I came across this quick guide
https://www.wikihow.com/Plan-Tile-Layout
Are there more detailed resources that I can read?
Thanks
MM
https://www.wikihow.com/Plan-Tile-Layout
Are there more detailed resources that I can read?
Thanks
MM
Is there a design guide or manual for tile layouts?
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Weekend Handyman
Active Member
Piles of books at my local library. Probably is at yours too.
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Name a few..
I already have the Black and Decker manuals but there is nothing more than in the above article
The series "Here is how" and "Home skills" are all using the same material as the B&D manual so there is not much more than what I am seeing in the wiki article
Weekend Handyman
Active Member
See if they have the 'Creative Homeowner' book.
I have not read it, but their plumbing book went into much greater detail than than the black and decker version.
I have not read it, but their plumbing book went into much greater detail than than the black and decker version.
Jeff H Young
In the Trades
theres a lot to it especialy showers and proper procedures in regard to water proofing or resistance. the nail holes etc. filling the joints hopefully someone like jadnashua can lead you to info
Weekend Handyman
Active Member
Also try https://www.house-improvements.com/. They have a lot of videos on, water proofing, Kerdi board, etc. and will answer any questions you may have.
Jadnashua
Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx
First, you have to learn how consistent your tile is from one to another. Industry guidelines call for a grout joint to be NO less than 3x the difference between the smallest tile to the largest one. If you have a grout joint in mind, you may have to search for a tile that will allow it, or change your design...it's very important to use that grout joint width when trying to align joints exactly where you want them.
Next general rule, try to avoid narrow slivers. If that means the top and bottom of the wall or floor area need the tiles at the extremes to be cut, visually, it helps.
Third, the offset in your tile may not allow infinite orientations depending on how flat the tile actually are. In general, tile tends to have a little bow to it, although longer ones sometimes have a curve in them that might dictate a larger grout line to compensate. When stacking the tile, industry guidelines recommend no more than about a 30% offset. If you go to a brick pattern with a 50% offset, if the tile is not very flat, that would put the highest midpoint of the tile at the lowest point near the tile's ends, so offsetting the midpoint closer to the end minimizes those differences in elevation and helps minimize any lippage. If you luck out with VERY flat tile, your stacking can be almost anything you want. IT happens, but it's not that common. Put two tile top side to top side and look along the edges to see if there's gaps or they rock.
Not all tile can be used in a modular layout like the Versailles or hopscotch patterns if made by you from larger, cut tiles...well, you can, but the pattern will 'walk' and not be a straight line when it repeats unless you use different grout line widths, which tends to look funky.
Industry guidelines don't allow smaller than a 1/16" grout line, and to achieve that, each tile would have to be within 1/48" of each other, min/max in size...generally that only happens with WELL rectified tile (that means they grind them to size - fairly common on natural stone, and you can find it on some man-made stuff, but how well it's done is the issue). Even with that grout gap, it becomes harder to get the joint filled properly. The grout stabilizes the edges and helps prevent the tile cracking with a point load on it. A grout line that small also means differences in thickness or variations in the quality of tile setting will magnify any error from a truly flat plane...IOW, your skill level needs to go up!
Your first goal is to make the area to be tiled as flat as you can. Industry guidelines do not allow you to use thinset thickness to level things. They call it "THIN" set for a reason...unless formulated for it, thinset is not designed to be very thick...it tends to shrink and crack when you apply it thicker than designed. IF the floor is perfectly flat, and the back of the tile is, too, you'd not need much thinset to bond the two together. But, slight variations aren't hard to overcome, and the less flat either is, the thicker the thinset needs to be.
The larger the tile, GENERALLY, you need a larger trowel, but that's not an absolute if both are flat. When setting tile, your goal should be to get 100% coverage, but there are minimums in the industry, based on whether it's in a wet area, or on a floor where it's required to have more coverage. The larger the tile, the harder it is to spread the notches to get a flat surface of thinset and not just compress the notches with gaps in between. The larger your tile, the more a slant-notched trowel will become your friend. When pressing down on a tile, the larger it is, the lower amount of pressure psi you can apply, so it can become impossible to spread the thinset out just by pressing down. To get good coverage, you generally need to slide the tile back and forth across the notches...that becomes REALLY difficult with larger tile and can take multiple back and forth motions.
Next general rule, try to avoid narrow slivers. If that means the top and bottom of the wall or floor area need the tiles at the extremes to be cut, visually, it helps.
Third, the offset in your tile may not allow infinite orientations depending on how flat the tile actually are. In general, tile tends to have a little bow to it, although longer ones sometimes have a curve in them that might dictate a larger grout line to compensate. When stacking the tile, industry guidelines recommend no more than about a 30% offset. If you go to a brick pattern with a 50% offset, if the tile is not very flat, that would put the highest midpoint of the tile at the lowest point near the tile's ends, so offsetting the midpoint closer to the end minimizes those differences in elevation and helps minimize any lippage. If you luck out with VERY flat tile, your stacking can be almost anything you want. IT happens, but it's not that common. Put two tile top side to top side and look along the edges to see if there's gaps or they rock.
Not all tile can be used in a modular layout like the Versailles or hopscotch patterns if made by you from larger, cut tiles...well, you can, but the pattern will 'walk' and not be a straight line when it repeats unless you use different grout line widths, which tends to look funky.
Industry guidelines don't allow smaller than a 1/16" grout line, and to achieve that, each tile would have to be within 1/48" of each other, min/max in size...generally that only happens with WELL rectified tile (that means they grind them to size - fairly common on natural stone, and you can find it on some man-made stuff, but how well it's done is the issue). Even with that grout gap, it becomes harder to get the joint filled properly. The grout stabilizes the edges and helps prevent the tile cracking with a point load on it. A grout line that small also means differences in thickness or variations in the quality of tile setting will magnify any error from a truly flat plane...IOW, your skill level needs to go up!
Your first goal is to make the area to be tiled as flat as you can. Industry guidelines do not allow you to use thinset thickness to level things. They call it "THIN" set for a reason...unless formulated for it, thinset is not designed to be very thick...it tends to shrink and crack when you apply it thicker than designed. IF the floor is perfectly flat, and the back of the tile is, too, you'd not need much thinset to bond the two together. But, slight variations aren't hard to overcome, and the less flat either is, the thicker the thinset needs to be.
The larger the tile, GENERALLY, you need a larger trowel, but that's not an absolute if both are flat. When setting tile, your goal should be to get 100% coverage, but there are minimums in the industry, based on whether it's in a wet area, or on a floor where it's required to have more coverage. The larger the tile, the harder it is to spread the notches to get a flat surface of thinset and not just compress the notches with gaps in between. The larger your tile, the more a slant-notched trowel will become your friend. When pressing down on a tile, the larger it is, the lower amount of pressure psi you can apply, so it can become impossible to spread the thinset out just by pressing down. To get good coverage, you generally need to slide the tile back and forth across the notches...that becomes REALLY difficult with larger tile and can take multiple back and forth motions.
Thanks for the detailed explanation, first time when I see explained why the thinset can't be very thick.
Area is flat now after some serious wrestling with studs, having to float a wall like 1/2" by sistering all the studs and so on.
I am glad it is behind me. I am now working on fixing the drywall, patching, taping mudding etc
Next is to tape the cement board and use thinset to cover the joins and then waterproof using redguard.
Only then I will get back to this
I settled for this design
Area is flat now after some serious wrestling with studs, having to float a wall like 1/2" by sistering all the studs and so on.
I am glad it is behind me. I am now working on fixing the drywall, patching, taping mudding etc
Next is to tape the cement board and use thinset to cover the joins and then waterproof using redguard.
Only then I will get back to this
I settled for this design
