Tiling kitchen walls using 'brick effect'

[blueharvester]

I'm about to begin tiling the kitchen walls above the work benches, behind the cooker hob and along the splashbacks. I'm going to do a 'brick effect' design with these tiles i.e. stagger every other row so that it looks like bricks. How should I approach this? Should I start in the centre of the main wall and work ourwards to the corners? Or should I start in the corners with a full tile on the first row and a half tile above it and work across the walls to the opposite corner?

I'm a tiling novice so any help /advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Jasonb]

Do a search, there was a long post on this subject 2-3 months ago.

Jason

 

[gcol]

Have a butchers at the tiling sticky in the floor tiling section. You need to get a tile in each hand and (working from a centre line) "walk" them hand over hand and see how they end up at each end of the wall. When you find a point where the tiles are even at both ends, mark the wall. You now need to move that point maybe 1/4 of a tile to one side and mark the wall there. (You do this so that the next row of tiles won't be finishing near the end of a tile.) Working from this point, "walk" the tiles again to double check that you have no thin cuts at either end. Once you're happy, you can "walk" another couple of tiles to the ends of the wall starting from the midpoint of your previous row of tiles. I hope this is clear enough. Basically you're just dry laying the first 2 rows to ensure you have no thin cuts (or big gaps) at either end and trying to get the tiles even.
Good luck

 

[blueharvester]

Thanks for the reply gcol, I think I understand what you're saying. So when I reach the corner of the wall and I need to cut the tile, do I use the offcut of this tile to begin the other wall i.e. the two pieces of the same tile meet each other?

 

[Trazor]

Thanks for the reply gcol, I think I understand what you're saying. So when I reach the corner of the wall and I need to cut the tile, do I use the offcut of this tile to begin the other wall i.e. the two pieces of the same tile meet each other?

No, you need to walk the tiles again on your second wall.
If you use the offcut to start your second wall, you may end up with too thin a section at the end of your second wall.

But it may be that once you have checked the second wall, you will be able to use them....If you get my drift......

 

[blueharvester]

No, you need to walk the tiles again on your second wall.
If you use the offcut to start your second wall, you may end up with too thin a section at the end of your second wall.

But it may be that once you have checked the second wall, you will be able to use them....If you get my drift......

Oh yes, I see what you mean now. Thanks.