The simplest surface to lay out is a straight counter with no sink because it has only one control line. Begin by using a framing square and a story pole to survey the countertop.
“Counter Layout,” on p. 398, assumes that the counter edges are finished with V-cap trim, a
A straight counter needs only one layout control line to indicate the first tile joint back from the edge.
common choice, and tile joints are Vs in. wide. Place several V-caps along the counter edge; then measure back from the edge & in. from each cap to mark the middle of the first grout joint. Snap a chalkline through these marks to establish a control line. Because the front edge is the counter’s focal point, you’ll place full field tiles next to the row of V-caps.
Using your story pole, measure the length of the counter to see if you must cut tiles. If one end of the counter abuts a wall and the other is open, plan a row of full tiles along the open end, thus consigning cut tiles to the wall end where they’ll be less conspicuous. If both ends of the counter are open, and you see that you’ll need to cut tiles, move the story pole so that cut tiles will be the same dimension on both ends. That decided, mark positions for the tile units along the control line.
Last, measure to the back of the counter to determine whether the final row of tiles will need cutting. You can precut tiles; but on a counter so simple, you can just measure and cut partial tiles individually after all the full tiles are set, likely giving you more accurate measurements anyway.
If a sink or a cooktop in the counter interrupts the layout and requires tile cutting, mark secondary control lines on either side to indicate where full tiles resume.
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L-SHAPED COUNTER
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An L-shaped counter will have two major control lines, running perpendicular to each other. Add lines as needed to indicate sink placement, open counter edges, and so on.
