Tiling
Tiling goes wrong in four ways and every one of them is a measurement made before the first tile. A wall that is not plumb, a floor that is not level, a fall that is not there, and a datum that drifts along the run. Four tools, one for each.
Four measurements, four tools, in the order the job needs them.
Two horizontal and two vertical 360° planes wrap the room in reference lines from one setup. The Pakinui publishes no accuracy figure, which for tiling to a laser line over a few meters is a real omission — and it is what forty dollars buys. If the tolerance matters, the Bosch AdvancedLevel 360 publishes ± 0.4 mm (0.02 in)/m.
A laser sets the line; a level checks the tile against it. The Bosch 60 cm (23.6 in) states 0.5 mm (0.02 in)/m, has a printed scale so it doubles as a rule, and a V-groove for the pipes that are always in the way in a bathroom.
Set it on one wall, zero it, move it to the other, read the difference. That is the actual angle of the corner, and cutting to it is the difference between a tight joint and a tapering gap. The Mcbazel states ± 0.2° at thirteen euros.
Any floor that drains needs one. The PRESCH level has a curved horizontal vial with 2% gradient control, which reads the fall directly. It publishes no accuracy in millimeters per meter, so keep the Bosch for the level work and use this for the fall.
The decision that everything else follows. Getting it level and centered is the whole job in miniature.
A long straight edge and a level tell you how flat the surface is before you commit, which is when it is still fixable.
A square, a fine marker and a reliable transfer method. Most bad cuts start as bad marks.
A laser line or a chalk line every few rows, because small errors accumulate across a wall.
| The stage | The tool | The consequence of skipping it |
|---|---|---|
| Checking the substrate | Long straight edge | Lippage in every joint |
| Setting out | Laser or chalk line | Rows drift across the wall |
| Squaring | Square or 3-4-5 | A visibly tapering cut row |
| Marking cuts | Square and a fine marker | Wasted tiles |
Tiling is hard on tools. Adhesive sets on everything, and a level with dried adhesive on its face no longer sits flat, which makes it wrong in a way that looks fine.
Cutting tile produces dust and sharp edges.
4 × 360° green · self-levels to ≤ 3° · 1/4"-20 thread · 2 × 3000 mAh
The cheapest way into a four-plane green laser: two horizontal and two vertical 360° planes, self-leveling within 3°, on two rechargeable packs. No accuracy figure is published.
Best for: A first line laser for indoor work, if you accept that the maker never says how level its lines are.
60 cm (23.6 in) · 0.5 mm (0.02 in)/m stated · V-groove · two marking sliders
A 60 cm (23.6 in) aluminum level stating 0.5 mm (0.02 in)/m, with fluorescent vials, a double metric scale that turns it into a rule, a V-groove for pipes, and two sliders for marking leveled points.
Best for: The general-purpose level for someone who would otherwise carry a level and a rule.
± 0.2° stated · 0–90° · four reference faces · aluminum, splash-proof
A MEMS-based angle gauge stating ± 0.2° over 0–90°, in a splash-proof aluminum housing with all four faces usable as a measuring reference.
Best for: The value pick: a published figure, a metal housing and four reference faces for thirteen euros.
40 cm (15.7 in) · curved horizontal vial with 2% gradient · vertical-view window
A 40 cm (15.7 in) level specified for gradients rather than for level: a curved horizontal vial with 2% fall control, plus a vertical vial with a viewing window for reading verticals from the side.
Best for: Paving, terraces and anything that has to run away from a building rather than sit level.
Because tiling needs reference geometry on more than one surface at once — a horizontal on two walls and a vertical at the corner. A laser projecting two horizontal and two vertical 360° planes gives that from one setup, which is why the format exists.
For a floor that has to drain, yes. A fall is set to a figure — commonly 2% — and a curved vial with that gradient marked sets it directly instead of measuring a drop over a length and packing to it.
Corners are rarely square. An angle gauge measures the actual angle so cuts can be made to it, rather than assuming 90° and discovering the error at the far end of the wall.
A level you have checked, and something to set a reference line. Everything else in a tiled wall follows from the first row.
Almost none are. Measure how far out it is, then set out so the taper falls where it is least visible, usually in a cut row against the least seen wall.
Not for a small wall, where a level and a chalk line do fine. For a floor or a long run it keeps lines true in a way a level cannot.
Because tiles do not hide a hollow or a bump. A long straight edge tells you before you start, which is the only point at which it is cheap to fix.
No. Errors accumulate. Measure from a fixed reference line so the last row is as true as the first.
A chalk line or a laser reference, rather than a pencil mark that the first trowel of adhesive removes.
Suited to: A first line laser for indoor work, if you accept that the maker never says how level its lines are.
Best figure: Four full 360° planes — two horizontal, two vertical — which is the layout normally sold at twice this price
Worst figure: No accuracy figure published anywhere in the listing — the specification that governs a leveling laser is simply absent
Suited to: The general-purpose level for someone who would otherwise carry a level and a rule.
Best figure: States 0.5 mm (0.02 in)/m, half the error published by the kwb
Worst figure: No turn-over accuracy published
Suited to: The value pick: a published figure, a metal housing and four reference faces for thirteen euros.
Best figure: States ± 0.2° accuracy over a 0–90° range, using MEMS sensing
Worst figure: A 0–90° range rather than the 4 × 90° of the Neoteck and RISEPRO
Suited to: Paving, terraces and anything that has to run away from a building rather than sit level.
Best figure: A curved horizontal vial with 2% gradient control — the figure paving and terrace falls are actually set to
Worst figure: No accuracy figure in millimeters per meter published in the listing
Targets, tripods and spares from the same aisle, at the price we noted. Check the thread matches the instrument you pick before ordering: it depends on the mount and the part number, which the listing states.
Instrument against instrument, where we have already published the comparison.
The instruments above come from the catalog of this site. Specifications are the ones the manufacturer states and the ones on the Amazon listing; prices are the Keepa reading for the date below, and both change. Ranking uses declared specifications, stated strengths weighed against stated limits, and price. Nothing here has had its accuracy checked by us, and the page says as much.
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