tile spacers and floor tiles

[Andy Allen]

just interested to know who uses tile spacers when tiling floors...

ive never used spacers for floor tiles, just use stright edges and a keen eye...

do you think its quicker/easier using spacers or not?..

 

[Bubblecraft]

I'm a spacer man unless its cheap B&Q tiles etc for then it's by eye

 

[Gazzer]

Sometimes I do, it depends on the tile.

 

[afright]

Never use spacers on floors ,only use spacers on walls if tiles are heavy if they hold up just space by eye,I think sometimes it slows you up if it can be done without them then I don't use spacer's.

 

[Rookery]

I use spacers and a straight edge. For me they dont take any extra time.

 

[area tiling]

spacers for me! they dont slow things down at all!

 

[DHTiling]

If the joints are 3mm say for rectified stone etc, then i will space.. larger than that then no, use rack of eye..

 

[afright]

One old tiler I worked with always used spaghetti as spacers

 

[Bubblecraft]

I've seen old timers use matches

 

[peteablard]

If the tiles are spot on thn I use spacers but when you start getting tiles that vary in size I think it's easy to do it by eye

 

[afright]

When there was just sand & cement fixing to walls the tilers would use a roll of string weaving it along the horizontal joints,at the end of the day it was pulled out and left in water for the next day.

 

[Andy Allen]

spacers for me! they dont slow things down at all!

what if your using cheap nasty tiles that vary in size, how do you keep the tiles from running out?

 

[Diggy]

what if your using cheap nasty tiles that vary in size, how do you keep the tiles from running out?

You need to use measurements and stick to them. So you have your straightedge on paralell line and then your square line. Say you are using 200 x 200 then take measurement of 5 + joints and use this to move away from the square line . If you want to and you are doind a largish room then create chalkline boxes by paralelling in each direction from the square line. Then just keep every 5 tiles inside that box and adjust the tile joints to fit . This comes in handy when you fit so called 'modular' tiles , in tilers speak they mean SIZEY :0).

This is how I used to do large quarry tile floors years ago ,in the days of 300m²/400m² tiled floors.

Hope that made sense.

Diggy

 

[Sean Kelly]

I use spacers (and I take them out when the adhesive is dry. You never know who might walk on the floor after you leave for the night!

 

[Two-Trowels]

I tend to use spacers, don't leave them in though.

 

[White Room]

Spacers........

 

[kilty55]

mostly use spacers only a few occasions i have used eye on floor

 

[Rookery]

One old tiler I worked with always used spaghetti as spacers

Yes but to be fair, he used alphabetti spaghetti and used the X's and T's

 

[John Benton]

Yes but to be fair, he used alphabetti spaghetti and used the X's and T's

He used to use plastic be that was before he was pasta his best

 

[Andy Allen]

You need to use measurements and stick to them. So you have your straightedge on paralell line and then your square line. Say you are using 200 x 200 then take measurement of 5 + joints and use this to move away from the square line . If you want to and you are doind a largish room then create chalkline boxes by paralelling in each direction from the square line. Then just keep every 5 tiles inside that box and adjust the tile joints to fit . This comes in handy when you fit so called 'modular' tiles , in tilers speak they mean SIZEY :0).

This is how I used to do large quarry tile floors years ago ,in the days of 300m²/400m² tiled floors.

Hope that made sense.

Diggy

thanks for that... ive been doing it that way for 30 years.....:lol:

ive never used spacers for floors just stright edges and chaulk lines, i was just trying finding out off those that use spacers all the time how they stop the tiles from running out when using cheap rubbish that vary in size....

 

[Perry]

i have never laid a floor by eye other than smaller than two mts and only use spacers on small joints like a rectified tile or stone i would hate to think doing a 70 mtr long floor by eye :yikes: always laid in a grid and yes always used matches even on floors

 

[Perry]

thanks for that... ive been doing it that way for 30 years.....:lol:

ive never used spacers for floors just stright edges and chaulk lines, i was just trying finding out off those that use spacers all the time how they stop the tiles from running out when using cheap rubbish that vary in size....

Diggy Andy were you two taught that or was it just common sense ? always done it but self taught

 

[AliGage]

Depends on the tile for me. Cheap nasty ones by eye. Anything of any quality then i'll use spacers.

 

[Andy Allen]

Diggy Andy were you two taught that or was it just common sense ? always done it but self taught

it was the way i was taught, comes from the days when we used to fit hundreds of m2 6x6 pilks four square/pin head/dorset stone ect on large hotel refurbs and contract work, it helped to keep all the lines stright and stop you from running out, and ive continued to use the same method, square the room, and keep measuring 2 or more tiles back and fix to the stright edge..

 

[Perry]

never seen anyone else do it before thought i was a crank always measure from a set point been handy when had a few tilers on the same floor been able to all start on different parts of the floor and meet up :yikes: nerve racking got to make sure its right lol thats why a staffs no good can be 1mm out x 20 = 20mm + or -