www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

Hi,

I have previously tiled single rooms (I am a diyer and by no means a pro).

I am now going to have a go at tiling the downstairs area (kitchen, dining room and hall). This seems a lot more complicated as its a 4 tile pattern.

I have marked a line through the rooms concerned.

I am just worried that my first tile will not be square! The room is definitely not square and I really do not want my tiles to run off......Any advice on best way to get the first tile square?

Thanks guys

Run a batten horizontally (spirit or laser level). Run a second batten vertically (again spirit or laser level) tile off that.

Thanks for this.

How can i ensure that the batten is in a square position. ie i cannot measure off the wall as this is not square?

I am unsure how to get a square starting point, if this makes sense.

Is this a floor or a wall?

I'm guessing it's a floor if it's running through kitchen, dining room and hallway.

Must read the posts more carefully...

I'll attach a VERY exaggerated pic of a room that's outta square.. measure the shortest wall lengths and divide by 2..mark a line right down the middle of the room, measure the length of that and mark halfway along..this is roughly the centre of the room,

Loose lay your tiles and check whether the layout will work at all edges of the room without having to make silly cuts. may well need playing with given that you are not doing a straightforward pattern..

You need to set out so that it looks right in every room you are tiling. You can't just set out one room and run from that.

Only you can set it out, we can't tell you.

The normal point for setting out is centre of door opening. Secondary option is centre of room.

If you have a front door and kitchen or dining room door in line then set out centre of the door openings and see how it works in each room. If it is a no go, then set out centre of hall and see how this works out.

Thanks guys.

Wineo - I drew a similar pic to try and understand this myself but with my task the pattern continues into other rooms which appear to be more square. Adopting this approach would mean that I risk the other rooms looking naff....I think anyway!

RoyalOakCarpentry - thanks for your suggestion. None of the internal doors line up so I think I will throw a line down the hall and play with this until I get something that looks sensible.

Thanks for your help everyone. Great advice from all.