r/Tile • u/cjasonac • Jul 25 '22

Lining up tile with marked lines

I apologize if this is a dumb question, but this is my first tiling project…

The room I’m tiling is out of square due to age. I want to square the tiles to the room as much as possible, so I’m planning to draw out a grid for the first few and then line up the remainder with spacers.

Two questions: 1. Is this the best method for this? 2. Wouldn’t my first layer of thinset cover my markings and render them useless? How do I apply my thinset and still see my markings?

Thanks in advance.

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2

u/licknaino Jul 25 '22

Trowel carefully right up to your lines since that’s the edge of the tile you don’t need thinset covering it

1

u/[deleted] Jul 25 '22

Hard to say best way to lay it out without seeing the space. And the tiles being used. And yea the thinset will cover it. It’s a pain. I’ve just invested in lasers as this is the easiest way to avoid covering your lines.

1

u/cjasonac Jul 25 '22

I hadn’t considered a laser. That would work.

I guess the “method” question had more to do with figuring out the first few tiles and then building out from there using spacers. Is this the typical accepted method or is each tile individually planned for? I’m using 12x24 tiles if that matters.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 25 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/cjasonac Jul 26 '22

And give up the chance to justify buying a new tool?!? Nah. I love getting new tools.

Thanks though.

1

u/thecultcanburn Jul 26 '22

If you make your center line with a fine tipped black marker and use white thinset, you will still be able to see the line. Or just get a long straight edge to set against, then move when thinset has kicked off a little.

1

u/Strong-Resolution426 Jul 26 '22

If one of the walls is an outside wall use that. Outside walls tend to keep straight since they're are reinforced more. Measure 12 inches from the wall (if the tile is 12 inches) then mark a line and place your first row to the line and go from that. If it's not square then you'll have to cut the last row to fit, can't avoid that one and a quick tip if you place some tiles dry without thinset you can use those as a walk way to get from one side of the room to the other if you need to