Planning to install tiles in your shower, bathroom, or living room floor? The biggest challenge is achieving perfectly even spacing between them.
Eyeballing it risks uneven gaps that ruin the look. Luckily, a professional tiler I know shared his reliable trick for effortless, consistent spacing.
His method: use pennies as temporary spacers—they create uniform gaps and pull out easily once the tiles are set. Here's how it works:
1. Spread thin-set mortar evenly using a notched trowel.
2. Lay tiles one row at a time, placing pennies between them for precise spacing.
3. Once the mortar sets, simply pull out the pennies.
4. Apply grout with a grout float, working it into the joints.
5. As the grout firms up, wipe away excess with a clean, damp sponge.
With this pro technique, your tiles are laid quickly and flawlessly spaced. It's simple, efficient, and foolproof.
Best of all, no need for plastic spacers—pennies ensure identical joints everywhere.
1, 2, and 5 euro cent coins are all exactly 1.67 mm thick.
For wider joints, try 10 cent coins at 1.93 mm or 20 cent coins at 2.14 mm.
