DIY Guide: How to layout a tile floor
A proper tile floor layout for your project will help ensure:
- All Cut tiles are against a wall.
- Grout lines are symmetrical to the room
- Grout lines are far enough from the baseboard trim so not to highlight crooked walls.
- The most visible areas get additional consideration.
Table of Contents
Preparation and Planning
Every floor tile project is different: Different room sizes, different room shapes, different challenges, different size tiles, different shaped tiles, different install patterns. We can provide you with the basic considerations on how to layout your floor tile project, but decisions will have to be made. Common sense will have to applied.
Preparation and planning are critical to the outcome of your project. The more complex your flooring pattern, the harder the layout. However, if you carefully follow the strategies provided in this article, and measure accurately, even a beginner can successfully complete a tile floor project that looks like it was done by a professional.
Measure and Mark the Center Lines
- Mark the center point of each wall. Do this by measuring the length each wall about 6”-12” out from the wall (the corner may not give you an accurate length due to the quality of drywall mud). Calculate the center point by dividing the length in half. Carefully mark this point on the floor. Now confirm this mark is accurate by measuring from the center point to each wall. These measurements should be the same. Adjust accordingly.
- Use a chalk line or a long straightedge and a pencil to mark lines across the floor from the midpoint of one wall to the midpoint of the opposite wall, creating a cross in the center of the room. These lines will be your reference for starting the layout.
- Confirm that your center cross lines are square. This can be done by using a large framing square, a laser square, or the 3-4-5 Right Angle Triangle rule (see below). Adjust accordingly to ensure your cross lines are square.
The 3-4-5 triangle rules: states if a triangle has the constant ratio 3:4:5 as its side lengths, then the triangle is a right triangle. The 3-4-5 triangle satisfies the Pythagorean Theorem which uses the sides lengths of a triangle to prove it is a right triangle. (Note: for larger rooms you can use 6-8-10 for more accuracy).
Establish Your Placement Strategy
- Be clear about your placement strategy, but also be prepared to change your strategy. Sometimes the pattern just does not fit the room.
- Determine the orientation of your tiles (e.g., square to the walls or diagonal) based on your preference and the size and shape of the room.
- If you are staggering your tiles (commonly done with rectangular tiles), mock-up more rows so clearly understand where the grout lines will land. This is especially important if you are doing a 1/3 stagger.
Get exactly what you need
Dry Layout (Mock-Up)
- Now that your center lines are established, start laying down full tiles (without adhesive) starting from the center cross and working towards the walls. Use tile spacers to maintain consistent gaps between tiles. This will help you determine the size of the tiles along the walls and where other cuts will be needed.
- This could also be done using math, however, remember that tile sizing is often provided in nominal sizes, meaning that the size given in not necessarily the actual size of the tile. For example, a 12 x 12 tile may actually be 11-3/4” x 11-3/4”.
- Rule of Thumb: If the tiles along the walls are less than half a tile, adjust your first tile so the center line is in the middle of the tile and then adjust all the other tiles. (See Illustration: Starting Options)
- Ideally, you want to end up with cut tiles along the outer edges of the room, near the walls, rather than in the center and grout lines at least 4” from the wall.
Consider Your Most Visible Parts of the Room
- Now that you have a plan on how your tile will fit the room, you need to place additional consideration to the most visible parts of the room, when completed. Sometimes what appears to be a perfect floor tile install, changes when the cabinets and features are installed.
- The first most visible area of every room is the doors and/or wall openings. Will your uncut tiles run parallel to the door or opening? Will they start at the right spot, which is usually under the door, at the door stop? Do you require a starting strip?
- Other areas of high visibility are around cabinetry, which often is not there when installing the tiles. Having a grout line ½” from the front of your bathroom vanity could be very noticeable, especially if the vanity is not exactly parallel.
- Also provide additional consideration around showers, fireplace hearths, columns, and stairs, just to name a few.
Adjust your Center Cross accordingly to achieve the results you need
Remember, there is rarely a perfect tile layout. Sometimes you will need to compromise perfection in one spot to achieve perfection in another. Always focus on the most visible spots.
Reset Your Tile Dry Lay (Mock-up)
- Now that your center lines have been adjusted as needed to achieve a perfect result, re-laying full tiles (without adhesive) starting from the adjusted center cross and working towards the walls. Use tile spacers to maintain consistent gaps between tiles.
- Complete this carefully, as this will be used to measure your cut tiles and mark your starting lines. Once the location of your first row (cut tiles) is carefully established and marked, use that measurement to create a “starting line” which is parallel to the center line.
Cutting Tiles
- Measure and mark tiles that need to be cut to fit along the edges of the room.
- Use a tile cutter or a wet saw to make precise cuts. Ensure you leave space for grout lines when measuring and cutting. (The learn how to cut tiles like a professional, check out our article: Top 10 DIY Tile Cutting Tips.
Conclusion
By following these steps, you should be able to achieve a tile floor layout where all cuts are along a wall, grout lines are parallel to the walls, and you avoid small tiles along the edges. This method ensures a clean and professional finish for your DIY tile flooring project.
Now you are ready to start installing your tiles. For more guidance on how to install your tiles to perfection, check out the SureReno articles: Installing Tiles Flooring. and our Ultimate Guide for Using Tile Leveling System
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