Very few houses have true vertical and horizontal corners in the bathrooms or kitchens, so you must never begin tiling in a corner or at floor level. As you reach the end of each row cut to shape the tiles for these areas. The first step then is to decide the best starting point by making a measuring staff from a long batten (if your room has several alcoves, you will need a shorter one as well) marked with tile widths. This will enable you to see how many whole tiles can be accommodated over a particular area.
Ideally you should aim for equal size cut tiles at both ends of each wall as this will give the job a balanced look. Having established the starting point, temporarily fix a horizontal batten to the wall with its top edge one tile width above the floor or skirting board. If the floor line slopes then lower the batten slightly to make the cutting easier later on. It is far easier to trim whole tiles to flt a space than to cut thin pieces to fil1 tiny gaps. Double-check the batten for correct horizontal before screwing it securely to the wall. You will now have to establish a vertical line at the starting point near the corner of the wall. To determine this, use a batten and spirit level (or plumb bob and line) and mark the vertical line in pencil on the wall. Follow this horizontal and vertical procedure for every wall.
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