TZ Tiling project story
Hand-cut compass tiling
From an A4 reference photo to a pattern drawn on site and cut by hand. Even the letters were made individually.
- Starting point
- A photo on A4 paper
- Tile format
- 1200 × 600 mm
- The detail
- Individually handmade letters
The challenge
A picture, not a set of plans.
The brief arrived as a photograph printed on a sheet of A4 paper. It showed the compass design, but came with no dimensions. Our team had to work out the layout on site before turning it into a tiled feature.
This was not a ready-made tile insert. The compass pattern was cut from 1200 × 600 mm tiles. The letters were made individually by hand too.
Draw the set-out on the ground
Working from the reference photograph, the team drew the layout on site, building up the sketch a little at a time.
Cut the pattern from full tiles
The 1200 × 600 mm tiles became the individual pieces of the compass. Each part was cut to follow the layout drawn on the ground.
Make the letters by hand
Even the directional letters were worked out from the photograph and individually handmade. The photograph above shows the completed feature.
About this project
From reference to finished feature
Was the compass supplied as a ready-made mosaic?
No. Our team drew the pattern on site and hand-cut the pieces from 1200 × 600 mm tiles. The letters were made individually too.
Did you have a dimensioned drawing?
No. For this project, the starting reference was a photograph printed on A4 paper with no dimensions. The layout was worked out on the ground.
Can I start a feature-tiling enquiry with a photo?
Yes. Send the reference image, the project suburb, a photo of the space and any available dimensions. Feasibility, materials and the final scope need checking before a quote is confirmed.