Floor tiles diagonally. Advantages and disadvantages of laying tiles on the floor diagonally, determining the starting point

Of all existing schemes, laying tiles on the floor diagonally is the most difficult way. The main problematic nuances are related to markup. You also need to correctly determine the place where you need to lay the first tile, and in which direction to move. Despite all the difficulties, diagonal laying allows you to realize many design ideas.

Which tile to choose for the floor, and how to glue it

Consider step by step guide When laying tiles in a diamond pattern, you need to start with choosing the material. The quality of the final result depends on this.

The floor in the room is usually tiled or ceramic tiles. What is their difference? Almost nothing. The base is clay, and only the additives differ. Tile is a type ceramic tiles. Both materials are great for any living room. GOST 6787-2001 applies to ceramic floor tiles. According to the standard, tiles with an unglazed surface are intended for balconies and loggias. Glazed tiles are installed in all other rooms.

Attention! GOST 6787-2001 does not apply to tiles used in rooms with high concentrations of alkalis and acids.

You cannot skimp on the quality of tiles. Its surface must be resistant to abrasion, aggressive cleaning agents, and light impacts. Tiles suffer the most in the kitchen and bathroom. Constant moisture, grease, and objects falling on the floor should not harm the floor covering.

Now about the glue. Laying tiles on cement mortar is last century. There are a huge number of adhesive mixtures, but you need to choose them correctly:

• For tiles small size usually used glue mixture based on cement. It is sold in dry powder form and is inexpensive.
• Plates large sizes It is better to install using epoxy glue. It is sold ready to use.
• Floor with wooden base When a person walks, it is subject to deformation. To prevent the tiles from flying off, it is better to give preference to polyurethane glue due to its elasticity.

Incorrectly chosen adhesive for certain operating conditions will begin to crumble over time. Large cracks will appear under the tiles, and they will simply peel off from the floor.

We calculate materials and prepare tools for work

Laying tiles with your own hands begins with preparing materials and tools. First of all, you need to calculate required quantity tiles on the floor. The difficulty in calculating is that laying tiles diagonally requires a lot of trimming. This results in a lot of waste being left behind.

Calculating the amount of tiles begins by determining the floor area by multiplying the length of two adjacent walls of the room. The result obtained is divided by the size of the tile.

Attention! When using a diamond laying pattern, only square tiles. A different tile shape will distort the diagonal arrangement of the rows.

When the total amount of material becomes known, you need to calculate how many whole tiles and pieces will be needed. Every effort must be made to ensure that both pieces of tile can be used after cutting. The final result obtained is multiplied by 10%. The reserve is needed in case of battle, marriage and other unforeseen situations.

To work you will need a tool:

• bucket for mixing glue;
• two spatulas for applying the solution with a smooth and serrated blade;
• laser or regular level;
• construction cord;
• pencil, tape measure, rubber hammer;
• crosses for aligning seams;
• grinder with a diamond blade or tile cutter.

Another material you will need is grouting paste for joints, but it can already be purchased after laying the tiles.

Work order from A to Z

So, now we will consider the instructions, including step by step guide work performed.

Preparing the floor surface

The tiles must be placed on a clean, level and durable floor. This is the only way to achieve it good results. Work begins by removing the old flooring. If on concrete screed If there are painted areas, bitumen residues, inserted wooden embeds, then all this must also be removed. The completely cleaned surface is primed and then checked with a level. If the floor turns out to be perfectly flat, then you just need to fill the cracks, clean the protrusions and go over the primer again.

Most often, the surface of the old floor is uneven. The best solution would be to pour a new screed from a self-leveling mixture. The dry powder is diluted with water, thoroughly mixed with a construction mixer until it reaches the consistency of sour cream. The solution is evenly applied to the floor, leveling with a needle roller. After four days, the smooth surface is coated with a primer.

Two ways to mark the floor

To make the diagonal tiles on the floor look beautiful, you need to mark the floor correctly. This is one of the most complex processes, and it can be done in two ways.

In any case, in order to correctly lay tiles in a diamond shape on the floor, you need to choose the right landmark. The role of the guide line is played by the diagonal drawn between the opposite corners of the room. If the walls are uneven, the two diagonals will differ in length. This will greatly disrupt the arrangement of the rows of diamonds.

The first marking method does not require adherence to the diagonal. The reference point for the first tile is determined by an isosceles triangle. To construct it, two lines of equal length are drawn on the floor from adjacent corners one wall. The size of identical segments can be taken at your discretion, but it is better to choose so that the markings of the triangle coincide with the diagonal of the tile. This will allow you to start laying with solid tiles.

The second marking method is suitable for square room. It requires diagonal orientation. First, the center is determined. To do this, find the middle on the four sides of the floor. Draw lines with a pencil, connecting opposite points. You should end up with two perpendicular segments intersecting at an angle of 90 degrees. This is the center. This is where the laying of tiles begins. Two more lines are drawn through this point, connecting opposite corners. These will be diagonals for orientation.

Correct application of glue and control of tile position

There should be no problems with applying the glue. Ready mixture Apply evenly to the floor with an even spatula. Next, take a tool with a serrated blade, apply it perpendicular to the floor surface, and with a sideways movement make grooves in the glue.

Attention! When using tiles with a porous surface, it must also be lubricated with glue.

After application adhesive solution Lay the tiles by gently tapping them with a rubber hammer. Immediately you need to check the horizontalness of the tiles using a level. When laying tiles diagonally, it is important to monitor their position. Diagonal rows should run at an angle of 45° to the walls of the room. The evenness of the seams is adjusted with plastic crosses. They additionally help to align the tiles horizontally.

Laying tiles from the center and corner of the room

You can lay out the tiles in a diamond pattern from the center or corner of the room. It all depends on the design of the room.

First way

So, we lay tiles from the center of the floor if this part of the room will be on public display. That is, the place will not be filled with furniture or anything else. The tiles should be laid in sectors. After marking, there are four of them.

Taking a spatula in hand, we begin laying the tiles:

• The first tile should be laid from the center of the floor. One corner of the tile is placed at the central point where all the lines intersect. The edge of the tile is aligned with the diagonal.
• Next, you need to lay out the first row. Laying tiles in a diamond pattern occurs while adhering to the diagonal. The laid row ends in the corner of the room. Now we need to return to the center again. From here, lay out the second row in the same way on the opposite side of the room. Once the second row is completed, there will be a straight diagonal of tiles across the entire room.
• The same actions are performed with the third and fourth rows to create a second diagonal of tiles. Now the floor is divided into four sectors. They need to be tiled one by one.

Laying tiles in sectors begins after the glue has hardened on the diagonal rows. Latest tiles near the walls you will have to cut it into triangles. It is optimal to use a tile cutter, but if you don’t have one, a grinder with a diamond wheel will do.

Second way

In a bedroom or kitchen, the center of the room is often filled with furniture or other objects. The most visible place here is the area near entrance doors. Here it is wise to use the second method, which involves laying ceramic tiles diagonally from the corner. Moreover, the first to lay tiles cut into triangles.

It is important to lay the first row exactly. It consists of two triangular tiles, and usually starts from the left corner of the entrance doors. Next, according to the diagram shown in the photo, the tiles are laid diagonally in the next rows.

At uneven walls the geometric shape of the room is disrupted. Near the wall on the last row, it may be necessary to complexly trim the tiles being laid in several places. To avoid mistakes, a template is cut out of paper according to the size of the tile. Then it is given the shape of a complex fragment, and the sketch is transferred to a solid tile. Now all that remains is to trim along the lines and glue the piece into place.

Grouting joints

The tiled floor is left for a day until the glue completely hardens. When you can walk on the tiles, remove the mounting crosses from the seams and begin grouting. The paste is prepared from a dry mixture. It is diluted to the consistency of non-liquid sour cream. The finished paste is pushed into the voids of the joints with a rubber spatula. After grouting the floor with an area of ​​maximum 2 m2, the remaining mixture is removed. You cannot delay cleaning the floor from the paste, otherwise, after it hardens, it will be almost impossible to wash off.

Conclusion

The video explains the rules for laying tiles diagonally:

This is the principle of installation floor tiles diagonally in any room. The process is complex, but if you wish, you can do the work yourself at home.

Laying tiles diagonally is one way to bring a sense of originality to your living space. Tile laid in this way will visually expand any space, making your home larger.

Before laying tiles diagonally, you need to remember a few simple rules:

• with this method of laying, the consumption of tiles will be greater than if it is done in the usual way.
• Do not lay tiles on uneven floors. Flaws on the surface will not allow you to create a diagonal pattern good quality.
• You need to purchase a quality tile cutter. As a last resort, you can use a grinder.
• you need to be patient. Laying tiles diagonally is a more labor-intensive process than horizontal-vertical laying.

Floor preparation

Floor preparation – the floor in a new room that has never had any leveling work done will most likely have imperfections. In order to fix this, first of all you need to remove large protrusions and fill cement mortar cracks. Next, you need to evaluate the degree of surface roughness and determine the volume necessary work. If the height differences do not exceed 30 mm, then you can get by with a self-leveling screed. For differences of up to 100 mm, filling with a cement-sand mixture will be required, and above 100 mm, expanded clay must be used so as not to load the floors.

You can move on to the next stage of preparation after cement screed completely dry. Its degree of drying can be checked using plastic film, which needs to cover the floor surface at night. If in the morning, on the side of the film that was lying on the screed, moisture appears, then the cement has not yet dried and you need to wait.

Laying

The next preparation step may be waterproofing, but this is not necessary.

Marking and laying out tiles – Once the floor is level, clean, and the screed is completely dry, you can begin marking. To do this, you will need a marking cord, which can be purchased at any hardware or hardware store. If you want to save a little money, you can make such a cord yourself at home. To do this, you will need to take a strong elastic rope and thoroughly rub it with a piece of chalk, after which the marking cord can be considered ready. For marking purposes, the cord must be pulled along the floor between two diagonal angles rooms. Having secured the ends, it is pulled up and sharply released. When the cord hits the floor, it will leave a colored line. The same must be done with the two remaining corners. The resulting lines intersecting in the center of the room will serve as markings for laying tiles diagonally on the floor.

The next stage, after marking, should be the preparatory layout of the tiles diagonally over the entire surface of the floor. This is done in order to establish the order in which it will need to be laid out to create a diagonal pattern. Diagonal layout tiles begin from the center of the room, where the marking lines intersect. One of the corners is selected where the first tile should be laid, after which we continue to lay out the entire diagonal to the wall. In the same way, you need to lay out the second diagonal. After this, lay out the entire tile on the floor, filling the remaining space between the diagonals. The tiles that end up against the wall will need to be cut to the required shape and size. The laid out tiles, before they are removed, must be numbered for convenience in further work.

Diagonal laying of tiles on glue is the most crucial moment, which in case of an error, it will be impossible to correct without losing the tiles.

How to lay tiles with glue to avoid mistakes? To do this, the tile adhesive solution is prepared in the volume required for the job. To glue tiles on the floor diagonally, you can use various types adhesives, their choice depends on the intensity of use of the future ceramic coating and personal material capabilities. Glue for tiles can be divided into three types: cement-sand mixture, adhesive mastics and dispersed adhesives. They differ in price, drying speed, consumption, composition, method preliminary preparation and other indicators that can be found by reading the product characteristics on the packaging or by consulting with the seller. Laying the tiles diagonally is done in the same order in which they were laid out when marking. It is best to use a notched trowel to apply the adhesive solution. The solution must be applied both to the back of the tile and to the floor surface, which will ensure better adhesion. It is necessary to ensure that the tiles are laid at the same level and do not protrude one above the other. If suddenly there is a need to adjust the height, this can be done by gentle tapping with a rubber hammer. Laying ceramic tiles on the floor requires some experience, and if you are not sure that laying tiles on the floor diagonally will go without errors, then it is better to seek the help of a specialist.

Grouting joints - after laying the tiles on the floor is completed and they are securely glued, you need to start grouting. For this, special dry mixtures are used, which can be purchased at any hardware store. The method for preparing the grout for use will be indicated in the instructions on the package. Grout mixtures can be divided into two types. The first includes those that are used for seams with a width of no more than 5 mm. The second type includes grouts used for joints with a width of more than 5 mm. Their difference lies in the fact that in the second type of grout, sand is additionally added to the mixture of cement and additives, which is necessary to reduce shrinkage and prevent cracking. In stores you can see grouts based on synthetic resins, but their price will be higher than cement ones. Before starting grouting work, it is necessary to clean the tile seams from glue. For this you can use a regular kitchen knife or a spatula. The resulting solution is rubbed into all joints between the tiles using rubber spatula. Before rubbing, it is recommended to moisten the seams with water to prevent shrinkage and cracking of the drying grout. The grout color must be selected in accordance with the color of the tile. If the solution gets on an already laid ceramic floor, it must be removed immediately before it dries.

At this point, laying floor tiles diagonally is considered complete.

Ceramic tiles are popular and are used in many apartments and houses. Although laying tiles diagonally on the floor allows you to visually manipulate space and create interesting solutions– it is rarely used. The reason is an unfounded fear of increased requirements for qualifications and calculations.

Advantages of diagonal tile laying

There are several ways to lay tiles. Diagonal tiling has many advantages. Among the most noticeable and obvious for every apartment owner are:

• visual expansion of space. Tiles diagonally on the floor can literally move the walls apart, which is important for small rooms;
• Laying tiles diagonally on the floor allows you to create a neat design for a room with open walls. With a certain method of forming a pattern, you can make contouring, get rid of sloppy-looking, trimmed, or inappropriately shaped areas of the coating;
• Tiles diagonally on the floor allow you to create interesting artistic solutions. Among the most common are diamonds located inside the zone rectangular pattern, various contouring, working with elements of different sizes, manipulating colors.

At the same time, there are no increased requirements for the qualifications of the performer. If a person works well enough with the rectangular laying technique, then he knows exactly how to lay the tiles diagonally on the floor.

The minor difficulties that characterize laying tiles diagonally on the floor include the increased amount of work involved in trimming elements. This will have to be done carefully, with careful markings, preferably with a good and accurate tool. In this case, you can create any complex floor covering.

Flow calculation

Calculation of tiles on the floor diagonally is carried out according to the same rules as for the standard placement of laying elements. The only difference is that it is necessary to carefully determine the coverage area and give greater allowances for the increase in waste. The following steps are carried out:

• The laying area is divided into simple figures, triangles and rectangles;
• the area that the tiles on the floor will occupy is calculated for each area of ​​a simple shape;
• the resulting numbers are summed up;
• the total area is divided by the indicator of one tile on the floor;
• the resulting figure increases upward.

The number resulting from the calculation represents the number of ceramic elements that can be used to lay tiles on the floor without trimming, adjusting, lining pipes and other protrusions. To get a more realistic figure, you should increase the calculated figure by 10%.

After this, the calculation of the tiles on the floor diagonally should take into account the increased yield of substandard residues when cutting off the covering elements. For such compensation, the calculated number of tiles according to preliminary calculations increase by another 15%, rounded up. The estimate of purchase costs ends with the calculation of the number of packs. To do this, the last digit of the number of tiles is divided by the pieces in the package and the initial data for going to the store is obtained.

If you have the opportunity to buy tiles individually, you should not do this exactly according to the parameters obtained on paper. Laying tiles on the floor always requires allowance for accidentally split or incorrectly cut elements. Therefore, it is worth rounding the number of packs up to the nearest 0.5. For example, if during the calculation you received 10.1 packages, you need to buy 10.5. This will give more freedom actions and will save time and nerves.

Initial marking

To make the pattern on the floor look neat, you need to carefully calculate how to lay the tiles on the floor diagonally. To do this, the following actions are taken:

• determine the center of the diagonal laying. To do this, in a rectangular room, it is enough to stretch two strings from corner to corner;
• create the direction of the angles, relative to which the tiles will be located diagonally on the floor. To do this, pull the threads through the center (pre-determined) of the laying area perpendicular to the corresponding walls.
• Using two directrix guides, you can easily position the tiles. It is easy to orient the centers of the sides of the installation element using the strings stretched from corner to corner, and the corners of the ceramics along lines perpendicular to the wall.

In order to lay the surface as accurately as possible, it is best to completely place all the elements of the future ornament without using adhesive composition. In this case, all the necessary consumables are used in the form of crosses or plastic wedges to form seams.

When laying out the rough design of the ornament, you do not need to immediately trim individual tiles. This will be done during the main work process, when the ceramics are mounted on tile adhesive. Rough layout is useful when working on artistic solutions. For example, it is easy to determine the location of diamonds, shift the pattern for optimal trimming or contouring, and solve other marking tasks that simplify future work.

Surface preparation

One of important parts The answer to the question of how to lay tiles diagonally on the floor lies in preparing the surface. It is desirable that it be as even as possible. If no screed was laid, the old coating should be repaired and leveled. For example, seal cracks, fill large holes and potholes.

If new tiles are laid on previously laid tiles, then read how to prepare the surface here.

The installation base must be thoroughly cleaned. To do this, sweep away all the garbage, carry out wet cleaning. After drying the surface, degrease it, rinsing it with solvents. greasy spots and other similar contaminants. After this, wet cleaning is carried out again and the base is dried. The final operation is double priming. Before it is carried out, loose or fragile concrete bases can be treated with strengthening agents.

Laying technique

For renovations in apartments, if the performer of the work does not have the highest level qualifications and is not going to create highly artistic solutions - there are two basic techniques for working with tiles diagonally.

Diagonal laying with a common contour

In small rooms, the following method is most often used: the tiles are laid diagonally, in which a pattern can be created by alternating colors; a contour is made along the perimeter of the room, laid out with rectangular parts. To carry out this work, you will need a line drawn perpendicular to the wall through the center of the room (as described in the preliminary marking section). A row of masonry running through the entire room is oriented along it.

The tiles are laid with glue, the corners are oriented along the string, and the thickness of the seams is immediately formed by laying crosses. At this stage it is important to place the coating elements as accurately as possible. To do this, you will need to try on how adjacent tiles will lie. But in general, with a certain amount of care, everything can be done accurately and accurately. After the main long row is formed, the remaining finishing elements are laid out.

When the diagonal laying is ready, the tiles are trimmed to form smooth edges. To do this, they use a tile cutter; they work slowly, cutting the ceramics diagonally. After forming the line, you can lay the contour with rectangular elements.

Working with diamonds

To create a coating where diamond-shaped areas with diagonal orientation of the tiles are located along the general background of the installation, careful marking will be required. In this case, the laying is not done from the center line.

You need to work from the walls, carefully checking the position of the main elements. This approach will allow you to work in the diamond zones with a minimum number of adjustments, even and neat seams. If the main covering is also laid using a diagonal technique, you should start laying from the corner farthest from the door.

As can be seen from the above, a diagonal pattern of ceramics on the floor is an achievable task for anyone. home handyman. It is only required to give increased tolerances for waste. They can increase if the room has a complex shape. And reach 20% in calculations if the performer of the work soberly assesses the level of his qualifications and is prepared for the fact that during cutting many frankly damaged coating elements may arise.

To create a pattern on the surface of a wall or floor, they have long been used different techniques laying tiles depending on their color, size and other parameters. Parallel installation (also called basic) is ordinary and simple from the point of view of performing the work. The method of laying it out in a diagonal direction is much more complex and expensive. But the result is worth it, because the laid surface has an unusual mosaic look, which matches any interior and looks attractive in rooms of different sizes.

Planning to lay tiles diagonally

Tile is finishing material, which makes it possible to use an unlimited number design solutions, taking into account the diversity presented in the consumer market. Tiles differ in shape, size, complementary elements, materials, and coating. All this makes it possible to make a masterpiece out of even the simplest and most extraordinary tiles, to lay an absolutely unique, individual covering.

Advice! You can carry out styling using several methods. This can be a straight or diagonal method (also called a diamond).

In order to lay the coating in a diagonal direction, you need to rotate the ordinary pattern by 45°. Professionals can lay out almost any kind of design in a diagonal direction, turning it at an angle from 30° to 70°, and there is also the practice of combining two methods - straight and diagonal laying.

In the store, at the stage of purchasing tile material, you need to decide in advance on the pattern with which you will lay the covering. This is very important point, on which a number of other characteristics depend:

Tile surface format and design

If the tiles are the same size, even inexperienced craftsmen can lay them. The quality and speed of work, of course, depend on experience in working with such material, but installation in a modular way is a set of elements that have different sizes and dimensions, as well as shapes that are multiples of each other. Such tiles are laid randomly or in a certain sequence. Such execution is labor-intensive and requires experience.

Equipment

This is a quantitative measurement of the tile material, as well as the presence of other auxiliary elements. If you lay monochromatic products diagonally, the coating will look calm, but if you resort to a combination of two or more colors, the picture will change dramatically.

Note! It turns out bright and organic, but you should use the dominant color carefully so as not to overload the space. The large number of colors used requires even greater caution and miscalculation.

At the stage of preparation for work it is worth paying attention sufficient time complete sets, as well as carry out calculations.

Calculation of tile consumption for cladding

When applying diagonal laying, you will need a considerable amount of cladding. Almost all elements laid around the perimeter of the area will be trimmed, but you will need almost all of them for work.

Advice! In this regard, we recommend purchasing cladding material with a margin of 25% - it will be waste. In this case, it is better to purchase material with a reserve immediately due to the fact that later it will be problematic to find the same shade of material that you will not have enough of..

The simplest and truly the right way The drawing determines the amount of material you will need for installation. You can do it yourself by hand or use the help of a special consultant who will help you decide on the amount of material and calculations.

Important! Almost every manufacturer provides sellers of their products with a special program that allows them to calculate the amount of material. It's convenient and saves a lot of time.

Tile laying tools

When laying cladding diagonally, you will definitely need a set of tools:

• Directly the coating itself for cladding and the necessary shaped elements for it;
• Polymer or cement glue;
• Soil - it will be needed when updating the foundation;

• Polymer or cement grout for joints;
• Steel ruler, square with tape measure;
• Level;
• Tile cutting machine. A tile cutter will be needed quite often, since when this method styling you will need to trim large number material. You can rent a tile cutter. It is better to use good quality equipment, this will help you save time and increase the productivity of the work performed;

• Cord for marking the coverage area, as well as a marker;
• In order to mix the solution, prepare a mixer along with a container for the solution;
• A spatula with a mallet for the procedure of rubbing seams;
• To level the slabs, prepare special spacer crosses;
• Knee pads and assembly gloves;
• A cloth and a bucket with a sponge are necessary to keep the workplace clean.

Instructions for laying tiles diagonally yourself

1. Preparing the base for laying tiles. The surface should allow laying tiles from 2 to 15 mm; if the coating is mosaic, the base will be 20 mm. The coating must be dry, clean, even and durable.

One way to diversify the type of cladding is to lay tiles diagonally (see also the article about). In this material I will tell you how to do a 45 degree installation using the example of a small bathroom. Since the size of the room is small, we will not draw markings.

We first poured a screed onto the floor. The height of the floor was adjusted to fit the wall tiles, leaving a gap for laying the floor tiles with a layer of adhesive.

Before starting work, we sort the tiles by size into 2-3 groups. We put the defective tiles away - we will use them under furniture.

Quick navigation through the article

Pruning

We start by trimming the first two tiles. Let's cut each of them in half diagonally to make a preliminary layout.

We apply the tiles and combine the pattern.

Drawing diagonal lines and make a shallow (3 mm) cut using a grinder with a disc on the tile. We break off the tile along the cuts.

We don't use a tile cutter because the tiles won't fit there diagonally. But they can be trimmed small corners. Because of this, diagonal laying is more expensive for tilers.

Measure each cut in place to avoid mistakes, and take into account the width of the seam.

Pre-layout

We will start laying from the most visible wall. There should be even half-cuts in this place. The opposite wall will be closed, so it doesn’t matter to us how wide the triangle trims are.

If you want to get the same cut on both sides, you need to align the center of the first tile with the center of the room.

We lay out the first 1.5 rows of tiles on the floor without glue to see all the irregularities, and if necessary, further trim them to fit the walls. If all is well, apply glue to this area of ​​the base.

Laying

The glue is applied to the floor with an even spatula or trowel. I use Lux Plus cement adhesive. The consistency of the solution is liquid: this ensures better adhesion and adjustment.

Place the tile on the mixture and tap it. Align the plane and seams. Since the floor is perfectly flat, there is almost no need to look at the overall laying plane; you can focus on the adjacent tiles.

We place the floor tiles under the wall tiles. There should be a gap between them.

We insert crosses to avoid displacement of the seams. I use thin crosses 1.5 mm thick, as I am confident that the tiles and the base are even.

Immediately clean the front part and ends of excess glue.

There is a trim in the last row complex shape. In addition, the walls in the room have an irregular geometric shape. To cut it accurately, we take a triangular half of the tile and use it to measure all the indentations, taking into account the thickness of the seams and the overlap of the wall tiles. Based on the measurements, we make a cardboard template. If everything fits, transfer the dimensions to the tile, cut it and lay it.