and teach to the highest standard. Hope I didn’t get on your nerves to much by taking the p . Also thanks to every body in your team who looked after us. PITT is defiantly the place to go to get trained. ps A big thanks to all the boys for some top nighs on the beer .Our chats in the pool room will be remembered for a long time. Aug 17 2006, 04:07 PM ianw ——————————————————————————————- I have recently completed a two week wall and floor tiling course at pitt. I would like to say a great big thanks to all of the team at pitt, for not only providing me with a vast quanity of tiling knowledge but making the course so enjoyable. I can highly recommend the training centre to anyone who is wanting to learn how to tile the correct way. The way in which the course is structured is brill, with every tiling aspect imaginable covered, it was a massive confidence boost, cheers kev and jase. Aug 16 2006, 10:09 AM mark1 ——————————————————————————————- Hi Everyone,Just finished pitt 10 day floor and wall tiling course.Just like to say special thanks to Paul for his worldly advice, Angela for sorting out my accommodation and generally being on the ball, and sharon for the Tasty food that kept us all going! The Course gives you enough information and knowledge to get you out there and get tiling. Very professional staff and set up, friendly atmosphere and good working enviroment. Big shout out to the instructors Jase and Kev, who apart from being top blokes made learning quick, easy and fun, these guys really know their stuff well done and thanks again guys. So anybody thinking of going on a pitt course I would highly recommend them,by the way I checked out two other firms near me first, one being Bentleys in Dunstable and the other Abaccus in Luton, don\’t even go there!!! Glad I chose PITT, All the best everyone.Well Done. Darren. Aug 15 2006, 03:28 PM daz27 ——————————————————————————————- Yes,yes,yes, i know, shock horror! Can you believe it, another happy chappy, thanks to the wonderful team at PITT I\’m only 60% of the way through but the course has been fantastic, tuition and facilities are second to none and everyone is as friendly and helpful as it\’s possible to be. My previous knowledge of tiling was, i suspect, the same as most delegates….er…..limited, and even though i\’ve never lacked self belief, the confidence i\’ve gained so far from the sheer quality and professionalism of the training has left me brimming with confidence. This is the start of a big life change for me and i can\’t wait to get started on the 25th September, my first day of trading. You\’ll be seeing plenty of me in the future as i\’m sure i\’ll be needing the wisdom of you good folks on here. Hopefully, in time i\’ll be able to return the favour to someone else in my present position. As a brief and slightly embarrassing aside, Toots dropped in during today\’s lesson and was introduced to us by Paul. Well trust me to make myself look a tw*t! A someone who has had bikes for 27 years and takes a great pride in my knowledge of them i had noticed his avatar on previous visits and blurted out \”you\’re the guy with the VFR?\” Er…no. If you happen to read this Toot, please accept my apologies for my embarrassing mistake, i\’ll learn to look closer next time. What makes it worse is i own a T595! If you happen to frequent T595.net you\’ll have a good story to make me shamefaced with! Aug 14 2006, 08:42 PM easylay ——————————————————————————————- For all you lads & lasses who are unsure as to whether you should do a course at PITT, I would say …..GO FOR IT I have just completed the Wall & Tile course with some of the best lads you could ever possibly meet. We were all in the same boat on the first day i.e none of us knew each other, had done none or very little tiling, and were unsure what to expect. Well after our initial \’fears\’ that we would never take it all in, and that \’setting out\’ was like brain surgery, we put our faith in our top trainers Jase & Kev. Those lads are so understanding & good at what they do. I would also like to thank Paul, Ang, Phil, Sharon, Norma, Steve & John for their contributions to a great learning fortnight. I think I speak for all of the lads Ian, Mark H, Mark R, Big Si, Alex & myself when I say that we are all very confident that we can give \’experienced\’ tilers a run for their money as we have been trained \’the correct way\’. As was said on the course if you have been doing it wrong for 20 years, then you will always do it wrong. I was the oldest one on the course at 48 (but the best looking !!), and am now going to have a complete career change when it would be \’easier\’ to stay in my cosy but boring, mindnumbing job with it\’s petty office politics. The enthusiasm & belief that I can try something new has been in large part due to the fantastic training I received at PITT, and the security of knowing that there is always someone there to help if I need advice. I like to think I have also made some great mates who intend to stay in touch with in the future. I can\’t believe that I\’m also missing the Bennett Arms !!! I was so impressed with PITT that within 2 days of getting home I also booked for the plumbing course on August 28th, so that I can do full bathroom installations. Now that my friends is…………………………….THE FUTURE !!!! So if you\’re thinking about it ……………………JUST DO IT. Don\’t die wondering Aug 10 2006, 11:12 PM keano1 …………………… Very nice comments indeed, I and the rest of my staff live and work so hard for the kind of words you post on the tileforums, you are so kind to give the expressions that make it worth while getting out of bed 7 days a week to teach people who really do deserve professional training and want to be the best. Please let me thank you once again and yes you have help from 8-00am till 9-00pm 7 days each and every week for as long as you need our help. Staff members when you read this as with many posts on the forums please believe it’s your hard work that makes it all possible, so from PITT Ltd thank you. Paul Riley Managing Director Aug 10 2006, 11:24 PM ——————————————————————————————– Question from www.tileforums.com hi all just found this forum and im basically looking for the usual first time advice answers etc etc sorry if its all being asked before , basically im intrested in tiling proffessionally for a living , im currently self employed with two jobs first one is as a billposter putting up the big posters you see on the streets the money is good but the hse is killing the money/time ratio this job is one week on one week off which is how i would plan to start tiling is this a good idea? my second job is erecting marquees on my weeks off this used to be my full time job since the age of sixteen! twelve years on i had enough off working 16 17 18 hour days being away seven days a week but good money basically im worried that doing a course might not make me experienced enough to be pro and do you need any formal qualifactions like other trades sparks etc etc ? what sort of hours do you guys work ? and ive got my own 52reg swb transit would this be ok or too small ? sorry for the questions again but as most of you will understand changing careers is daunting with bread needing to be on the table of course (thanks gordon) any advice appreciated Aug 10 2006, 06:06 PM belly ……………….. Answer Hi belly I left a job (money not bad either!!) to run my own business. It was very daunting at first so know how you feel but over the last few months business has developed and I\’m now at a point where I\’m setting on a young trainee. I had done tiling before for several years (cowboy status ) and didn\’t think I\’d learn that much (was I surprised???) but knew from day one that I could do it. Also did the plumbing course in feb (knew nowt about plumbing though!!) but did my first full bath refurb in June and customers told shop owner (kitchens – he gave me the lead!!) that they\’d recommend me to Buckingham Palace (he must be one of these anti-royalists ) so you can do it if you really want to. If this is the path you want to tread then I believe that PITT is the ONLY place to go – the training is exceptional but more importantly (and I really am speaking from experience here!!) the ongoing help and support afterwards will keep you afloat. BTW the van will be fine, you don\’t need quals and I work long & hard but the pay\’s good and so is the job satisfaction Good luck belly Aug 10 2006, 07:41 PM ——————————————————————————————– First chance I have had to get on the net and give some feedback on the 10 day floor and wall tiling course I finished last week. The course was great. I had done a bit of tiling prior to attending the course and after listening to what Jase and Kev had to say, realised I had made some woeful mistakes. Jase and Kev were not patronising in the slightest when we asked stupid questions and they fully explained the reasons behind what they were saying. The training was well structured and accommodated all levels of experience. The food was good (especially the curry Sharon). It also helped that I was training with a cracking set of lads who liked to have a bit of a crack, which the trainers often joined in on. The visits to the Bennett Arms every night will be remembered for a very long time. If you are thinking of booking a course, this is the place to do it. I have seen other training centres and PITT is by far the best. Plus there is the 91 hours of technical help available after the course which I hope to put to use if I can ever pluck up the courage to leave my current job (got a house, car, mrs, child etc and on a good wage so security is the problem, not the fact I am not confident in doing a good job). If anyone wants to pm me regarding the course to get an honest answer, then please let me know. Just one slight bit of a negative, the Hotel was not the greatest and needs an update, but this didn\’t really matter to me as I spent most of the time in the pub! Aug 9 2006, 10:20 PM dot n dab ——————————————————————————————– Question from www.tileforums.com Hi everyone,Im seriously considering enrolloing on to the 10 day tiling course as i am in desparate need of a career change and tiling is top of the list. However, I have never had a manual job of any kind,and I am worried that after spending circa 2k on the course and tools etc. that I may not have had sufficient training to be let loose on the general public or even carrying out bad work. Can anyone put mymind at rest? Aug 7 2006, 01:52 PM gallatic …………………………………… Answers given on tileforums.com Hi, well I\’ve just finished the 10 day course and I feel very confident. I know for a fact that the skills and knowledge they give you are sufficient to do a professional job: only last week I heard of job an established tiler did for a friend of my wife\’s. Before I\’d done the course I would have believed everything he said because he was a \’professional\’, but I now know that he didn\’t know what he was doing, and I went into detail (I think my wife was shocked at how much i knew!). For someone to have a complete career change (like myself) it is worrying, but the bottom line is that it\’s down to you to make it work as a career. The skills and support that the guys have given me (and continue to do, after you\’ve finished) are in my opinion first class. I\’m glad I did it and I\’m sure that many more will agree. Good luck anyway, what ever you decide. Aug 7 2006, 02:15 PM Big Si ………………………………………. Don\’t think about it matey ! Do It!!! The guys at PITT are brilliant trainers. I could teach an ape to stick tiles to a wall or floor. But if you want to learn properly go on the PITT 10 day course. You will learn how to tile the correct way. The course is brilliant and I have never come across anyone who has any bad comments about PITT. Their training techniques are brilliant so just go ahead an retrain you will earn a good rate and be your own boss and a few weeks after the course you will wonder why you were worried. Kev Aug 7 2006, 03:43 PM tilinglogistics ……………………………………………. Hi gallati – Big Si and tilinglogistics are absolutely bang on the money!! Did my course last sept and I now have a working, growing business. I had the advantage of being able to tile when I went on the course and was looking for a career change, but I did the plumbing course in Feb and was amazed at what I can now do and completed my first full bathroom installation a few weeks ago. Turned a bath round (so taps are opposite end, put a gravity fed shower in, new loo and basin (removed old plaster reboarded and tiled too!) all of this after NEVER doing any previous plumbing at all. Mind you it took a day just to swap the bath round, I was so nervous not to make a b*lls up . But I did it and the customer has already got a referral for me. The speed and money will come. Just finished a large floor job in 600 x 400 travertine covering 2 rooms, 2 passageways a store room and a loo with out of line (newly built!! ) walls so lots of raked cuts and negotiate a spiral staircase. This was by far my most demanding job but just done it and it looks great (learned so much while doing it as well). BTW this job was declined by TWO other tilers who didn\’t want the grief. I did put a premium price in but I also got the two en-suites that require tanking and tiling (walls and floors) also at a premium price. I do have a waiting list of customers who are prepared to wait for me and I had the same concerns as you before my course. Good luck let us know how you get on. Aug 7 2006, 09:50 PM ……………………………………………. Thanks for the comments chaps, It all seems very positive,Seems like I should just go for it! Aug 7 2006, 06:10 PM gallatic ——————————————————————————————- Finished the grand tour at PITT ( wall, floors and plumbing). Just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone there, particually Jase, Kev, Steve and John for an intense but totally enjoyable 3 weeks. I\’ve just picked up my first jobs and I\’m brimming with enthusiasm and confidence. If you\’re reading this and thinking about attending then think no more. Thanks again to all at PITT Chris Taber Aug 6 2006, 09:42 PM crtiling ——————————————————————————————- Question on tile forums from Dave Allen Aug 6 2006, 09:24 AM hi I live in the south and reading everything on here pitt seems the place to go? have looked at 2 centres but they are cowboy run can anyone help me make my mind up as i finish work in 2 weeks and want a new career. any comments would help Dave Answers Hi Dave Allen If you really want a new career then in my humble opinion PITT is THE ONLY place to go. I got mine from there and it\’s doing really well now. The one thing that you will need esp in the early days of business development is a direct connection to the correct information (you can\’t know or remember everything!!) as and when you need it – this is what PITT gives you 91 hours every week; you never know when you need it but when you do it will be there. It is the best thing I\’ve ever got from any form of training throughout my life (and believe me I\’ve done some!!) Another thing you need is mentorship. If you get this already you are a very lucky man. I look at Paul as a mentor for my business and sometimes it\’s tough going (especially mentally when you\’re a one man band) but I can talk to Paul about any part of my business and he will always give me an answer or \’food for thought\’. Paul has been there and done it from a tiling perspective and his entire team are friendly, professional and very knowledgable – I\’ve had various situations (many of them) arise in the course of my work and each one has been sorted. If you do go ahead on the PITT course I am often about as I get all my adhesives etc. from them and I would enjoy a chat with you if you wish Good luck Dave Aug 6 2006, 11:29 AM Toots ——————————————————————————————- Passed Pitt on the way to a job this morning for some info. Got the info as usual but half a mile down the road my van conked out (only bought it last wed!! ). Walked back to Pitt and Steve drove me to a garage to get some oil but that didn\’t fix the problem. He then took me to their garage that they use and arranged for them to rescue it and see what they could do. I really needed to see a potential customer at 12 O\’clock so they lent me the use of their van so I could at least go and price up. This I did and also bypassed today\’s customer and apologised. The job turned from a bathroom suite change to a full refurb while I was there on the ideas I put to them (which wouldn\’t have happenend without transport!). Took the van back (don\’t think I set off too many speed cameras!! ) and they gave me lunch and drove me to the garage afterwards to pick up the van (Β£142 later – ouch!!!) This has got nothing to do with tiling but everything to do with going the extra mile. In my humble opinion, in my dealings with Pitt they always try their best. Today they did their best to help me when my day went arse over tit. To ALL the staff at Pitt – THANK YOU! Mike McLeary Jun 12 2006, 10:43 PM ——————————————————————————————- I am currently running a Jewellers in Halifax, West Yorkshire but am wanting a change of career. I want to join the building trade and fancy starting up as a wall & floor tiler. the question is- How do I get started? There is a course being offered near to where I live: Is this the sort of thing that will enable me to start? There is no formal qualification given once completed- Is there a requirement to in any aspect of tiling, or is it mainly experience? Any help would gratefully be received! The_Jeweller Unregistered Jul 28 2006, 11:57 AM Hi Jewller. As you\’re already a jewller I\’d imagine your attention to detail would be good. So tiling is right up your street. As for what course. Well you\’re here on the PITT forum, which is set up for the use for people that have trained at PITT, so it makes sense to give PITT some consideration. As I havent been PITT trained my self I can\’t honestly say what the course is like, but I\’ve met the guys, and they all are the genuine article. If you ask ones that have trained at PITT, they will give you their honest opinion. As I\’ve said before on this forum, if I were starting up again now, I would be head straight up to stoke for 10 days. branty1uk Jul 29 2006, 08:58 AM Thanks guys- I\’m sorry the link I\’d put has been edited I really wasn\’t trying to advertise another course, it was just that every time I look around the web for tiling courses PITT comes out tops! The link was for one that is only 12 miles from my home, so it would make sense to at least consider it. Well, I went to have a look and it turns out it\’s a bit of a Cowboy run establishment Noone there could give me an straight answer and their website suggests they\’ve had courses running since March this year, yet when I show up unannounced looking to see a course up and running I\’m told its shut for a refurb and that the FIRST course is in September! WTF!? First ever? First after the refurb? I smelt a rat, so I contacted PITT and the person I spoke to was sooooo helpful, I know where I\’ll be coming to train! The decision to sell the shop has been made, so when this happens (It may now be early next year I suspect ) I am signing up to the 20 day course that involves basic plumbing! I feel a weight has been lifted from my shoulders now, I am so grateful to PITT before I even sign up. Looking forward to seeing you ASAP! Thanks again. P.S. Thanks for the comment above about neatness- As a working Jeweller for the last 12 years I think I am probably a bit \”Overneat\” with most stuff… The_Jeweller Unregistered Jul 29 2006, 10:47 AM Hi The_Jeweller I did the Pitt course last year and am doing well as a self employed tiler and bathroom installer. It\’s a lot more fun (and work!!) than my last job but wouldn\’t consider anything else now. The course was more than good enough to start me off and the tech helpline is second to none – AND it has been a godsend to me. I\’m interested in why you\’re leaving a skilled business though? Getting back to the course – the guys and gals there are absolutely brill and they definitely know their stuff. If you go down this route let us know how you get on – it\’s always great to see someone succeed in a new career. Good luck. Toots Jul 29 2006, 07:25 PM ——————————————————————————————- I am a 38 year old freelance musician who needs an additional source of income and have been considering tiling. Any suggestions on the most appropriate and useful courses? Jimmy Trumpet Jul 25 2006, 10:51 AM I would recommend you have a look at our 10 day wall & floor tiling or our 4 week course. If you have broadband internet connection call me on 01782 566166 for a live tour of our premises. Don\’t forget once you have completed a course with us we offer a back service, so 91 hours every week we\’re here to support you. Hi there Jimmy. I trained at PITT about 15 months ago and have been a self employed tiler for 12 months. They are a topp class training centre and I would agree with Ang. The 10 day course will give you more than enough info to help you on your way Dale T Jul 26 2006, 09:04 PM I\’m nearly halfway through the 10 day Wall and Floor tiling course now, so if you want some current feedback and honest answers..let me know. Big Si Jul 27 2006, 05:15 PM I\’m getting a lot out of the course because basically this is going to be my livelyhood! It\’s like that old saying: you only get out what you put in! I\’m not going to go in to too much detail on this public forum about the guys here (they\’ll only get big headed! you can contact me directly for some details if you want) Basically, I did a LOT of research on nearly every tiling training company out there, I even spoke to tile retailers and fixers. I could have paid a lot less on a course closer to home, but I\’ll be honest, they couldn\’t compare and to put it bluntly..money\’s a bit tight at the moment. In a nut shell, I know I\’ve got the right course for me and I know that with what I\’ve learn\’t so far, and my basic ability beforehand I can do a much better job than some tilers I\’ve seen. With regards to prospects when I\’ve finished the course, I\’ve got a few jobs lined up with mates that are in the building trades, but I\’ve got a lot of work to keep that coming in from everywhere else. Business Link and Entrust can help you set you business up with free advice and training sessions with everything from marketing to tax. The thing is, you have to decide what\’s right for you. Good luck…and hope to speak to you soon! Big Si Jul 29 2006, 09:28 PM Just re-read my post…when I mentioned about the money what I MEANT to say was that, money is tight and the courses local to me were a third of the price I paid for my course. It\’s because I\’m so confident that the PITT training and support is the best one for me that I shelled out the extra money. (must remember not to go on the forum when I\’m knackered!!) Big Si Jul 29 2006, 09:37 PM Hi Big Si It\’s good to see that someone else is getting as much from the course as I did!! Hope all goes well in your new profession Toots Jul 29 2006, 09:57 PM ——————————————————————————————- Just a short note to say what marvellous service PITT give to \’ex – students\’. Last week I ordered some gear, which as usual turned up the next day. When I opened the second box, 30 odd quids-worth of AD1 had burst open. (it took me nearly 2 hours to get a tub of white star out of the box ). I spoke to Angela yesterday, and hey presto, a new, expertly packed AD1 came this morning (wrapped in enough bubble wrap to start a shop). Superb. Paul. (Bones) Jun 27 2006, 01:35 PM ——————————————————————————————– just a few words on the stone course we have just compleated and i would like to say that it was very informative and a bit of an eyeopener. if you have any dealings with natural stone then this course is for you. it makes the treating of natural stone a lot easier and quicker than the old methods and could save you a lot of time if you are a fixer and lay this sort of tile. i would advise any of you who have been thinking of doing the course to try and get on the course if you can. once again paul i would like to thank you and jase and the aquamix lads for a good informative and constructive couple of days.i enjoyed it a lot and the night out was ok as well. martin saunders May 31 2006, 01:12 PM ——————————————————————————————– Just a quick note on the Natural Stone course held last week, anybody involved in laying natural stone would find this course an addition to there current business. It is one of the best training courses i have attended i have been to some. No matter what level your at in the business you can learn something new from this. happy to talk to nayone who wants more info on the training. Frank Hegarty (Ireland) Jun 5 2006, 08:35 PM ——————————————————————————————- Hi lads its lee i did the course on the 15th to 26th of may, and really enjoyed it. I start my first bathroom sat morning and have 4 other jobs waiting. im looking forward to sat but also a bit nervous, so expect the call jase or kev. To anyone thinking about doing the tiling courses i would say CALL them and get down there, a great way to learn no pressure or school styles of training just a group of very talented lads that enjoy passing on there knowledge. Thank again Lee Jun 1 2006, 10:02 PM ——————————————————————————————— A big thanks to Paul and Jase for their help and advice after calling in on the training centre on saturday.Where else would you get this kind of service after completing a course? Many thanks once again and keep up the great work at Pitt IAN . A May 30 2006, 07:19 PM —————————————————————————————— Must say that I completed the course today and it was an absolute eye opener to the world of stone, tile and grout care, maintenance and restoration options. I will never be afraid of working with natural stones ever again!!!! There are some excellent business ideas and opportunities that can either be developed ancillary to tiling or as a complete package in its own right. If anyone is in doubt as to whether to attend this type of course you are more than welcome to pm me on how I found the course and what I got from it! Thanks again to Bill, Frank and Ian for all their time, effort and incredible knowledge and advice throughout the course. Thanks also to all the guys & gals at Pitt for their ever friendly and helpful hospitality. Toots—-May 30 2006, 09:11 PM ——————————————————————————————- Hi, A quick note to say that I have just finished the 5 day assessment package. WHAT AN EYE OPENER!!! If anyone is unsure of their abilities after completing either of the 5 day courses then book one of the assessment courses. The guys take you through everything, from measuring up, quoting, ordering through to the finished job. Kev will tell you after 2 days I was ready to pull my hair out thinking I would not do it, with their guidence and tips I managed to complete what I set out to do. Thanks to Jase, Kev and Paul for all the great tips and hints that you passed onto me, I have had to get another note book to remember them. May 27 2006, 12:37 PM rob7898 ——————————————————————————————- phil, dont worry mate, when we\’re ready to open \”dusk till dawn\” in notts (should be december) i will arrange vip tickets for the opening night for all at pitt as a big thanks for the fantastic support you gave me during and after my course! cheers darren-May 25 2006, 05:49 PM ——————————————————————————————- Guys, I\’m sorry its taken me a few weeks to post this but you only have yourselves to blame!!!! As a plumber already I thought it may be a good idea to do a tiling course and pick up an extra bit of work. Well since doing the 10 day course which was worth every penny Ive not stopped. I still get a bit worried when I take some jobs on, but its nice to know the boys are on the other end of the phone to help with any problems. If anybody is thinking of doing on a tiling course then look no further. A million thanks to Paul,Jase,kev and the Gang at PITT. Martin (Badger) Apr 12 2006, 08:55 PM ——————————————————————————————- Finished the 5 day course last Friday 31st March \’06. I\’ve got to say it\’s the best 5 hundred and odd quid I\’ve ever spent. I don\’t know whether I learnt more from the actual content of the course, or from chatting to Steve & Paul during the fag breaks!! I\’ve done some tiling for friends and family in the past and thought my efforts were pretty good. Looking at my kitchen splashback now, I\’d do things a lot different. For anyone out there wondering whether they should fork out the cash to train at PITT I\’d say do it. the time spent covering setting out properly was worth the course fee alone, the practical side was easy after that. Even though I only didi the 5 day course, I now feel confident enough to give this trade a go and start making a living doing something I enjoy. Thanks to Steve, Kev and Paul for their knowledge. (and Norma, that shepherds pie on Thursday was fantastic!!) Paul. Apr 2 2006, 07:18 PM ———————————————————————————————- Also finished the five day course last friday and just wanted to say what a great week it was! If there is anyone out there thinking of getting into this game then get your sheckles together and go for it. You will not regret it! The day and a half on setting out was worth the money alone. The level of training and knowledge of the instructors was second to none but more importantly was delivered in way that was easy to understand and digest in a short space of time. Steve, kev – you were great! Norma, your food was delicious. What more can i say. Thanks again, Gabor Apr 2 2006, 10:38 PM ———————————————————————————————- should have put this in my origonal post but just wanted to let any anyone whos thinking of doing any of the courses at PITT that i came all the way from denmark specifcally to attend the five day wall and floor. thats how much i was sold on doing it from reading previous comments on the forum and talking to some of the team over the phone and will probably come back to do the refresher if they ever invent one!! gabor Apr 6 2006, 07:08 PM ———————————————————————————————- Day and a half onsetting out? maybe you lads know something i dont no. petethetiler Apr 7 2006, 05:25 PM ——————————————————————————————— Maybe Pete Depends whether you are setting out to meet the criteria of British Standards. Or just centering. Jase Apr 7 2006, 05:43 PM ———————————————————————————————- I completed a ten day course in Oct 2005 and got a felt tip gold star from jase on my work during the course.Made the jump few weeks ago to go self employed after doing several jobs either side of xmas for a few customers. I went on the course with a \”cant teach me much/ got all the tools anyway\” attitude and was pleasantly suprised by what i learnt but more importantly how to tile to a first class standard. To hear some \” ive been a tiler 20 years blah blah blah how can PITT say your professional? cowboys yak yak yak etc\” is absolute nonsense. I could tile before the course, to a reasonable standard, but wanted to make my living in this field and the appeal of working for myself without some boss looking over my shoulder talking pants proved the deciding factor. If id have thought for a nanosecond that PITT was taking my money for substandard teaching, believe you me i would have let them know and got my money back. When youve worked in the delights of mosside as a bobby for 8 years you soon learn to suss the chancers and blaggers and PITT do not fall into this catagory.With what i learnt and was taught by PITT has started to pay huge dividends, as i am getting recommendations left right and centre based on the quality of my work. Which brings me to my point. So imagine the scenario. I get talking to an old school mate in january who is a very highly regarded corgi registerded plumber who specialises in top notch bathroom refits for serious money and his work is fantastic. Hes not happy with the standard of tiling work of his two tilers because of various things and these two fellas have twenty two and fifteen years experience between them. Hes putting 15mm marine ply on wooden floors for them to tile to. \”Why dont they use fastflex?\” i mused to which end i gat a vacant stare followed by an indepth education from me courtesy of PITT. Two weeks later i get a call from him to do a job for him full walls and floor, no probs sez i and away we go. On the day of the job i find out the customer is a retired boss of H&R; Johnsons tiles so no pressure there then.Result? i get one very happy customer and an ecstatic plumber who sacks his two time served know it all tilers and gives me all his tiling work (Gas n Electrical in kidsgroves top plumber for your info paul , jase etc). I am now getting shed loads of work as a result based on pure quality and as for the so called \”time served \” jobsworths i have tiled three full bathrooms on one new build estate after seddon homes tilers had given it their best with shoddy results. I will certainly be applying for my P.A.T this week because im bloody good at what im doing and as my bank balance is beginning to testify. I couldnt have acheived it though without the top notch training i got from PITT so once again big thanks to you all.I even called in at a specialist tile supplier in crewe recently who queried who had trained me and when i said who said \”thats more than good enough for me ive got loads of work for you\”. So if you wanna criticise PITT feel free but theyve done me a world of good and im going places thanks very much. Jase P.S Colin from tile experience says hi to paul.(more work for me) P.P.S Do i win a lockboy?????? Mar 27 2006, 12:06 AM gold star jase ———————————————————————————————- hi, I am up here in Edinburgh and I need to retrain due to lack of work in my existing job. Heard loads of talk about a shortage of plumbers and bathroom fitters in my area. Does the Pitt plumbing course teach enough skill to be able to do small plumbing jobs mainly in bathromms and kitchens? thanks cosmic Mar 21 2006, 02:19 PM —————————————————————————————— I did the plumbing course mate and I would say yes, you will be able to pick enough up from the PITT course. If you have got a bit of nowse about you and you listen to what they tell you, you will be fine. Since, I did the course I have fitted several toilets, mixer taps and a few baths, so it does work. I would recommend it anyway Dale T Mar 21 2006, 06:43 PM ——————————————————————————————- Yeah, did the plumbing last week, learned loads – and had a great laugh (mainly at my expense ) in the process. All joints airtight as well Was going to offer my Mum a Sure Stop thingy for free to see how easy they were to fit but Severn sodding Trent beat me to it, fitted it last week, they charge Β£119 for one Getting back to the course, Cosmic, I haven\’t done any plumbing in the past (unlike tiling) and was a bit apprehensive but now I\’m happy to do any type of plumbing in the bathroom or kitchen, it\’s taught me a heluva lot! Go do it! Toots Mar 22 2006, 12:40 AM ——————————————————————————————– My name is Neville Whitley and I live in Devon. Last June I attended a PITT Tiling Course in Newcastle under

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10 day professional wall and floor tiling course Posted on 2005 at 13:42 PMThis outstanding training course, starting on the 21st November 2005 for 10 days has only 1 place left, call now if you want this date 01782 566166.

Assessment tiling course Posted on 04/10/2005 at 10:39 AMThis course is for anyone who has attended one of our tiling courses and would like to undertake their first tiling job to completion here in the centre. We will not be giving more training just available at all times for further tips and help should you need it. You would start by measuring up and pricing the in house bathroom set and you will specify the products required for the job. Setting out will be your starting point based on the customers demands, you will work through a maximum of 5 days to complete the task of a fully tiled bathroom walls and floor, upon completion we will assess your skills to ensure you are ready to face the customer, this will prove the skills and any weakness you might have. Book yourself on this one week assessment course for just the material cost of Β£250 Only available to delegates who have trained at P.I.T.T. Ltd.

Comments from past delegates after their tiling and plumbing course Posted on 11/10/2005 at 14:02 PMRead the tiling news page here tiling forums, tile forums – www.tileforums.com Just a few comments taken from e mail and our free to join tile forums tiling forums Visit the forums to see these are real people\’s comments below. ————————————————————————————- Hi All, After completing the 10 day course on 30th Oct, I\’ve just finished my 1st job (yesterday) after putting an ad in the local rag. Thanks to the excellent course led by Jase & Steve with fantastic support from the rest of the team at PITT, there is 1 very happy customer who is over joyed with her kitchen she wants a quote for the bathroom (does £200 plus materials for 10m2 sound about right???? ). The kitchen was 5m2 in brick pattern 200×100 black & white tiles, only 1 hiccup with the setting out which coursed me a few issues (we live & learn) but Mrs Jones was very happy. Thanks again to all the team at PITT, couldn\’t have done it without the training and HI to all the guys from the course (Oct 17th – 30th) Chris Nov 17 2005, 12:54 PM deano ————————————————————————————– Course was great, We were well looked after, accomodation good, food good, and most of all …learned loads. Thanks guys. gillannev Nov 6 2005, 10:12 AM —————————————————————————————————- Just thought I\’d add this post to thank all the staff at pitt for making the subject two weeks as enjoyable as they were. The process of booking the course with Ange and Sharon was simplicity itself. The instruction on the course from Steve and Jase was nothing short of fantastic and the lunches prepared by Norma were brill. My thanks also go to Phil for sorting out my trade account. Cheers mate! Anyone considering coming on this course should be under no illusion that it is damned hard work but it is well worth it in the end. I now hope that I can do justice to this course and go out and get some work. Once again, ladies and gents thank you for your time and patience. It is much appreciated. johnw ————————————————————————————— Hi All, Just like to give a big thankyou to the guys at PITT. I recently did the 5 day course and found it to be very good. I was amazed just how much stuff we covered in such a short time. When doing my first couple of floor tiling jobs, i found myself struggling more than i expected with the all-important setting-out. I placed a post on this forum asking for help, and got an immediate reply from Paul Riley of PITT inviting me go back to the training centre, at no extra cost, for some 1 to 1 training on floor setting-out. Needless to say i took Paul up on his offer and went there for a couple of hours, all is now sorted. It\’s quite refreshing to get such a good level of service, and is obvious proof of the PITT claim \”your course never ends\”. So, once again, thanks to Paul, Jase and everyone at PITT, see you soon when i come back to for the plumbing course. Buzz Oct 18 2005, 12:55 PM ———————————————————————————————- Know how you feel Buzz, phoned up for some tech info on Sunday about 8pm. Paul answered the phone and sorted all my queries. Where else do get service like that (Sunday 8pm!!!!!!!!!) Keep up the good work lads Toots Oct 18 2005, 06:32 PM ———————————————————————————————- Dear Paul and the team, Just a quick note to say thankyou for what proved to be the best course i have ever done. Coming from a army background i have done a fair few courses and i have never left a course with such a feeling of confidence as i did when i finished the course at P.I.T.T. My thanks to Jase , Steve, and Phil. They are a testament to professionalism and big drinkers to boot. [oh my head] I travelled from Fuerteventura to attend the course. Was it worth the expense. Every penny. Again many thanks see you on the plumbing course, Keith Hughes. Aug 15 2005, 03:14 PM ——————————————————————————————— as a female who has just finished a pitt tiling course i must say it was most informative. . the men on the course were very helpful and supportive.the training was excellent and everyone was friendly. norma in the kitchen was fantastic and fed us well all week.thankyou norma and thankyou to everyone.i will keep in touch to let you know of my progress. thankyou very much ELVIS. xxxxx. Oct 14 2005 ———————————————————————————————– I\’ve just finished the 5 day ceramic tiling course, it was excellent highly recommend to everyone as a female who was apprehensive about being in a male only environment everyone was great co students and staff we have learnt so much this week whilst enjoying ourselves. Hopefully I can convince my hubby to come along now as well. Thanks once again to everyone, Jase, Phil, Paul and Norma for the great food. Tigger Oct 14 2005, 12:10 PM ————————————————————————————- I have just completed the 5 day plumbing course and am amazed at the amount of stuff that I now know. I had done the tiling course and was not sure whether or not to book on the plumbing course. At the start of the course I was worried that I would still not know enough about plumbing to be able to put on my business cards that I could do full bathroom installations. How wrong I was!!!! Thanks to the trainers John and Roger who were always on hand with helpful tips and advise. I would recommend anyone considering this course to just go ahead and do it as it is quite amazing what you will know and be able to do at the end of the 5 days mojo Oct 13 2005, 07:52 PM ————————————————————————————————– hi to you all , thats PAUL , STEVE AND JASE , sorry its taken me so long to get on but comp, was bust. well what can i say only thanks over and over again, it was a great course and we had fun doing it, and the lads on the course was great to witch makes it even better. i have put my ad in the paper and the phone has just started to ring today so lots to price up . and could i just say about the tools i got with the set where bril , i will let you know how i get on , thanks to you all russ Oct 11 2005, 11:21 PM ——————————————————————————— Hi to all! Completed the 10 day tiling course way back in Sept (16th). What can i say? Been tiling on and off for about 18 years, how on earth did i manage to get away with being a cowboy for so long?? Learnt far more than i thort possible (down to the team!!)- so much so that I\’m leaving work at the end of the month and going for it. Sorted out bank, public liability and a couple of customers. Just need a van and more customers!! No job satisfaction at work but always get loads from tiling. Thanks again Jase, Steve Paul and all (oh! and not forgetting Norma). Mike McLeary, Toots Oct 10 2005, 09:09 PM —————————————————————————————- Just a few lines to thank Paul Riley and his very professional team.Had loads of fun,met lots of new and now dear friends.It,s very hard work but everything comes together in the end.A very worthwhile course and worth every penny……….big thanks to sponge…………..cheers Phil Walker Oct 8 2005, 07:52 PM ————————————————————————————— Thanks to everyone at PITT, the course was fantastic and you made us feel very much at home. A good laugh had by all, I think you\’ll agree. Went to my sisters yesterday to price her bathroom floor up, can\’t wait to start. Good luck to everyone, Mark. verona Oct 9 2005, 08:52 AM —————————————————————————- Finshed my second job today, customer is well happy & the phone never stops. Thanks again for giving me a new start & its good to know that Your only a phone call away. verona Nov 4 2005, 08:12 PM ————————————————————————— Hi Guys, a big thanks to Jase & Steve,the best teachers you could ever need.Well thought out,and well put over.It was bloody hard work but thoroughly enjoyable.Well worth the money spent,the tool package,what more can I say.Cock on. all the staff were friendly & very professional.If your thinking of doing the 10 day course,do it you won\’t regret it.I didn\’t. hobbit Oct 7 2005, 08:50 PM ——————————————————————————— Just like to tank you all once more it was a brilliant course only down side was the little guy with the hairy feet : acdc tiling Oct 8 2005, 11:47 AM —————————————————————————— Finished my first job last week could have sworn jase and steve had been there and nobbled the walls before i got there , anyway looked good when id finished all that good training seemed to have paid off once again cheers guys and see you all in december. acdc tiling ——————————————————————————– hi me and my mate did the 5 day pitt course in january.been doing small jobs for family and friends,so a couple of weeks ago we started to advertise got one bathroom last week.yesterday got a phone call from a contractor for tiling work in a resturant and bar 250m2 quoted Β£5200. just got a call saying he wants us to start on wednesday talk about sh**ting it. we have only just applied for our cis cards will he want to see them before we start or when its time to pay? its just that i dont want to loose this work because the contractor has got 30 more of these bars to do. mufc Oct 7 2005, 07:37 PM Yes but we will support you all the way 88 hours a week. PITT technical team. ———————————————————————————– Thank you for a most excellent course, the quality of training was outstanding. I\’ve already used a large percentage of my new found knowledge not only in tiling but also in telling \”Mrs Jones that she is going to have to tank her shower room. I used the Feign thingamejig half a dozen times on my first day back so money well spent. Paul plumbing notes in the post tomorrow. Thanks to you all, Trucky ————————————————————————————– recently attended 10day tiling &5day plumbing course for darren &co; 5sept group te plumbers course was well worth attending gained loads of useful tips from both lads learnt lots from cockups too no hard sell of tools sorry paul feel brave enough to tackle most domestic jobs a cracking 3wks in all jim alasdair Sep 29 2005, 01:02 PM ———————————————————————————- just like to say a massive thanks to Paul, Jason,Steve and all at PITT for an invaluable week at the training centre, Although i have done quite a bit of DIY over the years the fourth time of being made redundent in the last 10 years has given me the kick up the backside to start my own buisness and the course has given me the confidence to start my new venture in january as a tiler. again my thanks to you all sapphire Nov 20 2004, 09:40 AM ———————————————————————————– I went on the 10 day course back in july as soon as i completed the course i placed an add in the local paper (liverpool) and my phone hasn\’t stopped ringing.A big thanks to all the lads who i must say were very professional in what they taught us and if it wasn\’t for doing this course would be in another dead end job,instead i am earning loads more money with hours to suit me with nobody looking over my shoulder.The helpline is excellent i have needed a bit of advice a few times and there is allways somebody there to answer any questions, that it-self is a big weight off your mind when you are stuck on a job knowing there is somebody on the other end of the line all day any day to help you out stop on lads keep up the good work. ian young (posted Oct 3 2005, 08:21 PM ) ————————————————————————————– Have just finished a tiling course on Sunday and can honestly say that the money I have spent was more than worth it. I would never have thought anyone could learn this much about the industry in only 5 days. All trainers were proffessional and easy to approach for answers to my many questions. The food was delicious, I have been on a few conference/training days in hotels with my previous job and not had food as good. Finally, thanks to Paul and all his staff for providing me with an excellent basis on which to begin my new career in tiling. Thanks to the girls in the office who provided the eye candy. Mojo ————————————————————————————- Couldnt agree more, after around 6 years tiling i learned some (embarssingly) new tips, such as the datum line and staff etc, staff comes extremely handy. Training was spot on, no bullshit but just got on with it which made it simpler to understand. Staff were very freindly and knew what they were talking about, facility was brilliant as was Nora with food. Cheers guys and see you on the 3rd october when ill be doing the plumbing course. tiler from spain ———————————————————————————— Finished 5 day pitt course today would like to say a big thanks to Paul , Jase , Steve and the team for a great week . It was money very well spent and set me on the road to hopefully becoming a tiler . I would recomend this course to any wana be tilers out there . THANKS AGAIN ALAN ——————————————————————————— I can\’t aggree with you more guys , i had the most enjoyable week i have had for a long time , great set of lads , great set of trainers , would also like to thank Paul , jase , steve and not forgetting those that fed us , reccomend it to anybody money well spent , cheers. Trev TBTiling . Ceramic Wall & Floor Tiling Derby ———————————————————————————- massive thanks to paul and jason for all the info and training last week at p i t t i wasnt too sure if tiling was my thing due to lack of confidence, but after last week i feel ready to go .i have my first job next week which will hopefully pay my course fees back..once again many thanks to you all. hope to see you soon, i need to visit the shop simon mortimer ———————————————————————————- Did the 5 day tiling course recently. I didn\’t know how I\’d do as I\’ve never tiled before. The tuition from Jase, Steve & Paul was excellent. I couldn\’t beleive just how much I learned. So much so by the 3rd day, I knew that the tiling job we had had done in our kitchen was rubbish! Haven\’t told the Mrs, she\’ll want it re-doing! Thanks to all staff at PITT. I\’ve just got my first couple of jobs to quote on. Will let you know when I\’ve done the first one. Cheers. TimTiler. ————————————————————————————– Thanks for your e mail Tony hope you dont mind us posting it here. Once again thank you. The PITT team Subject: 5 Day Course Comments: Hi to everyone at PITT. I recently completed the 5 day course and would like to say a big thank you to all the staff there at PITT. I found the course to be extremely informative and enjoyable. I had serious doubts about how much could be learned in such a short time but all of these doubts and fears were allayed. What a brilliant course this really is, the tutors are a cut above many trainers I have met, very down to earth, friendly and above all so very, very knowledgeable. PROFESSIONAL is the key word in this company name, I have nothing but praise for PITT. I have already recouped the cost of the course many times over, I feel confident in doing the job and secure in the knowledge that there is someone I can talk to should the need arise. Well done all of you, long may PITT prosper. Tony ———————————————————————————– Thanks for a great course, It enabled me to expand a job from fitting a kitchen sink to fitting & tiling the whole kitchen. davwes ———————————————————————————– hi completed 10 day course in may , what can i say but excellent , well worth the money spent , training team excellent , i learnt loads i am self employed as a tiler going well . go 4 it good course ( nights out good as well te he ) cheers les ———————————————————————————— HI Did the PITT 5 day course well worth the time and money learnt loads now self employed tiling on my own. All PITT trainers were full of info and wanted people to go away being able to \” do the job \”. Considering the money i\’ve spent since on tools etc may be worth doing the 10 day course with the tool included….. B Wilson ———————————————————————————- Paul, Jason & Tracey just a quick thanku to u guys for a great week of fun tile training. i learnt far more than expected and didn\’t personally want it 2 end. would say 2 anybody that that has never tiled before and like wise, people with surposed experience, to get your butts down to this five daya as i\’m sure you\’ll have agreat couple of days and learn so much. Paul keep me down for the under floor heating course later on in the year if u still intend 2 run 1…..next month is a bit 2 close for me at the moment. cheers guys/girl jon warnell p.s long live epoxy…..the new stuff is the dogs danglers —————————————————————————— I did the 10 day course and found is was well worth it especially if you are planning to do it full time. Better to make a mistake in the training room than in a customers house, might just cost you a few weeks wages to put it right. As for the tool package go for it, if you look carefully at what you get compared to individually pricing then it isn\’t hard to figure that you are getting additional discount on some rather good tools.What they have set up is the minimum you will need and you will most certainly be buying additional tools etc ( think Paul has booked 2 weeks away on the strenght of what I spent! ) Seriously though, equip yourself with the best you can afford, plumber mates of mine told me that crap gear always lets you down at the time you need them. Don\’t want to look like a \”fat lad \”infront of the customer!! As for getting your first customers, get to know a couple of plumbers , if they are tiling then they aren\’t earning as much as they can plumbing, and alot hate tiling! Also getting in with a few plasters won\’t go amiss as you can pass work to each other. I did the course approx 4 week ago and have done 3 jobs so far , number 4 starts Monday. Combination of the holidays and just starting up means thin pickings but my way forward is price right, take your time on the job so you do the best you can and above all CLEAN UP after yourself. I have heard alot of bad reports of tilers you leave a right mess behind. Getting a good reputation and building your speed up ensures that you can charge more at a later day. My last job was given to me because a local tiler charges top whack and rushes the job. Hope you find my input helpful tim1173 Aug 12 2005, 01:52 AM —————————————————————————————– I did the course a few weeks ago. It was brilliant. Set in a relaxed atmosphere, with no pressure and friendly advice. The guys there don\’t talk down to you and give you the basics you need to get started. I work with an experienced tiler, and even he was prepared to listen and put into practice what I\’d learnt. They give impartial advice on tools, tiles and adhesives. Paul is an experienced tiler with a no-nonsense style of delivery. All depends on how confident you feel after doing the course as to whether you could go out on your own. The course is good, but it can\’t teach you everything. It seems to be better to start by doing family and friends first, and if you do make a few small mistakes on the way, they are likely to be more forgiving. When you start out, obviously you\’ll be quite slow, and again, friends and family (\’cos they all know you\’ve been on a course), should give you more grace. Even if you\’re charging a customer by the metre, they\’re going to want to see some quick progress and seeing you fumbling for your notes might not quite give them the right impression. I was enthused by the course, and still am. Happy tiling Mark S

CHANGES FOR 2006! to our tiling and plumbing courses Posted on 25/09/2005 at 18:00 PMAfter running an extremely successful training centre for 2 years, we feel we can enhance on the service we deliver. Over the past two years we have listened carefully to the feedback we have been given from our delegates. After a 10 day course in wall & floor tiling the most said comment is β€œI can’t believe how much I’ve learnt in 10 days”. The comment is always the same after 5 a day wall & floor tiling course but always finishes with β€œI wish I’d completed the 10 day course”. After looking at the standard of tiling between a 5 day course and a 10 day course we feel that the time has come to cease the 5 day combined wall & floor tiling. Due to these findings as from January 2006 we will be offering 5 day courses of Wall Tiling, Floor Tiling and Plumbing. You will be able to choose these courses in packages of 5 day, 10 day or even a 15 day package. Remember plumbers need tilers and tilers need plumbers but once your trained in both areas you will only need yourself. Visit tilingnews here tilingnews.co.uk

Courses in Plumbing a skill we all need Posted on 05/08/2005 at 22:16 PMlook during August 2005 only, come and learn the skill to carry out domestic plumbing in your own home, male or female welcome, never wait for that expensive plumber again, just DO IT YOURSELF only Β£485 for the full 5 days. Call 01782 566166 (6 lines) we are open 8-00am till 9-00pm 7 days all courses in small groups. TILING COURSES wall tiling courses,floor tiling courses,tiling course,tiling courses,tiling training,tiling,tiles,courses,tilefixing,tilers training,tiling skills,learn tiling,tileforums. PLUMBING COURSES plumbing,plumbing course,plumbing courses,domestic plumbing,plumbing skills,plumbing training.learn plumbing.

tiling courses Posted on 18/06/2005 at 06:10 AMTiling,tiling course,tiling courses,wall tiling,floor tiling,plumbing courses,tiling training, all these courses and lots more here at PITT Ltd. Tiling courses, plumbing courses, diy tiling,diy plumbing or tiling and plumbing. We offer, wall tiling courses, floor tiling courses, plumbing courses, wall and floor tiling training, plumbing courses, tile adhesive and grout training, in fact any training course you require will be found here. TILING COURSES wall tiling courses,floor tiling courses,tiling course,tiling courses,tiling training,tiling,tiles,courses,tilefixing,tilers training,tiling skills,learn tiling,tileforums. PLUMBING COURSES plumbing,plumbing course,plumbing courses,domestic plumbing,plumbing skills,plumbing training.learn plumbing.

DIY ceramic tiling courses Posted on 29/05/2005 at 10:08 AMTiling,tiling course,tiling courses,wall tiling,floor tiling,plumbing courses,tiling training, all these courses and lots more here at PITT Ltd. Tiling courses, plumbing courses, diy tiling,diy plumbing or tiling and plumbing. All are welcome to join in on one of our DIY tiling courses. This 2 day practical course is offered for only Β£276-00 including VAT tea/coffee and lunch in the most relaxed atmosphere. These courses are fully practical and will help you with tile cutting, setting out, application of adhesives and grouts etc. You could learn a host of new skills and knowledge to allow you to do your own tiling or even learn what to look for when employing the professional tiler, this will ensure you chose the right trades person to fix your ceramics. Or ask for the combined tiling and plumbing set over 4 days with everything provided , we are open today as we offer 7 days help line for all delegates that attend either tiling or plumbing courses at PITT. The combined 4 day plumbing/tiling at only Β£449-00 Or if your thinking of a career change see our professional courses in tiling and plumbing, just call 01782 566166 now to secure your place. All courses are run over weekends and weekdays and are suitable for both male and female.

DIY Plumbing course Posted on 29/05/2005 at 09:04 AMTiling,tiling course,tiling courses,wall tiling,floor tiling,plumbing courses,tiling training, all these courses and lots more here at PITT Ltd. Tiling courses, plumbing courses, diy tiling,diy plumbing or tiling and plumbing. All are welcome to attend our DIY plumbing training courses. These fully practical courses will give you the skills required in the home. You will learn how to plumb in your washer/dishwasher, outside tap, change any part of your bathroom suite and most important never be waiting for that plumber that never turns up when you need it most, leaks and bursts cost an arm and a leg so pay once and be able to fix it yourself with this 2 day practical course, feel free in visiting this professional working plumbing centre that will never be found in local colleges. And as with all PITT training courses you will have the 7 days a week help line on-going after your training, all this for only Β£276.00 inc VAT with free tea/coffee lunch and all tools and equipment provided for the course, why wait call 01782 566166 to book your place, yes we are open today. Courses are run over weekends and week days, or ask for the combined 4 day plumbing and tiling DIY course. A one night stay at our hotel on a B&B; basis only Β£35-00 per night. Just a phone call away. male and female welcome.

The new drill guide for easy drilling ceramic tile Posted on 10/04/2005 at 11:24 AMThis fantastic new product developed by PITT will make the drilling into ceramic tiles so easy without risk of scratching or skating across the tile, just click here to see how simple it is. Ideal for tilers, plumbers or DIY drilling into hard slippery surfaces, even car bodywork. Only available from PITT tiling and plumbing courses centre at only Β£6.50 for a kit. Need to drill ceramic tiles http://www.tools4tilers.co.uk TILING COURSES wall tiling courses,floor tiling courses,tiling course,tiling courses,tiling training,tiling,tiles,courses,tilefixing,tilers training,tiling skills,learn tiling,tileforums. PLUMBING COURSES plumbing,plumbing course,plumbing courses,domestic plumbing,plumbing skills,plumbing training.learn plumbing.

Plumbing Courses available, book your plumbing course now! Posted on 25/03/2005 at 08:55 AMTiling,tiling course,tiling courses,wall tiling,floor tiling,plumbing courses,tiling training, all these courses and lots more here at PITT Ltd. Tiling courses, plumbing courses, diy tiling,diy plumbing or tiling and plumbing. PITT after much demand from satisfied delegates on our tiling training courses, we now introduce professional plumbing from a team of the most skilled trade’s people in plumbing and electrics in the U.K. our team with a combined 50 years experience will give you the skills you need to carry out the perfect plumbing job. Plumbing is in high demand so why not take part anyone is welcome. what is covered Removal and Fitting of radiators Fitting TRV (thermostatic radiator valves) Plumbing in bathroom suites Plumbing washer/dishwasher Change tap washer Loft storage tanks Central heating maintenance Learn about all fittings In-line valves Ball fix Gate valves Two way and three way valves Bleeding valves Air locks Plastic v copper Copper pipe bending Soldering Plastic waste Push fit Solvent welding Indirect and direct cylinders Fitting a pump Draining down and re-filling Protectors and inhibitors Safety using blow torches Health and Safety including Fire Electrical requirements Tools of the trade (all professional tools used and supplied for the course) Our plumbing centre is fully equipped and all plumbing carried out will be operational and tested Cost Β£545 including VAT lunch and tea/coffee Be a better trades person with these skills and a free help line 7 days a week. Call now and book this exciting five day training course on 01782 566166 Feel free to visit our centre, the address can be found on the home page. TILING COURSES wall tiling courses,floor tiling courses,tiling course,tiling courses,tiling training,tiling,tiles,courses,tilefixing,tilers training,tiling skills,learn tiling,tileforums. PLUMBING COURSES plumbing,plumbing course,plumbing courses,domestic plumbing,plumbing skills,plumbing training.learn plumbing.

5 Day Tiling Courses Available, see 10 day professional tiling courses too Posted on 09/11/2003 at 01:28 PMTiling,tiling course,tiling courses,wall tiling,floor tiling,plumbing courses,tiling training, all these courses and lots more here at PITT Ltd. NEW 5 day wall and floor tiling course available with more in depth training. TILING COURSES wall tiling courses,floor tiling courses,tiling course,tiling courses,tiling training,tiling,tiles,courses,tilefixing,tilers training,tiling skills,learn tiling,tileforums. PLUMBING COURSES plumbing,plumbing course,plumbing courses,domestic plumbing,plumbing skills,plumbing training.learn plumbing.

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