***PIP Added*** Ceramic Tile Design Rules?

[sunnycanadian]

I'm a dirty lurker lol but need some advice asap (we're going back today to buy the tile because it's on sale and don't want to run the risk of them not having enough for our project).

We're putting ceramic tile in our kitchen, front/back entrance & main bathroom. We have plank style laminate throughout the rest of our house.

I wanted to use 12x24 tile but the tile guys recommended using only 12x12 tile in all of our "small" spaces ie. the front/back entrance & main bathroom or else we wouldn't really see the 12x24 design.

Are there tile design rules? Do you think we can use 12x24 in our kitchen but 12x12 everywhere else?

If I can figure out how to attach pics I will (is tinypic still the best way)?

ETA: Also, are you supposed to lay ceramic tile the same direction as other flooring eg. our laminate?

[heygrey]

the varying sizes should be fine if it's all the same look. but how small your entryway and bathroom though?

[kaylie]

A friend of mine (who also happens to post here sometimes) just put 12 x 24 in her downstairs hallway and bathroom and it looks great. I wouldn't hesitate to use it in a small space.

[FoxInFiji]

Yeah stick with one size if they are off the same room. It will look a lot more cohesive between spaces. 12x24 can look good in a small space. Your tile guy is just being lazy and doesn't want to make as many cuts.

[lightbulbsun]

Jan 27, 2013 19:00:38 GMT -5 kaylie said:

A friend of mine (who also happens to post here sometimes) just put 12 x 24 in her downstairs hallway and bathroom and it looks great. I wouldn't hesitate to use it in a small space.

Here it is! 



The bathroom is about 5' x 4', and I think the tile looks good.

[spankswife]

I just put 12x24 in my bathroom in the post above. It is in a 5x5 space (excluding tub) and I think it you can def see the design.

[kitty]

Jan 27, 2013 20:57:53 GMT -5 FoxInFiji said:

Yeah stick with one size if they are off the same room. It will look a lot more cohesive between spaces. 12x24 can look good in a small space. Your tile guy is just being lazy and doesn't want to make as many cuts.

Ditto.  We put 12x20 in our small powder room and I think it looks great.

[sunnycanadian]

Our front/back entrance and main bathroom are tiny. When we tried to do a "staggered" pattern in the front entryway with the 12x24 it didn't look right because the closet doors once they're installed would cut off the pattern.

I'll try to post some pics:

[sunnycanadian]

^Okay that's the size of our bathroom.

Here is the front entryway:



And Kitchen:

[sunnycanadian]

Jan 28, 2013 10:52:38 GMT -5 kitty said:

Jan 27, 2013 20:57:53 GMT -5 FoxInFiji said:

Yeah stick with one size if they are off the same room. It will look a lot more cohesive between spaces. 12x24 can look good in a small space. Your tile guy is just being lazy and doesn't want to make as many cuts.

Ditto.  We put 12x20 in our small powder room and I think it looks great.

It was the tile guys at the store that recommended the 12x12 in smaller spaces. My FIL will be doing the install.

We bought the 12x12 and 12x24 but now you guys have me rethinking this! ugh! lol

[lemondrop]

I think that looks good, and with those connected spaces, you should use the same.

Are you pulling up the old floors then laying the tile down? I don't think it matters what direction your planks are running.

[Ramz-ee]

I don't know what you are "supposed" to do, but I'm a fan of the 12x24 tiles. I would use those for sure. I just like the way they look.

As for the direction, I would put them down both ways and see which way you like it better. I need to visualize it.

[spankswife]

I love it! Looks great! Our tile lady said people are moving to bigger/ longer tiles and 12x12 was becoming dated.

Too bad the rest of my house is 12x12

[FoxInFiji]

First you made is seem like all of these spaces were right next to each other. Since they aren't it isn't as important that they all be the exact same tile.

OK so the direction doesn't matter if your subfloor and underlayment are correct. For a tiled floor you should have two layers of plywood/substrate that are 1 1/4" thick and at least one layer is 3/4" thick. The layers should be perpendicular to each other and glued and screwed (8" between screws in the center and 6" around the edges). This is especially important with large scale tile like the 12x24 size you're looking at. The top layer would be cement board unless you're using a decoupling membrane like Ditra in which case it would be plywood. Decoupling membranes help keep the large tiles and the grout between them from cracking as the wooden floor expands and contracts.

I see an issue though. Are you planning to remove the existing vinyl? You can't install tile over that it won't stick. It looks like the tile is going to be a lot taller than the laminate. Are you planning to add wooden threshold ramps stained to match the laminate where the tile and laminate meet?

[sunnycanadian]

Jan 28, 2013 23:28:29 GMT -5 FoxInFiji said:

First you made is seem like all of these spaces were right next to each other. Since they aren't it isn't as important that they all be the exact same tile.

OK so the direction doesn't matter if your subfloor and underlayment are correct. For a tiled floor you should have two layers of plywood/substrate that are 1 1/4" thick and at least one layer is 3/4" thick. The layers should be perpendicular to each other and glued and screwed (8" between screws in the center and 6" around the edges). This is especially important with large scale tile like the 12x24 size you're looking at. The top layer would be cement board unless you're using a decoupling membrane like Ditra in which case it would be plywood. Decoupling membranes help keep the large tiles and the grout between them from cracking as the wooden floor expands and contracts.

I see an issue though. Are you planning to remove the existing vinyl? You can't install tile over that it won't stick. It looks like the tile is going to be a lot taller than the laminate. Are you planning to add wooden threshold ramps stained to match the laminate where the tile and laminate meet?


The back entrance is right off the kitchen (2 steps down). The front entrance you can see from the kitchen. Bathroom is down the hall. My FIL has installed quite a few tile floors with no issues so I'm not concerned about the install process, just the way it looks .

So...what would you do? Just use 12x24....and install them in whatever pattern direction we want? I can try to convince DH to return all the 12x12 tiles  lol but if you don't think it would look horrible to use the 12x12 in the small spaces that of course would be my preferred choice at this point.

[Blueper]

Jan 28, 2013 21:38:39 GMT -5 spankswife said:

I love it! Looks great! Our tile lady said people are moving to bigger/ longer tiles and 12x12 was becoming dated.

Too bad the rest of my house is 12x12

I highly doubt 12x12 tiles will be ever dated (just certain designs and super thick grout lines between the tile), 12x24 tiles are just extremely popular right now.

[spankswife]

Jan 29, 2013 9:07:48 GMT -5 Blueper said:

Jan 28, 2013 21:38:39 GMT -5 spankswife said:

I love it! Looks great! Our tile lady said people are moving to bigger/ longer tiles and 12x12 was becoming dated.

Too bad the rest of my house is 12x12

I highly doubt 12x12 tiles will be ever dated (just certain designs and super thick grout lines between the tile), 12x24 tiles are just extremely popular right now.

yea, I guess everything cycles through. But by me almost anything built in the last 10/15 years has 18x18 or 24x24 (larger homes). I have also seen small tiles trending in bathrooms. Maybe it is more regional... 

[kitty]

If they don't directly adjoin and you already bought the 12x12, I think it will be fine. I wouldn't worry about it being dated. The large and rectangular tiles will be dated soon enough too.

[spankswife]

Sunny - I'm sorry, I think the 12x12 will be fine! I got side tracked talking about the lady at my tile store - sorry about that. If you already have it, go for it, and I think having different sizes in different rooms is fine.

(sorry if that came out wrong before, not my intention)

[sunnycanadian]

Jan 29, 2013 12:24:40 GMT -5 spankswife said:

Sunny - I'm sorry, I think the 12x12 will be fine! I got side tracked talking about the lady at my tile store - sorry about that. If you already have it, go for it, and I think having different sizes in different rooms is fine.

(sorry if that came out wrong before, not my intention)

No worries! Thank you everyone for your input...I'll post updated pics when the floors are done