What is a tile layout plan?
It is the setting-out plan of a floor or wall covering: it fixes the pattern, the starting point and the position of every tile or board, and therefore where the cuts fall and how big they are. A good plan avoids thin slivers along the walls and keeps waste low.
How many extra tiles should I order?
The tool counts the tiles actually laid, cuts included, and reuses offcuts where possible. Then add a margin for breakage and mistakes: about 5% for a straight layout, 8–10% for diagonal, herringbone or chevron, more for a first job.
How do I avoid a thin row against the wall?
Keep the set-out on automatic: the tool looks for the pattern position that creates no cut smaller than the chosen minimum (5 cm by default). With floorboards, if the last row is too narrow, the first row is ripped so both are balanced.
Is my data sent anywhere?
No. Everything is computed in your browser; the project is kept on this device and the share link contains the plan itself.
How to use it
- Choose the covering (floor tiles, wall tiles, wood or laminate, vinyl planks) and its size; common sizes are one click away. Enter the joint width and tile thickness for the grout estimate.
- Describe the room: rectangle, L-shape, U-shape or free shape. In free shape, drag the corners on the plan and double-click a wall to add a corner: angled walls and out-of-square rooms are fine.
- Add the areas not covered: shower tray, kitchen island, cupboard, bath. Drag them on the plan. For a wall, these are windows, doors and niches.
- Choose the pattern: straight, ½, ⅓ or ¼ offset, custom offset, diagonal, random stagger (floorboards), herringbone, chevron, basket weave, 3- or 4-size opus, octagons and inserts, and the direction (0°, 90°, 45° or any angle).
- Add a border if needed: a border along the walls (rug effect, corner tiles or mitred) or a horizontal frieze on a wall (listello). Tiles are set out from the border and border pieces are counted separately.
- Set the starting point: automatic with equal cuts on both sides, automatic with the fewest tiles, tile or joint centred, from a corner, or manual by dragging the plan.
- Read the result: full and cut pieces, cut list with labels on the plan, boxes to buy with the margin, adhesive, grout, spacers, skirting, underlay and threshold strips. Print the plan or export it as PNG for the job.
Example: 4.20 × 3.30 m living room in 60 × 60 tiles
- Area 13.86 m², 3 mm joint, straight layout.
- Set out from a corner, the floor ends with a 28.5 cm row on one side only: the layout looks off-centre.
- The "equal cuts" automatic set-out gives 7 columns, two of them 59.1 cm, and 7 rows, two of them 14.1 cm on each side. The 14 cm strips come four to a tile.
- Of the 49 pieces laid (25 full, 24 cut), 10 come from offcuts: 39 tiles are enough.
- With a 5% margin you need 41 tiles, i.e. 11 boxes of 1.44 m², about 100 kg of adhesive (back-buttering for tiles over 2,000 cm²) and 2.2 kg of grout.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting the expansion gap of floating floors (8–10 mm along walls and around pipes): it is deducted from the covered area and hidden by the skirting.
- Mixing boxes from different batches: shades can vary. Buy everything at once, margin included, and keep a few spare tiles.
- Starting from a crooked wall: snap a reference line; the "tile centred" or "joint centred" set-out starts from the room's centre lines.
For a whole job, add each surface in its own tab (floor, shower walls…): the total groups quantities by covering. Building a shed? See the wooden shed materials calculator.
Guide written and checked by the Otoolia team · updated 13 November 2026.