The term bond has two different meanings in resilient flooring.

There is the 'bond' that refers to an adhesive's ability to stick the floor covering to the substrate underneath.

But in tiles, there's also the 'bond' that occurs as the joints between tiles form a particular pattern or layout on the floor.

In this lesson, we'll talk about the joint layout type of bond. The main bonds are described below.

Square

This is also called a 'normal bond', because the tiles are simply laid in a straight line.

A variation is the checkerboard pattern, where two colours are used alternately.

The appearance can also be varied by laying the grain of every second tile at right angles to those on either side.

Diagonal

Diagonally laid tiles use the same bond as a square layout, except that the angle is at 45 degrees to the walls.

Again, they can also be laid in a checkerboard pattern or with alternating grain.

Brick

Rectangular tiles are generally laid in a brick bond, which is the same pattern as the 'stretcher bond' used in brickwork.

Every second tile is offset by half a tile on either side.

Staggered

Planks are often laid in a staggered pattern, especially when they have a timber appearance.

Sometimes the offset is one third of a plank for each row.

Alternatively, it can be randomised - however, the end joints should always be at least 150 mm away from the ends of the planks above and below.