About to put some carpet tiles in a smallish [3mx2m plus a bit] room used as an office. Have bought the tiles [35]. Checking various websites they say start from middle of room and work outwards. Why? Isn't it easier to start at one wall? One 3m wall is all desks/drawers - so no skirting visible. The other is bookcases - very little visible. If thats relevant.
Ta for tips.
Walls are rarely square. If you draw a centre line along the longest dimension, find the centre of that and work from there it is less obvious if the edges end up being cut at an angle. If it is a room with the door in one end, it can look better to start from the doorway, but check that won't end up with a thin strip of tile at the far end.
Colin Bignell
Walls are seldom dead straight - so you start from a straight line in the centre(ish) of the room, and then trim the edge tiles to fit the wall. You trim them ever so slightly over-size so that the tiles are a tight fit, and can't move.
Try to arrange it so that you are left with more than half a tile all round the edge after trimming. It looks better than having very narrow strips. I usually draw a plan of the room, plus a (to scale) tile-size matrix and overlay one over the other, and move them about until I'm happy that I've got the optimum layout. This usually ends up with starting near the centre of the room, but not exactly at the centre.
You really do want to avoid narrow strips - they have a horrible tendency to move, get kicked out of position, etc.
Yes, start from the middle (in both directions). You need to be sure the centre line is absolutely straight.
The other important thing is to determine whether the line in the middle is to be a join line or in the centre of a row of tiles. ie is the centre row of tiles on centre of off centre? If off centre is optimum, you move the centre line by half a tile width.
This can make a big difference to the amount of waste/tiles you need..
The basic options are either a tile with its centre at the geometric centre of the room, or four tiles with their corners meeting there. If neither of these work, just keep playing with the bits of paper, it is easier than real tiles.
Chris
That's what I would do and have some indication fo where the furniture is so that areas of high wear can be spotted. Be nice not to have a join in the middle of a high wear patch, partly so you might only have to shuffle one tile about and partly so that the edges don't lift and become a trip hazrad. Also any parts where the edge can be seen from the doorway need to be sensible, not a silly strip.
Alas not usually.
What normally happens is you find you need a very narrow strip of tile at the far end, or small rip tapering to nothing at a side. All of which draw the eye to the lack of squareness.
Like with ceramic tiling, some time spent measuring out and test fitting will get a pleasing layout with cuts that don't immediately "stand out" at you.
Thanks chaps. Project due Thurs, will follow advice and report back.
I think it is easier to line them up on the floor in both directions so you can fiddle around to get the best finish at the walls. Then I would go for the straight lines.
Jonathan
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