Where to start tiling ?

deanos

Im after some help , i am going to tile myself, the tiles we have are going to be laid brick effect (10x33 cm tiles) , im not sure how to start though as we have a glass splash back

I have put up a picture, do i start left of splash back and class that as 1 section and find centre line ? then class right of splash back section number 2 and find centre line , and same for each turn ? laying wholes tiles left and right of centre line ?

Owain_Moneysaver

I would be inclined towards starting at the splashback each side and working away, so you have an exact tile or half-tile abutting the splashback.

However that does rely on not ending up with a sliver of tile at the far end. Calculation is ultimately no substitute for setting out a few rows on double-sided sticky tape and seeing which fits the spaces better.

deanos

yes think you are right, your eyes are drawn to the splashback/cooker hood area

Xeorix

The way to do this correctly is to lay the tiles out, before you stick them down. Just lay them flat on your worktop, in the pattern you want.

You want to make sure that you don't end up with a full tile at one side, and a 2cm on the other. Where possible, try and get both rows with a decent amount of tile at either side

Procrastinator333

I'm just a DIYer, but my 2 pence. Think where are your eyes are drawn to most? I would wager the splashback edges and probably the window ledge by the sink when you are using the sink.

So if it were me I would be starting with a whole tile either side of the splashback.

But the other thing I would do is then start on the window ledge to get that all looking symetrical. Your 2 areas of tiles will then meet up in the corner where your knives and coffee machine are. That corner won't be perfect as the tiles won't match up perfectly, some will need to be cut, but you will be cutting them anyway. And if it is noticeable, it is in the corner where you don't really look, behind the knoives and the coffee machine.

My other suggestion is start from the worktop level and go up. That way, if the depth between wall unit and worktop is not a whole tile, the cut will be at the top - and not noticeable. And not at the bottom.

And do get a wet tile cutter. You will need one for the sockets etc. I just got a cheap mcalister one. It isn't going to work for a proffessional. But the odd job it works fine for.

Good luck!

SailorSam

At the bottom i always try to have about half a tile, so draw your horizontal line a few inches up and tile from there. When you've finished fill-in the shorter tiles.

Marktheshark

You need to "bond" the tiles so the pattern cuts through the splashback.
Eyes find detail, lay out on work surface from centre of splashback , measure some lines and work off them so it looks like the splash back is over the top of the tiles with the bonding and pattern matching, otherwise your eyes will always want to correct the different bondings at each side

Cornucopia

Definitely measure and plan out each section - both for height and width. The objective is to avoid having any cut tiles that are less than about 2-3cm in height or width. Ideally, also, avoid small slivers around sockets, too.

I've tended to chicken-out on kitchen tiling in the past, and use mosaics.

Use a diamond-wheel wet cutter for easy, precise cutting as suggested.