Setting Out and Fixing · 4 lessons
Setting out a tiled wall
Setting out is deciding where every tile will land before one goes on the wall. Ten minutes with a level and a pencil saves a wall of awkward cuts.
Our wall and floor tiling path is in public beta: some lessons are still being checked.
Start from a level line, not the floor
Floors and bath edges are rarely level. Tilers mark a level datum line about one tile up, fix a straight batten along it, tile up from there, and cut the bottom row to fit once the batten comes off.
Use a gauge rod
A gauge rod is a straight batten marked in tile widths plus joints. Hold it against the wall and you can see straight away where the rows and columns will fall, and how big the end cuts will be.
Centre it
Mark the middle of the wall and try both a joint and a tile centred on that line. Pick whichever leaves the bigger cuts at both ends. Many tilers aim for no cut under about a third of a tile: it's a working habit, not a rule in any standard.
Floors and patterns
On a floor, two lines at right angles are set out from the middle of the room, and a 3-4-5 triangle checks the corner is square. Brick bond and herringbone patterns change both the setting out and how many spare tiles you need.
Key numbers
- 3-4-5
- Sides of a triangle that prove a right angle when squaring a floor.
Common mistakes
- Starting the first row on the floor or bath edge and following its slope up the wall.
- Starting in a corner and ending the wall with a thin sliver.
- Not checking the diagonal before setting out a floor.
The lessons this guide comes from
- Datum lines and gauge rods
- Centring
- Squaring a floor
- Patterns