How To Lay Out A Checkerboard Floor

My adventure in painting a do it yourself checkerboard floor in the garage.

How to lay out a checkerboard floor. Always start painting on the opposite side of the room that is the furthest point from the door. For a larger space the bigger the tiles the more dramatic the effect. One of the important things is to find the center of the room. For a diagonal pattern align the tiles corners with the start line.

Paint the floor with the lighter color as your base coat. Draw a grid on the floor in pencil for the checkerboard using a straightedge to keep lines straight. Once everything is taped off wipe off your chalk lines. Use your second color to fill in every other diamond.

Use painter s tape to tape off each diamond by taping corner to corner on the grid. Checkerboard painted floor tips. Apply 2 inch or wider painter s tape to the inside edges of each square you wish to remain the. Divide the space evenly among the desired number of squares if you don t want partial squares on the edges.

Essentially once you have everything lined up and marked where you want to start laying the tiles you simply peel the backing off and place the tile on the floor smoothing it out and making sure you stay straight. Small items look best with a small pattern while a large floor or wall is better suited to a large scale pattern. Installing a checkerboard tile floor diagonally has a few benefits. For one the arrowlike effect can make a room appear longer or wider than it is because the eye follows the points.

When you install the next one make sure all your edges are properly lined up and it s that simple. Use a roller but cut in the edges of the floor with a good quality paint brush first for a neater job. Create a grid on the floor using a chalk line. Apply linoleum adhesive per the manufacturer s instructions over a small area aim to cover an area of at least two but no more than four tiles.