Tiling Home Renovation Class

With David Cooke

This tiling class is part of our Knowing Your Home Series. See what other upcoming classes we offer in the series here.

Learn how to tackle a tile project from start to finish and avoid the expensive contractors. This class will cover planning your layout, picking materials, prepping surfaces, and making clean, professional cuts. You’ll get hands-on practice tiling a demo board with a partner, learn to work with different tile types and tools like wetsaws and trowels, and walk away knowing how to handle everything from mortar to grout. Join this supportive beginner-friendly workshop, expand your handy DIY skillset, and connect with a community of fellow makers!

What You’ll Make: 

  • Team up with a partner to tile your own demo piece of a tiled masterpiece so you can get real world tiling practice. 

Skills & Concepts You’ll Learn:

  • Planning and laying out a tile project

  • Choosing and buying materials

  • Prepping surfaces before mixing mortar

  • Understanding substrates, mastic, spacers, grout

  • Using transition and border pieces

  • Installing ceramic, porcelain, and glass tile

Equipment & Tools You’ll Learn:

  • Wetsaws, levels, squares, trowels, and more

Class Outline:

  1. Prep & Planning: Key terms, tool overview, layout planning, material selection

  2. Demonstration: Instructor tiles using a commercial wetsaw, showing techniques and tips

  3. Hands-On Practice: In teams of two, work on a 4 sq. ft. board with provided tile, mortar, and tools; design and install your tile piece

  4. Wrap-Up: Group review and Q&A

Other Class Details:

  • Prerequisites: None. No Experience Required.

  • Class Capacity: 10 maximum, 6 minimum

  • Materials Provided?: Yes

  • Age Limit: All Ages (guardian required if under 18)

  • Partner Ticket Available?: No

  • Available for a Private Class?: Yes (info)

  • Clothing/Equipment Requirements?: None

About the Teacher

David Cooke has taught home repair classes for thirteen years. He’s written articles on home repair and improvement for a local magazine and appeared weekly on a television program in Boston as the "Resident Home Repair Guy" for two years. David ran his own home repair and improvement business for most of the last 30 years. Dave also plays in a band, was a comedian, and is a retired judge / attorney.

What People Say about Dave’s Classes….

"David was hilarious. Also I feel much more confident."

"Incredible amount of information and practice for 3 hours without feeling overwhelming."

"Instructor was fantastic, kept the jokes coming and made the time fly by!"