Turn a humble floor waste into a design feature by tiling around it in concentric circles.

We used standard tumbled marble but small ceramic tiles would also be fine.

You'll need:
Basic carpentry tools: tape measure, square, string line and pins, spirit level
Straight edge
Tungsten-tipped tile scorer or tile cutter
Tile pincers
Buckets (several) for mixing prepared adhesive and water
Spatula
Notched trowel, (10 or 12mm)
Nylon spacing crosses
Grout
Sponge and rubber squeegee (for grouting)
Sealant for finished tiling

Here's how:
1. Start with a clean, stable surface. Form a fall to the waste with cement topping (not tile adhesive).

2. Draw a circle the same diameter as the floor waste on a large sheet of particle board or plywood and set out the tiles around it. Measure and write down the outside radius of each circle of tiles and the number of tiles in each circle, so you keep track of things.

3. Tie a loop in a length of string and slip this over a pencil, then put the pencil in the centre of the floor waste. The other end can be wound around a second pencil and adjusted to draw the circles on the floor.

4. With the waste as the centre point, divide the room into quarters: draw intersecting heavy black lines that can be seen once the adhesive is laid and notched.

5. Trowel on a cement-based adhesive to the inside circle. Where the number of tiles in a circle can be divided by four, position a tile on each of the marked lines. Space the rest of the tiles evenly.

6. Continue working outwards one circle at a time. After laying each small section, use a block of soft timber to level the tiles in place. Check the radial alignment by running a timber batten across the centre of the waste. Tiles should be parallel to the batten.

7. If your working space is small, at the fifth or sixth circle divide the job into sections and work on a quarter or half at a time. This makes it easier for you to give yourself an exit.

8. Let set for 24 hours. Take off the waste cover and plug the drain with newspaper. Mix the grout using 1:5 off-white cement/sand and enough bonding agent to make a stiff creamy paste. Completely fill the joints using the squeegee. Try not to smear cement over the tiles. Carefully clean the tiles so only a light film remains. After 24 hours, polish away any film with a nylon kitchen scourer.

9. Seal to protect the marble and highlight its colour. Replace the waste cover.

Tips
* Choose subtle tiles for the floor waste rather than something overpowering.

* With a radial pattern, the spaces between the tiles at the centre are quite large. A sand/cement grout with a bonding agent instead of water is used to stop cracking.