Ceramic Tile Laying Patterns

Being creative with your ceramic tile laying patterns will give you a chance to make a wonderfully unique addition to any room in your home. Available in a wide range of patterns, sizes, finishes and colors, and possessing strength and durability, ceramic floor tiles have long been a favorite flooring material for entryways, kitchens, bathrooms and other high-traffic areas.

Ceramic Tiles

Ranging in size from one-quarter inch to a foot on a side, ceramic tiles are available in rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, octagonal, round and other shapes. Colors run the length and breadth of the spectrum, including tiles that look like wood planks, though neutral colors are the most popular for residential use. This vast array of shape, size and color makes this project one of the most artistic floors you put in your home.

Ceramic Tile Laying Patterns Installation

Laying out the pattern for your new ceramic floor is one place where your creativity can shine. Your layout design can be simple or intricate, purely functional or sublimely artistic. Choose from a grid pattern, an off-center crisscross, a herringbone, or beyond: It's up to you. However, if you are new at this, it is best to start with something straightforward, a basic grid pattern for example.

The first step in any tile project is a smooth subsurface. Then it is time to lay down a simple grid pattern:

• Snap a chalk guideline down the center of the room and another perpendicular to the room's main entrance, using a square to ensure the line is at a 90-degree angle to the entrance.
• Lay a row of tiles without adhesive from the main door, using a spacer between each tile. You can use plastic spacers or the edge of another tile. Just make sure that a full row of tiles is visible from the doorway.
• Continue laying row upon row until you reach the end of the room. Then, when no more full tiles will fit, lay a wooden board, one-inch thick, perpendicular to the row of tiles and fasten to the far wall or the border of your floor plan. This board provides a secure, square reference for laying the field tile and can be removed to finish laying the remaining tile along the wall.
• Lay tile along the board in both directions, creating a “T” formation.
• See if you need to shift the center row of tiles to the right or left to create equal borders on both ends of the room. Move the center line only as much as you need to in order to balance the ends.
• Once the ends are balanced, snap another chalk line and ignore your first line. Find the place where the new chalk line and the one-inch board intersect. That is the starting point for your installation.

Taking the Next Step

The next step in the project, after working out your ceramic tile laying pattern is to cement the tiles into place by adding grout between the individual tiles and apply a sealant. Working out the pattern and laying it out right were the hard parts of this project. Now is the time to actually put those plans into action. This is where advice from a professional can come in handy. While not the hardest part from a conceptual point of view, there are always tips and tricks you can learn from a professional to make the installation process easier and cleaner.

Installing your own tile floor is a chance to show off your artistic vision while, at the same time, providing the room you are working on with a strong, water-resistant floor surface that is as easy to clean and maintain as it is beautiful and long-lasting. Laying the tile is easy to do as long as you stay organized and take the project one step at a time.

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