What to ask your architect about tile layout

Stereotomy for homeowners — coordinating tiles with everything else

Why coordination matters

A tile layout shares the room with doors, windows, outlets, plumbing, furniture, and lighting. When these are positioned without considering the tile grid, you get awkward cuts — a thin sliver next to the bathtub, a grout line that almost aligns with the door frame, an outlet sitting right on a joint.

The best time to coordinate is during design, when your architect can adjust outlet and fixture positions by a few centimetres to align with the tile grid.

Questions about walls

• “Can we adjust the partition wall by 2-1.2" (3 cm) for full tiles?” Easy during construction, impossible after plastering.
• “Which wall is the focal point?” Start the layout from the most visible wall. Cuts go on the less visible side.
• “Are walls plumb and square?” Out-of-square walls mean uneven cuts on opposite sides.

Questions about doors and windows

• “Can the window sill height align with a full tile course?” A sill that lands mid-tile creates an ugly cut on the wall.
• “Will tiles continue through the doorway?” If yes, the grid must be continuous across both rooms.
• “Where exactly is the door centre line?” The grid should be symmetrical about the door opening.

Questions about electrical and plumbing

• “Can outlets fall in the centre of a tile?” An outlet on a grout line requires cutting two tiles instead of one.
• “Where will the shower valve go?” Centre it on a tile for a clean cut-out and better waterproofing.
• “Can towel rail fixings avoid grout lines?” Drilling into grout can crack adjacent tiles.

Questions about fixtures

• “Can the bathtub position align with full tiles?” A 5'7" (170 cm) tub in a 5'9" (175 cm) alcove leaves a thin cut. Can the alcove be adjusted?
• “Will vanity positions be finalised before tiling?” Visible edges must be perfect; behind furniture less so.
• “Where do pipe penetrations come through?” Centre them on tiles, not on joints.

The bottom line

Moving an outlet 0.79" (2 cm) during first fix takes 30 seconds. Discovering it is in the wrong place after tiling means demolition. A detailed layout plan is the communication tool that makes coordination possible.