Find the center point of a laundry room to start your tile layout so the visible tile cuts are balanced and the installation looks professional.

Begin by measuring the length and width of the room from finished wall to finished wall, not from baseboard or cabinet faces, because those surfaces can vary. Mark the midpoint on each pair of opposite walls with a pencil and a small piece of tape, then snap a chalk line between the two midpoints in each direction so you have an intersecting cross at the geometric center. If you have cabinets or fixtures that are not centered along a wall, measure from the cabinet face to the opposite wall and use that midpoint instead so the tile field relates to visible elements. For rooms that are not square use the cross intersection as your reference but also measure diagonally from corner to corner and compare those diagonal midpoints; if the diagonals do not cross the same center adjust your starting point toward the larger diagonal to minimize fractional cuts at visually prominent walls. Dry lay a two by two tile grid or two tiles by two tiles across the center lines to preview how border tiles will fall along walls and cabinets, and shift the center up to one half tile if it keeps full tiles in front of the washer and dryer. Always verify your center and layout by measuring twice and walking the dry layout from multiple angles before you mix thinset because small errors become obvious once tiles are set.

Common mistakes include assuming walls are square which makes the center point wrong; avoid that by measuring both pairs of opposite walls and both diagonals and use the best compromise that gives the most balanced visible field. A second error is measuring to the wrong surface such as baseboard or cabinet toe kicks; measure to finished wall surfaces and to cabinet faces when cabinets affect sight lines so your center relates to what people see. Thirdly some installers set the first tile without dry laying which can create awkward half tiles near appliances; always dry lay a small test area or snap chalk lines and mock up a few tiles to confirm the visual balance before setting mortar.

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