Tile Laying – Finding the Center of the Room
The next step is to find the center of the room that you’ll be tiling. This is an important step because it will help you to get the best layout and look in your kitchen or bathroom. By starting in the very center of the room you’ll have whole tiles throughout the main part of the visible floor. Pieces along the edges will be cut and disappear under cabinets, appliances and run into walls and is much less noticeable than having two small pieces of tile together in the center of the room.
If you have a room that is not perfectly square, like a kitchen with a kitchen nook for example, the best thing to do is find the center of the bigger of the two rooms. In this example the main kitchen would be bigger than its nook, so you would find the center of the kitchen. Then you would let the tiles guide themselves into the nook by lining them up side by side. You’ll get a consistent pattern and won’t run into having small pieces of tile meet each other and create a seem on the floor. This would happen if you started from the center of each room and then cut pieces where the rooms meet.
FINDING CENTER:
To find the center of your room measure the distance on each wall. Next, divide the measurements in half to find the center of each wall and mark these spots.
If you’re in a perfectly square room you’ll have the same measurement. if you’re in a rectangular room two should match. If you have a scenario where the walls that are opposite from each other are different lengths you’ll want to use the measurement from the shorter wall most often, but it can vary and perhaps you should speak with an expert if you aren’t sure.
The last step is to find the center of the room using a chalk line. Take the chalk line and make two lines, each connecting from the center marks on opposite walls. The lines will intersect and give you your center point.
At the center point it will look like a giant + sign or cross. This is where you’ll line up your first four tiles next two each other, using the lines as a gauge and forming a giant square.
If you have any questions about laying tile just give us a call. We’re happy to help.
