How To Get A Straight Line For Tiling A Floor

The ledger shown here is a length of steel angle held in place by wood blocks screwed to the wall.

How to get a straight line for tiling a floor.

A strip of plywood or a perfectly straight board will do the job too. Planning the layout for a tile project is usually the hardest and most time consuming step. Snap a chalk line between the marks from wall to wall. If the wall is too long to snap the chalk easily kneel by the midpoint of the line and press it down to the floor with one hand.

You ll see how to s. Snap the chalk line leaving a straight chalk mark on the subfloor. Pull the line very taut and the hold the line down on the mark with one hand. And mark the center point on the floor.

In general to lay the tile itself mix thinset and spread it on the floor using the notched edge of a trowel starting at the intersection between your chalk lines on the floor. For making curved cuts you can use tile nippers. Use a tile cutter for small straight cuts. Clean up right away.

Square your layout to the room entryway how to square for tiling measure between the two marks and mark the center point. The first step in laying out tile is to mark a layout line in the room. If the tile is too thick for nippers try the following method. I think they used a long straight edge too but only to tamp the tiles into line.

Less than a full tile. Pin a line of string across the room and use that to line up the tiles. The tilers who did our hall reproduction victorian pattern drew a line on the floor and used that. Use a tile saw or wet saw both rentable if necessary for cutting numerous or thick tiles.

To get a straight level start position a ledger on the wall leaving a gap below about 1 2 in. Reach out with your other hand and lift up the chalk line about 10 to 12 inches from the floor pulling straight up then release the line so it snaps down onto the floor creating a crisp straight line. Starting with the room s longest straight wall use a tape measure to find the center point. Draw a line parallel to the entrance across the three marks using the longest straightedge available.