A simple guide to tiling

Step One - Planning

Before you start to tile, plan carefully. Thinking about how the area is used, choose the natural focal point of the space to be tiled and use that as the basis of your planning.

On a straight-edged length of timber stick, mark the length of one tile edge, plus one grout joint (the space between the tiles) along the full length of the stick. For these ordinary kitchen tiles, we assumed a grout joint of 3mm.

Use the measuring stick to plan how the tiles will fit. This will give the number of tiles you need, plus an indication of where the problem areas will be.