How to plan wall tiles

We offer a wide range of tiles in a variety of shapes, sizes, textures and colours. The pattern you lay your tiles in can have a huge effect on the look and feel of your bathroom, so take a look at our tile patterns guide.

Once you’ve chosen your tiling design, the next step is to work out how many tiles you need.

To do this you need to know:

• The size of the area you’re tiling
• The size of the tiles.

There are two ways to calculate tile quantities, either:

1. Check the product details or packaging of your tiles which should state the coverage in square metres. To work out how many boxes of tiles you need, divide the area in square metres by the coverage area stated on the product. We recommend adding an extra 10% for cracks or breakages. To work this out, multiply the number of boxes by 1.1 and round up to the nearest whole number.

2. Use our tile calculator to find out how many tiles you’ll need based on the size of the area and the size of the tiles. Our calculator will include the additional 10% in the total given.

If the area you’re tiling has obstructions such as doors, windows or fixed cupboards, measure the area of these to work out how many tiles to deduct from the total number needed. This will save you from spending money on tiles you won’t use. Measure the height and width of each and use the tile calculator to work out the area. Subtract the number of tiles it specifies from the total number of tiles.

We recommend keeping a few spare tiles to replace any that are damaged at a later date. You can return any unopened whole packs of tiles. Check out our Returns and refunds policy for more details.

Often tiles are given batch numbers. If this is the case you should always try to purchase tiles from the same batch as some very slight variations in colour and finish can happen. This is another reason to make sure you buy enough tiles at the beginning of the project.

Now you have the right quantity of tiles, it’s time to prepare the wall to give you a good foundation for your tiling project.

Step 1

Remove any existing tiles or wallpaper from the wall. Using a stripping knife for the wallpaper.

Step 2

Identify the state of the wall.

If the wall is mostly flat and only has minor imperfections such as small holes or cracks, jump to Step 3.

If the plaster is damaged and very uneven, jump to Step 4.

Step 3

Ensure the surface you’re tiling is clean, dry, flat and stripped of any wallpaper or crumbling plaster. If the wall is slightly bumpy then you’ll be able to get around this by adding extra adhesive when fixing the tiles to get an even result.

Prime the surface by applying PVA-based adhesive with a paintbrush. This stops the plaster absorbing the tile adhesive.

For a step-by-step guide to repairing a wall, including how to repair cracks and holes in plaster, check out our 'How to repair a house wall' article.

Step 4

Use tile backer boards to cover damaged and uneven walls. These fully waterproof the wall and create a level surface for tiling. This is especially important in areas that regularly get wet such as wet rooms and in bathrooms around the shower.

Fix the tile backer boards with tile adhesive, following the product instructions.

We're using a linear tiling design for our tiles and so will be creating horizontal and vertical rows of tiles. Before starting, we need to know how many tiles are fitted per row and to do this, we make a gauge rod. Created from a timber batten, this rod will help you work out the best position of the tiles and ensure that you don’t have to cut very thin strips of tile for the edges.

In our example we’re using square tiles. Adjust the lines to the size and shape of the tiles you're using. You may need to adapt the position of the lines depending on the tiling pattern you've chosen.

Before you start tiling it is important to establish the position of your first row of wall tiles, and the starting point from which you will start tiling. This is called setting out. Walls are rarely completely straight so setting out will help you fix the tiles along a level line. It will also ensure that your tiles fit neatly within the area, without leaving you with a very thin space at the edges to cut a tile for. Planning the tiling in this way means the pattern will be centralised, resulting in a neat and attractive finish.

If you’re only tiling part of a wall, for example an area around a bath reaching partway up the wall, jump to the ‘How to plan a part-tiled wall’ section.

Follow these steps to set out the wall tiles using a gauge rod.

If the gap is smaller than half a tile wide (pictured) then it could be tricky to cut, particularly with smaller tiles. To avoid wasting tiles move the starting point so that you’re left with a wider space at the edges to cut tiles for. Move onto the next step to find out how to move the starting point.

Step 8

Check how much of a gap is left at the top of the gauge rod. If the gap is less than half a tile move the starting point. Move on to the next step if this is the case.

If the gap is more than half a tile, move on to Step 11.

Step 11

Hold the gauge rod horizontally across the wall, aligning the top edge with the starting point mark. Using a spirit level to ensure it’s straight, draw a level line across the wall at this point.

Step 12

Check along the lines for pipes and cables. To do this, use a stud detector (also known as a multi-purpose digital detector). If there are pipes or cables in the way, adjust the starting point slightly.

When part-tiling a wall, set out the horizontal tile rows so that the top row consists of whole tiles as this will look much better. We’ll show you how to plan for this.

Step 1

Estimate where on the wall you want to position the top row of tiles and make a mark on the wall with a pencil.

Step 3

Follow Steps 8 to 13 in the ‘How to set out walls tiles’ section to mark lines on the wall and fix the battens into place.

Head to our ‘How to tile a wall’ article to find out how to fix and finish the tiling.

When it comes to tiling above a focal point like a basin in the bathroom, or behind your hob in the kitchen, the planning of your tiling will differ to that of a standard wall. This is because it’s best to start tiling from the centre of the focal point to create an even, centralised pattern. Follow our steps to learn how to do this.

In our example we're tiling above a bathroom basin, but the same principles apply for other areas.

Step 1

Use a spirit level to see if the base of the area (e.g. the worktop, basin or bath) is level. If it is level, fix the tiles flush against the base. If it’s not level, fix a timber batten horizontally near the base to give a level starting point, as explained later in the steps.

Step 3

Decide how many tiles you want across the area and lay these out with spacers between and edging strip, if you’re using it.

Measure the full width of the row of tiles, spacers and edging together and cut a piece of wooden batten to the same size.