Laying tiles diagonally help?

[mazza1978]

Hi guys

Sorry for such a newbie post but wanna get this right!! Im going to tile the bathroom floor which is only 4m2 but want to tile it diagonally! How do i measure the tiles at the edges so i know where to cut so they fit nice under the skirting board? Hope that makes sense!! Also is it true that there is more wastage on tiling diagonally over normally tiling??

Thanks guys

[hunter]

You need to allow say 20% instead of 10% for waste, as for getting the cuts.........i would just measure the space you need to fill round the edge, don't forget your silicone bead around the edge will hide any little mishaps.

[nybor62]

you say under the skirting board ,if skirting is,nt fitted it dont matter if your not tight against the wall as skirting will hide it,

[fergy7197]

when you say diagonally - I take it you mean diamond set?

another newbie question!

[david campbell]

hold the tile as the diamond and mark from whatever corner you intend measuring from,make sure your tape reaches the other corner it will help keep the cut straight

[brian c]

you can also place a tile on top of the last full tile next to the gap wher you want to put your cut,offer another tile up to this and mark on the top tile the shape ,then you have your cut nice and neat.I hope you understand what i am trying to say.

[lcjohno]

last job i did in dimond set i used an angle finder for the cuts. I'd never used one before and i think its a quality tool for this kind of job. Trade Tiler sell them i think.

[deanotile]

[Sean fsy]

You actually dont need as many tiles to put them on diagonally, its a myth theres hardly any waste(if you set it out right) A few of my last jobs there asnt been enough tiles to put them down normally but if i put them down diagonally there was enough(even a spare tile)

[faithhealer]

last job i did in dimond set i used an angle finder for the cuts. I'd never used one before and i think its a quality tool for this kind of job. Trade Tiler sell them i think.

T5 Angle Finder


Tradetiler Tiling Setting Out and Tile Marking

[Daz]

You actually dont need as many tiles to put them on diagonally, its a myth theres hardly any waste(if you set it out right) A few of my last jobs there asnt been enough tiles to put them down normally but if i put them down diagonally there was enough(even a spare tile)

I'm not sure that I agree with you there Sean. How can you make a tile cover a larger area just by turning it through 45 degrees?

I always reckon on 15% waste for diamond set and 10% waste for straight set.

As for the OP, welcome . Find the centre of your room marking the x and y axis. Take an equal measurement on both x and y and join the with another line, this will serve as your initial datum. You can now measure from the datum to the edge of the room to see what cuts you are left with. Adjust your datum until you have cuts that you are happy with - simples .

I trust that makes sense.
Good luck.

[Sean fsy]

I'm not sure that I agree with you there Sean. How can you make a tile cover a larger area just by turning it through 45 degrees?

I always reckon on 15% waste for diamond set and 10% waste for straight set.

As for the OP, welcome . Find the centre of your room marking the x and y axis. Take an equal measurement on both x and y and join the with another line, this will serve as your initial datum. You can now measure from the datum to the edge of the room to see what cuts you are left with. Adjust your datum until you have cuts that you are happy with - simples .

I trust that makes sense.
Good luck.

Just a quick sketch ive done, standard size bathroom. Tiles are 450mmx450mm. 30" door or 760mm. Room is 1700mmx2200mm. The drawing is to scale aswell. as you can see laying the tiles normally it will use 16 full tiles with loads of waste. Laying the tiles diagonally it will use 13 tiles maximum with half a tile waste. 3 full tiles left over:

[diamondtiling]

Sean, you cant stretch tiles mate, diagonal pattern creates more waste.

[deanotile]

now center the floor and try again.

[kilty55]

hi sean,the floor has been centred in your 1st setout but you have it of centre on your diamond set.if you re graph the diamond centred you may find it works out the same if not more tiles needed mate

[Sean fsy]

ive centralised the room and it still takes 13 tiles.and it uses 16 tiles normally.

[timeless john]

Why would he want to centre the room on the diamond just to have small cuts to the side wall and the bath?
The diagram he has drawn shows an aesthetically pleasing set out of diamond tiling with a full and half tile at the doorway and main wall areas.
In my opinion in this example my customers would prefer the look of using full tiles with the cuts behind the wc/basin and flowing under the bath.
Its not a question of being churlish with stretching tiles - its in the eye of the tiler how he would best set the room out and on this occasion IMO Sean way is the way I would do it.

[deanotile]

Why would he want to centre the room on the diamond just to have small cuts to the side wall and the bath?
The diagram he has drawn shows an aesthetically pleasing set out of diamond tiling with a full and half tile at the doorway and main wall areas.
In my opinion in this example my customers would prefer the look of using full tiles with the cuts behind the wc/basin and flowing under the bath.
Its not a question of being churlish with stretching tiles - its in the eye of the tiler how he would best set the room out and on this occasion IMO Sean way is the way I would do it.

i have to concede that it dose work but i try not to start a full tile of any wall.

[Sean fsy]

im not starting with a full tile against any wall, most customers want things central to the door as thats what there eyes are drawn to. the only full tile against anything will be under the carpet to tile trim. This is just an example. a drawing of the room centred. exactly the same amount of tiles! just about less waste diagonally again! if you central it the other way the normal tiles create very small cuts up either side and it will use more tiles. fact.: 13 tiles either way

[Colour Republic]

I know what Sean is trying to say that sometimes on a diamond set you can get up to 4 cuts out of a tile, where as on a straight set you may only get 1, it's not the norm but is possible.

If that drawing is to scale can you not get 2 cuts out of a tile for that right hand wall on the straight set? it would still mean more tiles than on a diamond set but the difference would only be 1

[kilty55]

this debate could go either way,,depending on room size and layout then.....which means we should all agree sean fsy yes your layout diamond as it is uses less tiles,,a differeent sized tile and diff sized room and it might not work out that way,i personally thought diamond generally uses more waste but i suppose it depends on the circumstances

[Sean fsy]

I know what Sean is trying to say that sometimes on a diamond set you can get up to 4 cuts out of a tile, where as on a straight set you may only get 1, it's not the norm but is possible.

If that drawing is to scale can you not get 2 cuts out of a tile for that right hand wall on the straight set? it would still mean more tiles than on a diamond set but the difference would only be 1

The cuts are 280mm thus leaving 170mm.Same on the left wall. which you can see are being utilised on the door and opposite side(150mm cuts), leaving two tile cuts short to finish the job

[deanotile]

i have said that i concede that it dose work (on paper)

[brinkley]

i miss this banter or do i ? sean fsy yes it does work out but you have to be extremely lucky to get a bathroom floor to your dimensions

[deanotile]

Ok lets say the left hand wall is out by 5mm and the back wall is bent that may mean that the off cut will be to small to fit anywhere. The size of the spacer plays a part in the setting out also. Some times it dose work but more times it just doesn’t

[Colour Republic]

The cuts are 280mm thus leaving 170mm.Same on the left wall. which you can see are being utilised on the door and opposite side(150mm cuts), leaving two tile cuts short to finish the job

no I was talking about your first sketch the room is 2200mm minus 700 for the bath = 1500 devide by 450 = 3.3 tiles across.

Now in your first picture the scale drawing looks like the cuts down the right hand side are less than half a tile (less than 225mm)

You have centralised the tiles by the door so depending on the postion of the door it could leave you with cuts against the bath which may be 375mm or greater, if this was the case then the left hand wall would be 225mm or less, meaning you'd get 2 cuts out of 1 tile taking the total from 16 down to 14.

None of it really matters but the drawing you have made whilst proves a point it is still unusual and requires specific elements to work out that way

[Sean fsy]

Centre the room the other way 16 tiles needed(obviously not the way to do it)see pic:
im not looking for arguments or trying to be clever.im just trying to give the guy who started the thread some advice and clearly pointing out that depending on the room size it could work out cheaper doing it daigonally( as ive done for customers) im not saying that at some point you may encounter more waste diagonally but more than often theres loads of waste putting them down normal way. 6 and 2x3's. but deffinitely not the impression folk get when diagonally is mentioned. My price doesnt change with diagonal as sometimes it makes the job simpler to do it that way.

Quite often there is boxing in on the walls aswell which often will cover any small cuts near the sink or toliet.

[brinkley]

if it dont fit as deano says then it may take 16 tiles

[mazza1978]

Hi guys my bathroom has a corner bath and therefore the floor area will be a L shape so how do i go about finding my starting tile for my diamond set?? Also after ripping my floor up my sink basin is coming away from the wall!! What adhesive do i need to buy to fit it back on to the wall??

Thanks for all your help guys!!

[david campbell]

Hi guys my bathroom has a corner bath and therefore the floor area will be a L shape so how do i go about finding my starting tile for my diamond set?? Also after ripping my floor up my sink basin is coming away from the wall!! What adhesive do i need to buy to fit it back on to the wall??

Thanks for all your help guys!!

is it not just sagging because you have taken the tiles from under the pedastool