Tile - Befor And After

MattCoops

A couple jobs
Before and after

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Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
(978) 601-8774 | cupantile@gmail.com | view tile pictures and more

MattCoops

Travertine Bath

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__________________
Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
(978) 601-8774 | cupantile@gmail.com | view tile pictures and more

Floorwizard

Nice.

Did you do the tub too?

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"in 20 years you will regret more what you did not do than what you did"

MattCoops

No, customer kept old tub

and I don't do tubs or sinks
I have my plumber do that

I'll put a riser on a toilet flange, pop a wax ring on, and drop a toilet in.

__________________
Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
(978) 601-8774 | cupantile@gmail.com | view tile pictures and more

R&D Tile

Those grout joints don't line up.

Tom R

Looks nice overall, Matt, - - but as R & D says, - - it doesn't appear the lines match up, - - especially near the center ('less maybe it's just the picture??)

Anyway, - - do you start your layout in the center of the room??

Then work in four quadrants??

Or the way I do it is to draw 'pattern-lines', - - say 2' X 2' (or similar). That way it doesn't even matter if your tiles (sizes) aren't consistent, - - the overall pattern is always perfect.

A quick way to make a pattern 'go off' is to start at a wall or at the tub. Always work from your layout-lines 'towards' the walls and other objects, - - that way you have a perfectly set, perfectly square tile to measure off of.

MattCoops

yeah, that was first travertine job.
It isn't perfect. But the tile wasn't either
It was a half and half mix. So they aren't all uniform.
And if you worked with travertine before you can understand that the factory edges aren't so factory.

__________________
Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
(978) 601-8774 | cupantile@gmail.com | view tile pictures and more

MattCoops

In a bathroom I always work from the tub or vanity.
I've yet to see a room which all four walls are geometrically sound.
I find center and snap a line using framing square and 4ft level. Then dry run side to side to see what I end up with. Sometimes I'll start in a corner. And work out.
I work from the tub out the door. Or a wall out the room.
I've never seen anyone work from center out.

__________________
Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
(978) 601-8774 | cupantile@gmail.com | view tile pictures and more

Tom R

But that's why I say, - - if you draw a 'grid', - - right on the floor, - - it doesn't matter how 'off' your tiles are, - - the pattern will still be perfect.

Because even with 'imperfect' tiles, - - as long as they're set in the grid, - - the overall pattern is correct.

The grid doesn't have to be drawn for 'each tile', - - each one can be drawn for say, - - anywhere from 4 to even 16 tiles (depending on the size).

Doing it any other way, - - especially with imperfect tiles, - - just tends to 'multiply' the error.

Tom R

The 'center-out' method works best in ALL PHASES of carpentry (especially tiling), - - it not only effectively cuts even the most 'miniscule' of errors right in half, - - but it transfers any possible errors out towards the edges.

MattCoops

I usually have rough time with grids on floor, thin-set just masks it.
If you have a couple reference lines you can have a clean edge
I guess you could go row by row, snapping line or using ledger or level

__________________
Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
(978) 601-8774 | cupantile@gmail.com | view tile pictures and more

Tom R

If you trowel 'pependicular' to your (drawn) lines, - - they're much easier to see, - - another method is to put tiny pieces of tape (every foot or two) along your drawn lines, - - then trowel right over the tape, - - then pull the tape up (the small 'blank' spots only fall in where you're going to grout, anyway).

Brushslingers

Easier to just run in diamonds to keep it square... like this -

***XX
***X
***
XX
X

Once you measure and divide by your tile + groutline, you get your edge threshold size... sorta like hanging ceilings, you don't want a full tile on one side and a half an inch peice hanging on the other. Run two corners down at once in a diamond and cut the other side to fit the always out of square room. Done. Just noticed this forum has almost no pics... i'll post a few myself since i'm just supering an overnight job atm.

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Benn

Tom R

I agree, - - but that seemed a little 'advanced' to discuss at the moment . . .

I refer to it as a 'pyramid-pattern', - - but, same thing.

And yes, - - borders should be equal, - - that's the advantage of starting the lay-out in the exact center, - - or 1/2 tile over, - - whichever allows for a border that's no narrower than a half-a-tile . . .

Peladu

Well, every room is different, but lets take this particular bathroom pictured above and I will tell you what I would tend to do.
I would square it up, crunch my numbers and figure out what my borders are wanting to do. But, for the pure aesthetics of it, I will try to put the full tile against the tub (99% of the time it is workable). There is nothing I hate more than to see a tile job (like the bathroom lay-out pictured above) that has a half, or three quarter tile at the tub, just to match whats at the threshold. Also, if the tiles were terrible and all different sizes, I have used Tom R's 2x2 block out pattern, but never in a bathroom. I have been a carpenter long enough to catch something thats walking off line, AND if my eyes can't catch it, there is no way in hell that Mr. & Mrs. HO's eyes are gonna catch it. The last time I used the blocked out layout boxes was when I did a 2400sqft basement tile job, and they were more like 10'x10' but not laid in the grid pattern but the diamond pattern (45 degs off wall). But this works for me and may not work for others and I have never heard a "why didn't you" on any of my tile jobs.

Mike Finley

We do it the same way. The most important layout is determined by considering how the room is going to be viewed. If it's from the door way then that is where we consider the layout from. For instance if the tub is opposite the doorway we would consider that tub line the most important and work off of that. We are luck to find 1 corner in a room that is square, let along once you throw in a knee wall, a tub or a vanity!

One thing you might want to consider if you are in control of the design is to stay away from small tile on a floor in a small room. We keep the 6x6s on the walls and rarely go below a 12x12 on the floor. But like I tell our customers there really is no wrong or right, they are going to be living there so if they like it then that is the 'right' way.

Mike Finley

By the way, nice job on the mosaic!