Setting Out Setting out advice please!

[LEH]

Hi guys,

I finally have some walls and levels to work off for setting out.

Here's the wall I am finding a bit tricky:

Sorry for the squiffy angle, it's a small room. Here's a plan with dimensions:

Tiles are 500 x 200, laid stacked, long side horizontal. 2 mm grout joints.

I'm fairly satisfied I want to center my grout joint in the middle of this wall horizontally, so 2 tiles per row, cut to each side to approx. 480 mm.

Vertical position I'm less sure about. If I put the center of the tile on the center line, I get nice cuts top, to the bath lip and to the floor. However, to the right of the strip down to the floor will be a tiled bath panel, and this would end up with a very thin strip at the top. Second, the holes for the shower pipes would have to be drilled right at the edge of a tile.

Putting the grout joint on the center line instead puts the pipe holes within a tile. Cuts are about 40mm top and the same to the bath lip, and a good size cut to the floor of about 185 mm.

The wall to the right of this is a nice square, 1.7m tall (from the bath lip) and 1.77m wide. Leading round to the wall containing the window:

'Plan':

Here the second vertical placing, with 40 mm from ceiling, seems to give good cuts round the window and down to the bath and top. The first option is going to give a thin sliver under the window reveal.

So I think the second option sounds best? If the 40mm cuts are acceptable? And if there's not something in between I'm missing?

 

[Bill]

what is wrong with a full tile off the bath...... according to your measurements, it would leave decent cuts everywhere.

 

[Dumbo]

Why have you got so few fixings in your boards .

 

[Flintstone]

These sort of posts are always confusing with a pike of numbers. Full tile off the bath is my go to layout if it works. Centralised window also is a must for your window are the boards on stud anywhere or all on solid wall ?

 

[LEH]

Ok - I had got it into my head that full tile off a bath wasn’t good in case it isn’t straight or level. But I put it in level sitting on a level batten so should be ok.

Fixings- are to manufacturer’s instructions! 8 per board on the studs, which are at 300mm centers. Window wall they’re dabbed on as it was a mess and then five fixings per board as per the Jackoboard instructions. Above the window it’s a wooden lintel though.

 

[macten]

Some time the edges of a bath curve up or down at the ends.
If they curve up it's no problem as you can trim a little bit off the 2 tiles where needed. If they curve down to the point that it will leave too much of a gap be prepared to trim a little bit off most of the tiles apart from the 2 ends. No major hassle and definitely best set out if it works well elsewhere as it looks good and always works well when tiling a bath panel. You look like you have a fair bit of depth re window frame to play with so always consider building up the sill or header if it helps with set out.

 

[LEH]

Thanks. Yeah going off the bath with a whole tile looks pretty good everywhere except under the sill - it’s 820 from bath to fill so I’d be left with about 10mm under the cill.

But as you suggest, I could build up the cill with another 20mm board to give a cut of say 35ish?

 

[Flintstone]

10mm cut under the cill, take off that 20mm board and put a 10mm one on

 

[LEH]

Doh yes of course, and then that works perfectly.

 

[macten]

perfect then. My next go to set out if full tile off bath don't work is full tile into cill so to have both work is my set out nirvana

 

[macten]

And Kudos for fixing them stacked!!

 

[LEH]

Cool. I think I picked the stacked tip off someone in the forum too...

Final question- what size gap do you leave between tile and bath rim- just another spacer or more?

 

[macten]

2mm is about right

 

[Flintstone]

Look forward to seeing the end result

 

[LEH]

As long as it’s not a complete dog’s dinner I’ll share

 

[macten]

Sure it won't be!
One thing I would recommend you do is when you remove the 20mm board off the cill, tile the window wall before you add the thinner board. You want it bang on level with the tops of the full tiles so take any guess work out the equation and build up to the required height after tiling.

 

[LEH]

Yeah I was thinking it would be a major pain if it were a mm or two too low, given how close it is - will certainly do as you suggest!

 

[Albert]

Yeah I was thinking it would be a major pain if it were a mm or two too low, given how close it is - will certainly do as you suggest!

It would be a bigger pain if it was high