Summary: Learn how to plan the arrangement of floor tiles, find the centre point, position a key tile, lay tiles on the diagonal and tile border patterns.
Regardless of the type of tile you plan to lay, always start in the middle of the room. Therefore the first task is to find the room's centre point.
Alternatively, if the room has an irregular shape featuring a chimney breast and/or bay windows, follow this method for finding the centre point of the room.
But if the room is very irregular in shape a more elaborate method of finding the middle of the room should be employed.
The central point in a regular shaped room.
Ignore recesses when finding the cntre of a room.
Run a chalk line across the room passing through the centre point and following the edge of the tiles.
The first tile you lay is called the key tile and will decide the position of all the other tiles, so it is worth taking time to experiment with placing it in different positions. For example:
Ideally try to plan your arrangement so that all the tiles around the edge of the room will be the same size.
If the room contains a large attractive feature such as a fireplace, bay window or impressive door, from a design perspective it is important to centre the key tile with this feature. This is achieved by moving the base line so it is centred on the feature.
Experiment with different options for your key tile.
Try to plan so the edging tiles are the same size.
Centre the key tile in rooms with features such as an attractive fireplace.
Using different coloured tiles laid in sequence can create attractive floor patterns. The most common pattern alternates two coloured tiles as on a chessboard. Planning your design before you begin is essential.
Base lines for a diagonal pattern can be marked on the floor using an improvised compass. Use a length of batten about 1m (3ft 3in) long and hammer a nail into each end. To prevent the wood from splitting, drill two pilot holes a little smaller than the nails.
An improvised compass can be used to determine your base lines.
Dry lay the tiles along the diagonal lines, moving their position to achieve the largest possible cut tiles around the border.
If the tiles do not reach the walls, you can create a border around the perimeter of the room to fill the gap. There are two ways to do this.
Alternatively you can square off the diagonal pattern and fit rectangular cut tile pieces around the border.
Your cut piece of card must have the same width as the diagonal measurement of the tile.
Push the wedge of your card squarely against the skirting board while overlapping the tile you want to cut.
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