You Tube

[tsl45]

Sorry should have aske this along with the first question.

Watching a video on you tube the tiller fixed a batten to the wall and tiled up from this start point he then removed the batten and tiled downwards to the floor. Why did he not just start at the floor and work up the wall?

regards tsl45

[doug boardley]

the batten gives him a level datum to work from, personally these days I use my laser level and forego the batten.

[Dave]

Personal preference..

[Dan]

Because you have to take into account every single tile that is going to be cut, and what size it will be, and whether it will look appealing. And you can only do this using a datum line which then would give you the tile set out (after usually quite a bit of adjustment) which then you can go to the bottom full row of tiles and fix to the walls LEVEL. And then the unlevel floor will have a cut tile going to it so it looks appealing. Rather than a full tile at one end and then perhaps a gap under it at the other as the fall runs out of level.

You'd use a 'gauge staff' or 'gauge rod' or even a 'yard stick' as the brick layers amongst us would call it, to achieve the tile setout using lines on the wall you draw with a pencil, rather than just going for it with the tiles and ending up with poor looking cuts in eye level places etc.

[Perfect Tiling]

Another reason for using a batten is so that you can tile all the walls before the floor. Put the batten on the wall allowing for a cut tile down to the floor and tile up from it to the finished level. Then tile the floor allowing an expansion gap at the walls, Finally cut tiles and complete tiling down to the floor to let the wall tiles sit on the floor tiles. Doing it this way means you have less chance of dropping a wall tile onto the floor tiles causing damage and you wont be working on your new floor with tools, steps etc possibly causing damage, especially with softer tiles.

[doug boardley]

...unless you cover the floor with card like I do

[Perfect Tiling]

A 600mm x 300mm x 10mm porcelain tile dropped from 2 metres will still go through the card you put down!!! I used to be an aircraft engineer....should have 'aquired' some titanium sheeting before I left...that would solve it!!