Tiling wall where there is an uneven floor

[k4p]

Hi all,

I am planning on tiling a wall. This is a mini-DIY project using the 'How To' guides.

One question:
What if the floor/skirting board isn't totally horizontal.

I will use a baton to create a horizontal line. My understanding is that this should be the point at which my 2nd row of tiles should start. The distance between the skirting and the (top of the) baton should be the length of a tile plus 2 x spacer (bottom and top).

If the skirting isn't totally horizontal then do i have tiles of differing sizes along the top of this skirting?

Hope the question makes sense.

 

[Richard C]

A couple of questions; when you say the skirting is not horizontal, I assume you mean it's not level? The tiles should be laid level, how much is the skirting out of level? Is it possible to level it up?

 

[k4p]

Yeah sorry....i meant the skirting is not level. It's out maybe by a couple of cm's across the room (this is maximum).

It's not possible to level as the floor as to blame.

 

[jctilingservices]

for a simple answer mate, fix your battens, tile away, the tiles below your batten will all need cut to fit correctly. I take it from your post that you are starting a full tile up from the skirting board, if so, have you set the wall out correctly ( centred it so you have equal size cuts top and bottom ? )
No good having a full tile coming off the skirting board and a small cut at the ceiling

 

[Richard C]

JCT has sort of beaten me to it but I'll post what I had prepared anyway.

Fix the batten using a spirit level; if you can’t level the skirting then your going to have to cut the tiles to fit. The batten must be fixed so that the highest point between the top of the skirting & the top of the batten = the height (not length) of a tile + 2 spacers (top & bottom) to allow for cutting. Unless you have a diamond wheel wet cutter, it going to be almost impossible for you to cut thin slivers from the tile; in this case & depending on the size of tile, it’s often better to fix the batten lower so you have trim between 1/4 & 1/3 from the bottom.

No good having a full tile coming off the skirting board and a small cut at the ceiling

This is also very valid so aim to get some sort of balance between top & bottom.

 

[jctilingservices]

find the centres of your wall mate, working from the centre you should be able to work out how many full tiles will fit, and what size cuts you would have to make, then the cuts should be equal top and bottom.

About having to cut slivers if need be and you dont have a wet cutter ( very seldom i use 1) use your tile cutter to score along your cut line, then just break off with a pair of nippers, failing that you could always use a 4" grinder with a diamond tipped blade

 

[k4p]

Thanks!

I'm going to avoid cutting tiles very small so will find the centre of the wall and balance out as suggested.

 

[Richard C]

As JCT says you can score & nibble the tile away but this may not be the best thing to attempt for someone who’s never done it before & is why I suggested spacing the tiles downwards to give you enough of a cut to allow it to be done using a standard DIY range tile cutter; lay it all out, even it up & see what you end up with.

 

[k4p]

Another question... re. baton placement.

Below is a crude view of how i intend to place the batons. I will start tiling at the bottom left hand corner...moving outwards.

Untitled

• k4p
• 9 Jun 2010
• 1

From the many sources/how to guides, i'm a lil confused. Some guides suggest having the verticle baton in the centre of the area to be tiled. Some suggest having both the horizontal and verticle batons in the centre.

Is there anything wrong with my approach?

 

[Richard C]

Is there anything wrong with my approach?

I don’t usually bother with the vertical batten; starting in the corner can throw you out as you move up the wall if it’s not been set to a dead 90 degrees from the horizontal batten. I set the 1st tile row from a centre datum & then tile out subsequent rows from the centre using the spacers to keep it all true. Similar principle to fixing the battens in the centre as it effectively divides any likely error build up in half but it depends on the size of the wall & tiles you use; cheap tiles can also be a problem & throw you out. Ensure your battens are perfectly straight or, again, it’ll throw you out as you move up the wall; I use a couple of sturdy aluminium billet strips + a selection of power planed hardwood battens I know are accurate.