Thanks for the replies above. I will bookmark this thread and come back to the recommendations on it in when I'm looking to get the job going. It's interesting reading for sure.
I'm thinking of replacing a bathroom this year. It's not too big, about 2.2m x 2.3m, and currently only the shower corner is tiled, the rest is just painted plaster. I'd like the whole thing tiled next time. In a situation like this am I better off finding a bathroom company to do the whole job...