Tilelaying

Tilelaying is the practice of placing individual tiles to create surfaces, mosaics, or decorative patterns, and the related game mechanic in which players place tiles to build layouts. It encompasses both architectural tiling for floors and walls and the tile-laying found in many board games.

In construction, tilelaying involves several steps. First, the substrate is prepared and a suitable tile type is chosen, such as ceramic, porcelain, stone, or glass. An adhesive, typically a thin-set mortar, is applied and tiles are laid in a chosen pattern with spacers to maintain even joints. Back-buttering may be used on certain tiles to improve bond. After setting, tiles are cut to fit edges and corners with a tile cutter or wet saw. Once the adhesive cures, grout is applied to fill the gaps, followed by cleaning and sealing as needed. Substrates vary from cement backer boards to concrete slabs and wooden subfloors, with waterproofing and underlayment considered for wet areas. Tools commonly used include trowels, tile nippers, level, rubber mallet, spacers, and a wet saw.

In board games and puzzles, tile-laying is a mechanic where players place tiles to extend a map, connect regions, or create patterns, often obeying adjacency rules or color matching. Scoring typically depends on completed features or the efficiency of tile placement. Well-known tile-laying games include Carcassonne, Tsuro, and Kingdomino, among others.

Historically, tile mosaics and ceramic tiling date to ancient civilizations, with later advances in glazing, firing, and standardized tile sizes shaping modern tiling practices in architecture and interior design.