Starting tile

[Spacepig]

I will be installing Lock-tile in my 540 sq. ft. garage this weekend (although this issue probably applies to any type of tiles). The online instructions (not specfic for garages) recommend starting in the center of the floor and working outward to lay the tile. This might give the most even pattern, but this doesn't seem to make sense for a garage. Seems to me that I should start at the door edge and work inward, so that the front edge is even, and if there are any partial tiles, they will be at the back edge or on one side, most likely under cabinets or other stuff, and less visible. Am I missing anything here?

- Dave

 

[wythors]

The general idea there is to give a symmetrical look to the room, but is certainly adjustablt to your taste. Personally, I started with the center of the door area and worked towards the back of the garage. I wanted to make sure that I had centered, whole tiles from the front view and cut tiles around the edges.

 

[BoCRon]

It depends on whether you a doing all one color, or a multi-color pattern. If you are doing all one color, then it really doesn't matter where you start. We did about 600sf of our basement in the chocolate brown lock-tile and since we did multiple rooms we just had to make sure we didn't have teeny little cut pieces in the doorways. Other than that it was very simple.
Annette

 

[edwin]

I started my Racedeck in the left corner closest to where all the traffic is...I wanted to ensure that I had full tiles in that area. My pattern is shifted apprx 4" to the one side but I knew it going in and it looks just fine. More importantly, my 4 wheeled toy sits on the "short" side so you don't see that side anyway.

 

[Anthony 98 GTS]

I did what you are indicating with my Racedeck floor. I started at the front left corner ensuring the front edge was whole tiles.

This put the majority of my cut tiles under my lower cabinets where they are hidden.

 

[cc_rider]

Yeah, what they said. I usually start tiling in the center so all the cut tiles are around the edges, but If there's a particular place you'd rather have full tiles, start there. Best thing is to measure it all out carefully first, including grout width (not a factor here though), to make sure you don't end up with a skinny little sliver of tile at the edge; that's a sure sign of a lousy tile job. That and wavy seams; snap chalk lines at your starting point, and check occasionally as you go, so you can make tiny adjustments as you go rather than trying to fix up a 'wedge' at the end. Not that 'I' have ever done that...

Happy Tiling!

c.

 

[christian]

My garage has a cutout for stairs going to the basement right by the door leading to the garage from the house. I'm not sure If I want full tiles there because that's what you'll see most of the time or If I want a straight edge of full tiles along the garage door opening. Any suggestions? I doubt I'll get lucky enough to have both perfect.

 

[Spacepig]

Thanks all for your input. I'm going to be doing a 2 color checkerboard pattern, and still think I'm going to start at the garage door and work back. Starting in the middle just seems to mean a substantial chance of having partial tiles at the threshold, where they will be most visible, instead of under my '59 Caddy, where they will be least visible. I know you all like pictures; I'll post one when I'm done if I don't mess it up too bad.

Wythors- Is that gray baseboard trim in your garage? If so, where from?

- Dave

 

[trainer]

One of the reasons for starting in the centre is that when you cut a tile for the edge, the cut off portion of that tile is then used on the opposite side of the room.
This minimizes waste. It takes a bit of measuring and calculating to get this to work out the exact starting point to get this to work.

 

[boiler7904]

Are you using some sort of premolded edge trim at the overhead door? If so, decide where you want that in relation to the overhead door when it is closed and start with a full tile directly adjacent to the edge trim and work all the way to the back. I would think that the trim should be right behind the door when it is closed to avoid letting water seep in through the edge/tile joints. Simply cut the last row as requried to make it fit.

The side to side layout is a a little trickier. First thing to do is decide if you have a full tile or a tile joint centered left to right (presumably at the center of the overhead door to make it really look right). Once you know if you start with a tile or joint at the center, you need to snap a chalkline front to rear that is perpendicular to wall that has the overhead door.

 

[Spacepig]

Yes, I'm using edge trim, and probably in front of that, a weatherstrip/threshold seal to help keep leaves and other junk from blowing in. I'm also hoping the hump on the threshold seal will help keep stuff from blowing in at ground level when the door is open (this has been a problem in the past). This is why I'm planning to start at the front. I'm not too concerned about the back or the sides since they won't generally be visible due to cabinets, storage, workbench etc. But I'll put down some chalk lines to help keep things straight.