How to Draw a Horizontal Tile Pattern on a Wall

Lay a row of your tiles on the floor so they run in a straight line with only one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch between tiles, depending on how thick you want your grout to be. Align the stick along the bottom edge of the tiles. Place a tick mark on the stick at each gap of the tiles to create a customized ruler or “jury stick.”

Measure horizontally across the wall or space in the wall where your tile will be located. Find the center of the tiling area. Hold your jury stick to the center portion so it runs vertically, and make it level running up and down. Mark a straight vertical line down the tiling area along the edge of the stick to be your center reference line.

Find the height along the center line where you want the uppermost horizontal row of the tile to stop. Rotate the jury stick to run horizontally and hold it to this point on the center line. Adjust the stick to run level horizontally. Draw a straight, horizontal line along the jury stick to mark the height of your tile reference line. Mark this line along the width of the wall where tile will be installed.

Align a tick mark along the jury stick to the point where the center line and tile line intersect, with the jury stick still held horizontally. Hold the stick in place and mark the tick marks from the jury stick onto the wall along the entire length of the tile line.

Look over the tick marks to see how small the tiles on the outermost edges would be. If more than half of a tile will be cut away to fit the tiles into the ends of the wall, then adjust your center line slightly to the left or right and remark your tick marks with the jury stick.

Rotate the jury stick and align the tick marks along the center line with a tick mark placed at the point where the two lines intersect. Make tick marks down the center line to the surface or floor where the tiles will stop. Check to see if the last tile would need to be cut by more than half to fit it. Lower or raise the tile line as needed and remark your tick marks on the wall.

Follow the final tick mark locations of the tile line and center line to set your tile in a horizontal pattern.