Porcelain stoneware is a high-performing material with excellent mechanical strength and wear-and-tear and abrasion resistance, among other properties. You can use it both indoors and out, and it adapts to various architectural and interior design styles. The laying pattern and technique you choose for porcelain stoneware floor tiles are important for expressing all its creativity. Let’s take a look.
Laying patterns for porcelain stoneware floor tiles
Sept. 27, 2020
That’s because porcelain stoneware is highly versatile. You can use it both indoors and out, dry-laid, raised, interlocked, on floors and walls. So, how do you decide which is the best solution? Because choosing one laying pattern rather than another can change the perceived size of a room significantly. Shapes, joints, texture and colour contrasts all need to be taken into account.
Laying patterns
The size of the porcelain stoneware floor and wall tiles also plays an important role in choosing their laying pattern. Different sizes and thicknesses require different solutions. You should also consider the overall visual factor. Does your room have more vertical or horizontal elements? The answer to this question will affect the laying design. A lot also depends on designers’ creativity. They can go for continuous, mixed, square, diagonal, pattern, two-colour, chequerboard, or striped laying patterns for porcelain stoneware tiles.
Usually, larger sizes are used for open spaces and standard tiles for smaller rooms. This also helps reduce waste. Using the same material to ensure continuity between the flooring and coverings is an increasingly popular trend that creates a seamless visual effect. As for the outdoors, porcelain stoneware tiles dry-laid on grass, sand or gravel is the way to go.
Laying patterns
Based on the intended use and required maintenance of a room, the most popular laying patterns are the following:
● stack bond (or straight): tiles are laid in a regular parallel pattern, either horizontally or vertically;
● brick bond (regular or irregular);
● diagonal: recommended for concealing visual defects of a room’s structural parts;
● chequerboard;
● herringbone: tiles are laid lengthwise so that the joints are staggered, creating a zig-zag pattern.
For a more colourful and creative setting, you can mix sizes and effects or play around with joint colours.
Wall coverings
In bathrooms and kitchens, wall coverings are not just a decoration. They need to protect walls too. But in other rooms, such as in a living room, they are mainly chosen to emphasise a volume, for example, a fireplace.
Wall coverings follow the same laying rules as floor tiles, but there’s one more thing to consider. The layout should not create a contrast with the flooring. Since wall tiles are more decorative, their laying patterns allow for greater creativity by adding pencil tiles, strip tiles, bullnose tiles, edge protection profiles, and trims.
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