Tile Format Installation Advice

The Free Length format should be graded by length prior to installation - it is important to open and grade all the crates prior to installation. There will be a minimum of 3 lengths within an order.

When setting out it is best to dry lay the length of the room with the width of the tile to ensure you don’t have thin cuts against opposite walls. We advise to dry lay 15 to 20 tiles to get a feel of tile placement and layout.

Where possible it is best to have a full width or near full width tile adjacent to thresholds.
When laying a Free Length you must blend the tonal variation and lengths randomly across the floor to achieve a random offset laying format. The Free Length format should be installed by a minimum stagger of 100mm to the left or right of the below joint.

When finishing a row of tiling and a cut has to be made, you can use the remainder of the cut tile to start another row.

If installing an uncalibrated natural stone, we advise laying the thickest tile to begin with, setting the height for the remainder of the floor. The adhesive bed can then be adjusted accordingly for the remaining tiles.

When setting out it is best to start from the centre of the room to achieve a balanced pattern across the floor. Ensure there are no thin cuts against the walls, should there be you can shift the pattern to eliminate these to accommodate a larger piece of tile.

Due to the nature of the opus pattern, the grout joint around “D” (small square) will be narrower than the rest of the tiles. Therefore a wider joint is required between the tiles to accommodate tile “D”. This irregularity will be softened once the floor has been grouted.

We strongly advise dry laying a pattern to understand how to open up the grout joints before commencing with the installation.

When setting out it is best to start centre of the room to achieve a balanced pattern across the floor. Ensure there are no thin cuts against the walls - should there be you can shift the pattern to eliminate these to accommodate a larger piece of tile.

Where possible it is best to have a full width or near full with tile adjacent to thresholds.

If installing an uncalibrated natural stone, we advise laying the thickest tile to begin with, setting the height for the remainder of the floor. The adhesive bed can then be adjusted accordingly for the remaining tiles.

Although it is personal preference, to achieve an authentic look it is recommended to lay this as a diamond format, setting out from the centre to achieve a balanced look.

Where possible it is best to have a full width or near full width tile adjacent to thresholds.

When setting out it is best to start centre of the room to achieve a balanced pattern across the floor. Ensure there are no thin cuts against the walls - should there be you can shift the pattern to eliminate these to accommodate a larger piece of tile.

Where possible it is best to have a full width or near full width tile adjacent to thresholds.

Due to the warpage that can occur with porcelain tiles; fixed length tiles should be installed uniform or staggered by no more than 30% the length of the tile. A levelling system should always be used by your installer during installation.

When installing non-rectified porcelain tiles, the grout joint should be wide enough to accomodate slight variation in length and width of the tile.

When setting out it is best to start from the centre of the room to achieve a balanced pattern across the floor. Ensure there are no thin cuts against the walls, should there be you can shift the pattern to eliminate these to accommodate a larger piece of tile.

Due to the nature of the opus pattern, the grout joint around “D” (small square) will be narrower than the rest of the tiles. Therefore a wider joint is required between the tiles to accommodate tile “D”. This
irregularity will be softened once the floor has been grouted.

We strongly advise dry laying a pattern to understand how to open up the grout joints before commencing with the installation.

Porcelain tiles can come in a tumbled effect finish. This is manufactured in two ways, with the first being most common:

Straight cut with a textured surface edge
These tiles are straight cut and rectified which allows for narrow grout joints. The grout can be applied as normal which would provide a linear grout joint and an exposed texture to the surface edges.

Alternatively, the grout can be applied higher than usual and worked into the textured surface edge, creating the illusion of a tumbled tile. Please note this method of grouting does take longer to achieve and should be factored into the installation time.

Wavy edge
These tiles are unrectified and have a wavy edge. The grout is applied as normal and will showcase the tumbled edge. At present only our Rapello porcelain is finished in this way.

Due to production methods, it is normal to expect a slight variation from the size and thickness stated on the website. To achieve a chequerboard tile pattern, we advise a slightly wider grout joint to accommodate nominal measurements.