Is herringbone tiling worth the extra cost, and how much more does it really add?

Every pattern job begins with a dry layout and chalk lines, not a tile stuck in the corner. For herringbone, we establish a central working line down the length of the room (or across the key sightline, such as facing the door) so the pattern reads as balanced from the main viewpoint rather than being dictated by whichever wall happens to be square.

Very few rooms are perfectly square. Setting out from the centre and working outward means any inevitable inconsistency gets absorbed in the cut tiles against the walls, where it is far less noticeable than a drifting pattern across the middle of the floor.

For a herringbone floor running into a hallway or open-plan kitchen, the pattern usually needs to be planned across both spaces together before tiling starts in either one, so the joints line up through doorways.

Herringbone lays rectangular tiles at 90 degrees to each other in a continuous zigzag. It is most commonly done with plank-format tiles (150x600mm to 100x500mm being typical), which is why it has become so popular alongside wood-look porcelain.

It needs more cuts at every wall and around every obstruction than a straight lay, because the pattern itself is angled relative to the room. A double herringbone (thicker visual 'weave') needs even more careful setting out and is noticeably slower again.

This is a pattern where tile calibration and rectification matter more than usual; any size inconsistency between tiles is amplified by the number of adjoining edges each tile has.

Brick bond (also called running bond) offsets each row by a set fraction, commonly a third or a half of the tile length, and is the standard lay for metro tiles and many wood-effect planks. It carries only a small wastage premium over a straight grid lay.

Basketweave alternates pairs of tiles laid at 90 degrees to each other in a repeating woven block, traditionally done with small-format mosaic or square tiles. It reads as more intricate than it is to lay, because much of it comes pre-mounted on mesh sheets that keep the pattern accurate.

Both are gentler on wastage and labour than herringbone, making them a good middle ground where a homeowner wants more visual interest than a plain grid without the full cost of herringbone.

These figures assume a rectangular room with standard doorways. Rooms with bay windows, diagonal walls, multiple pipe boxings or a WC and basin footprint to cut around should be budgeted at the top end of the range, and sometimes above it.

Chevron tile, which is pre-cut at an angle at the factory to form the point of the herringbone automatically, reduces on-site cutting significantly compared with cutting standard rectangular planks to the same effect, at a higher supply cost for the tile itself.

Herringbone floor tiling works particularly well in hallways, open-plan living and kitchen floors where the room is large enough for the pattern to establish a clear rhythm before it hits a wall.

In small ensuites and cloakrooms, a strong pattern can visually shrink the room; a straight lay or a subtle brick bond usually reads better in a genuinely small footprint.

Basketweave in classic black-and-white or grey-and-white mosaic suits period-style bathrooms and hallways particularly well, and is a good way to introduce pattern to a wall or floor without the cost of full herringbone.