Recently, large hexagon tiles have been gaining a lot of popularity because of their unique and trendy look.

For this reason, you may be thinking to install hexagon tiles on a floor in your house or on a different project.

But even if you already have some experience installing tile, hexagon tiles have a few differences that could trip you up and make the installation challenging, so you may be wondering:

In this article, I’ll show you the easiest and most efficient way to layout your floor and install those large hexagon tiles.

I'll also share some tips and tricks that will make your project easier and quicker!

Most of the tools that you'll use are the same as installing any other tile.

But here are a couple of extra tools that are especially helpful with installing these large hexagon tiles:

• Small or large speed square
• Metal ruler
• Pencil or marker
• Wedges (always helpful with any installation)
• Hexagon Y Spacers

With large hexagon tiles, you have less layout options than with "normal" tiles.

And because of the shape, the chances are almost 100% that you'll have some small and unusual cuts in some places, no matter what you do.

So don't give yourself too much of a headache trying to figure out exactly how all cuts everywhere will look in the end!

Don't try to lay out your design for every part of the room.

Instead, I recommend following similar layout steps as I outlined in the Ultimate Guide To Installing A Tile Floor.

1. Firstly, you'll want to lay out your floor from the main focal point (usually the doorway) using half hexagons.
2. And secondly, do the same thing with an adjoining wall, but you'll need to do full hexagons and halves (see the following photo).
3. You can also switch these two steps (halves and fulls in the doorway & halves on the wall) if you think it looks better. Changing that won't really make your install more or less difficult.

I won't go through all of the installation steps here, since they are identical to installing standard tiles.

If you need those steps, or you could use a refresher, you can find all of that information in the Ultimate Guide To Installing A Tile Floor article.

As long as the tiles are not bigger than 12", you can either trowel your thinset on the floor or on the back of the tile.

Troweling on the floor will be quite a bit faster.

However, my recommendation would actually be to trowel the floor, then skim coat the back of each tile with thinset - this will always give you your best possible bond.

So, in place of detailing out all of the general steps for installing tile, I'll give you specific tips and recommendations just for hexagons.

2

Spacers. In my opinion, spacers are important in every install, but with large hexagon tiles, spacers are ESPECIALLY important.

The reason for this is that, as you install the hexagons, you will certainly be pushing and pulling the tiles.

If you don't have spacers, you will definitely end up with big gaps in some parts and no joint at all in others!

I highly recommend using the Smart Spacer or Y Spacer for installing large hexagon tiles.

If you'd like to read my full review on these specialty Smart Spacers, you can check out my Smart Spacer In-Depth Review. You can find a link for the Y Spacers further up or down in this article.

3

Measuring/Marking From the Point. When you need to measure for a cut up to a wall or object and this will result in a triangular shape, use your metal ruler or tape measure and measure from the point to the wall or object (see the previous photos).

Next, lay your ruler or tape from point to point on the tile and make your mark for cutting (see the following photos).

Note: I recommend using a tape measure or ruler, here, because if you use the method that I show below, in Step #4, it can be difficult to get an accurate measurement.

4

Measuring/Marking From the Side. The other measurement for a cut up to a wall or object will be for a straight-sided shape.

You can use a tape measure or ruler if you like (see the previous photos), but you can also use the following quicker method.

Take the tile itself and turn it around to make your mark (see the following photos). 

If you do this, just make sure to account for the grout joint size and a space for an expansion joint at the wall!

5

Cutting. You will cut these tiles in the same way as you'll cut any other ceramic or porcelain tiles.

But here is where your square will come in handy. 

To make cuts from a point, hold your square tight against the wet saw table as shown in the photo. 

Then, you can be sure of getting a nice, straight cut!