How to Measure the Center of the Room for Ceramic Tile

Kneed a walnut size piece of tack adhesive or plasticine until it is soft, and then mould it around the end of a length of string into which a knot has been tied. Ensure that the knot is within the tack adhesive as this helps to anchor the string in place.

Hold the tack adhesive ball so the string emerges from the bottom of the ball. Align the string with the exact corner of the room and press the adhesive ball down around it. The result is one end of the string held in place in the corner or the room.

Move, with the rest of the string, to the opposite corner of the room. Rub the string over a stick of chalk, or rub in pre-made chalk dust as you unroll it. Hold the string in the corner and gently pull it until it forms a straight line across the room. Secure the end of the string with a second ball of adhesive ball. Move to the center of the room, carefully lift the string up a few inches until it has a little tension in it, and then let it snap back into place. The chalk dust will form a line on the flooring.

Repeat the process between the remaining two diagonal corners. The centre of the room is the point at which the two chalk lines cross. Mark this with an indelible pen or similar long lasting marker. You now have lines that meet in the center of the room and allow you to lay tiles in a diagonal pattern.

Measure each wall and divide the length in half, marking the mid-point on each wall. Place the string across the room as before, linking the mid-points of each pair of parallel walls. Produce two new chalk lines dividing the room into quarters. Use these lines to tile in rows parallel to the walls.