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Tiler / Tile Setter
Installs tiles on floors, walls, and surfaces — from bathrooms to grand mosque interiors.
Did you know?
Some mathematicians claim the Alhambra tiles in Spain show all 17 possible wallpaper symmetry types, though others dispute it.
How subjects help
- Mathematics: Plan a layout from the centre of a room so the cut tiles at each edge come out even.
- Art & Design: Arrange colours and shapes into a mosaic or geometric pattern across a wall.
- Chemistry: Mix adhesive and grout that set hard and keep water out of a shower.
- Physics: Leave small gaps so tiles can expand with heat without cracking or popping up.
A famous name
Simon Rodia: Italian-American tile mason who spent 33 years (1921–54) building LA's tile-covered Watts Towers.
Try it yourself: Test a tile pattern that fits together
- Fold your paper in half three times, then unfold it. The creases make eight equal boxes.
- In the first box, draw two simple shapes that fit together with no gaps, like a zigzag strip and its opposite.
- Draw the same two shapes in every box, so each one meets the shapes next door.
- Colour one shape in each colour, then look at the whole sheet. Are there gaps or edges that don't line up? Fix them in your next go.
Tile makers, mosaicists and printmakers test a repeating design on paper first, because once the tiles are fired or the printing block is carved, mistakes are hard to fix.
Adapted from V&A: Design and make your own Islamic tile and printed pattern.
Also try: Take apart a click pen.
Known for it in
Morocco, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Portugal