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.

Completed circular compass tile feature by TZ Tiling, with contrasting hand-cut points and individually made N, E, S and W letters
The completed compass feature. Photograph of our own work; colour and exposure adjusted.
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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

Feature tiling by TZ Tiling

Tell us what you have in mind.

Share your reference image and project details with our Auckland tiling team.