How to Lay Out Ceramic Tile in a Room That Is Not Square

How to Build a Wood Makeup Vanity Table
Published: Jan 27, 2010
Updated: Nov 20, 2021
1 minute read

Step 1

Measure the floor along each wall, finding and marking the middle of the length.

Step 2

With an assistant, stretch the chalk snap line across the room, from the mark along one wall to the mark along the opposite wall. Pull the string taut, then snap the line (lift it in the middle and let it snap back down onto the floor, leaving a straight line of chalk).

Step 3

Stretch the snap line across the room from the two walls that are perpendicular to the first line. Don't snap it yet, but hook the string to the edge of the floor (or to a partly-set nail) on one side of the room, while your assistant stretches the string taut on the other side.

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Step 4

Lay your carpenter's square at the intersection formed by the string and the chalk line that you snapped earlier. If the two perpendicular spans of the square don’t line up exactly with both the string and the chalk line, have your assistant move the string one way or another until they do.

Step 5

Snap the line. Start tiling at the intersection of the two chalk lines, working your way toward the walls.

References

Tips

If the room is an L shape, pick the largest side of the L and treat it like its own room, without the other part; then just extend the layout to the other part after you have tiled the main space.

Photo Credits

tape measure 1 image by Martin Grice from Fotolia.com

Kevin McDermott

Kevin McDermott is a professional newspaper journalist and landlord. He was born in Chicago and graduated Eastern Illinois University with a degree in journalism. He currently covers regional politics for a Midwestern newspaper. McDermott…

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