Ceramic tile guys help please

[JonT]

I'm about to tile my basement floor with 18" and 12" porcelain tile and need some help laying out the lines to make them straight. How do the pros lay out the grid perfectly when the walls are slightly off square? There is one main long wall the tile will run against--probably 30 ft so it has to be square with this. Any suggestions?

[The Gaijin]

I am no pro - but I think you start in the middle and work out. Every wall will be wavey and nothing is ever square! Good luck.

[masraum]

Find the center of the room, then run 2 perpendicular chalk lines that cross in the center, and then lay out your tile based on those lines.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by The Gaijin

I am no pro - but I think you start in the middle and work out. Every wall will be wavey and nothing is ever square! Good luck.

I'm not a pro either but I work in the Construction industry and the above is a common misconception. You DO NOT lay out the floor as though you were putting an open ended box down on top of a sheet of grid paper. Sounds like it would be right, but its not.

It is always a judgement call but you start from the location you will MOSTLY see the floor from. If the room has multiple entrances for example, you lay out whole tiles from the most used entrance point and put the cuts in the least conspicuous perspective. It is difficult to describe but you have to adjust that general rule too; it isn't a hard and fast one. If the walls taper or are wavey there is not much you can do to correct that. Sometimes laying out the tile on the diagonal minimizes the impression of those deficiencies. Some times if you have a long room, like a galley kitchen ,and do not want to emphasize that look you use the diagonal layout.

How aobut posting a picture of the room?

[Bill Verburg]

No pro here either, but I just tiled a bathroom w/ 12"

I laid a chalk line straight from the door center to the opposite wall and worked left and right from there. I checked to be sure that there was a reasonable match in tile width at the side walls.

[masraum]

What Dan said is completely correct. Besides the start in the middle of the room thing, there are other considerations due to aesthetics. That's the reason for laying it down before you start dry and then looking at things and adjusting the whole room. It's a real pain in the booty, but worth it in the long run.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by masraum

...That's the reason for laying it down before you start dry and then looking at things and adjusting the whole room. It's a real pain in the booty, but worth it in the long run.

Forgot to mention this advice and it is solid. Its along the lines of "...measure twice, cut once". Lay it out like you THINK it should go and it will cost you only a little time.

Install it permanently the first time and take your time regretting how you approached it....or the time and expense to bust it out and REDO it!

[dad911]

Take the time to lay out dry rows. First pull a parallel line to one of the longest walls. Then lay out the tile to see what the end 'cuts' will be like. If the room is out of square, or 1 wall is off, don't have narrow pieces on that wall (narrow cuts will make it more noticeable) ( a 1/2" variation is more noticeable in a 2" tile row, than a 1/2" on a 9" tile row)

You can also vary the joint a little to make up some space, especially if the room is large.

[craigster59]

Dan's absolutely right, make the cuts in the least conspicuous places. I'm sure trekkor can give lots of input on this subject.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Oh, one more thing: Yes, put the cuts in inconspicuous places but don't force all the cuts into tiny little slivers in corners. That screams, "I DON'T KNOW HOW TO LAY TILE".

Be mindful that that approach draws the eye to the little pieces - fugly. Even things out if you have to (somewhat) to get a more pleasant, less jarring "look".

[Jims5543]

Pelican member, Trekkor is a tile contractor.

[JonT]

here are some pics of the area. I laid out some tile as guys suggested. The pattern is not the typical "grid". Im looking for a technique or suggestions to measure and mark off the floor for straight reference lines and having probs because the walls are not square.

[azasadny]

Remember, moulding and caulk are your friends!

[trekkor]

First, nice tile!

Second, no matter what, use 100% acrylic modified thinset mortar and a 1/2" x 1/2" notched trowell.

It looks like your room is "L" shaped, right?

Find your longest run, place a large tile at both ends of that wall about 1/4" away from the wall.
Mark the far edges of the tile away from the wall.
Use a chalk line and snap a reference line on the marks where the tile was along the wall.

Using a framing square and a long straight edge or a laser do the same thing off the intersecting perpendicular wall.

Before you commit, check to make sure you don't have any sliver cuts ( under 1 inch )
If need be, move the layout one way or the other to produce favorable cut sizes.

I like to spray clear lacquer marking paint over my chalk lines so they remain visible during the install and it also keeps the red chalk off my clothes and shoes.


Let me know if I can offer any more assistance.


KT

[Dan in Pasadena]

trekkor,
I know your advice is for JonT, but thanks for it. Obviously, you're a pro and even though I've done a bit of successful tile work myself, I wouldn't have known how to make this layout work...but now I do. Your advice is right on.

[Jims5543]

FYI - My little brother decided to save a few bucks and buy the cheap thinset. All the tiles in his house started popping up 4 years later.

He had to retile the entire living area using versa bond, which I believe is what Trekkor is telling you to use.

I watched my buddy layout my house and it was very interesting so say the least. Because I did not have 1 long wall to work off of, instead many shorter walls and none of them are square to each other, he had changed his mind 3 times. The finished product was great though.

[trekkor]

Custom's Versa-Bond is a higher quality thinset with polymers in the mix that are water activated.

For the best performance use a seperate acrylic admixture in place of water with a premium thinset designed for acrylic.

Porcelain tile will not bond properly ( fail ) with a water mixed mortar.

Also, check that slab for cracks, surface depressions or rises.
Make your corrections before laying a single tile.
Is looks like there is some wall compound staining on the cement as well.

If you want this floor to outlast every surface in your home, give it a good acid washing followed by 1-2 rinses.


KT

[competentone]

Originally Posted by trekkor

If you want this floor to outlast every surface in your home, give it a good acid washing followed by 1-2 rinses.

With proper ventilation, and respiratory and eye protection!

It looks like your tile/pattern will be very "forgiving" to irregularities in your wall or "mistakes" in your layout, so I wouldn't become overly worried about your pattern layout.

[Hetmann]

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