Tile Size

[denslexusgx470]

now i don't have the measurements of the bathroom floors, but we're kinda fighting over what size of tile we should put in the bathroom. Is HGTV right when they say that smaller tiles are better for smaller size bathrooms, and bigger tiles for bigger bathrooms??

what are the ideas that you guys know about tiles in bathrooms?? please help cuz i need 2 buy these tiles and get the bathroom going... thanx in advance

[RX in NC]

I've tiled my own kitchens, bathrooms, sunrooms, family rooms, and even front porches over the past 18 to 20 years, the most recent project being our remodeled family room in June 2004. We appreciate tile because it is permanent, easy to clean, stays looking new (if you buy quality tile and keep the grout sealed), and is available in hundreds of materials, styles, sizes, colors, and textures. Tile instantly makes any room it's installed in more elegant and upscale. And unless you drop an anvil on it, tile can really take a pounding without showing any ill effects whatsoever. You can't say the same about carpet, which starts wearing out the day after it is installed.

As a general rule of thumb, you WILL in fact be happier with a smaller tile in a bathroom application, but not necessarily as small as you might think. In our previous house, the guest bathroom's original floor tile was about 1-inch by 1-inch square. That made for a lot of grout lines and if you know anything about tile, you know that grout is much harder to keep clean than the tile itself because unless it is sealed well the grout can trap moisture, dirt, mold, etc., and cause you to have to do some frequent floor-scrubbing in order to keep it looking and feeling good.

We decided to replace the original guest bathroom tile with a larger 3-inch by 3-inch square tile after we'd been in the house about five years. This gave us a much cleaner, more contemporary look in that bathroom and it also cut down significantly on the number of grout lines since the larger the tile, the less grout is involved. Plus, I made sure to properly seal the new grout and it was a breeze to keep clean after the job was done.

So my recommendation is that you take multiple sizes of tile samples home with you and lay them out to see what you like. But unless your bathroom floor is at least 12 feet by 12 feet, don't go larger than 5-inch by 5-inch tiles because a larger tile pattern will overwhelm the room and your floor might begin to look more like a school cafeteria. I don't think that's quite the look you're after.

The other thing to remember in a bathroom is that your floor gets wet and may stay wet for quite some time. This encourages mold and mildew growth. If you only plan to scrub your floor when absolutely necessary, then select a dark-colored grout as opposed to white or cream-colored. Dark grout hides a dirty floor better. Most women prefer light-colored grout in their bathrooms, though.

Good luck to you. Take those samples home and study them for a few days before you make your decision. If your tile store won't let you take home as many samples as you think you need, you should find another tile store.

[lexus411]

put the tiles in diagonal. Makes the room appear bigger. And then be prepared to change 5 over items to go along with the new tiles.

[RX in NC]

My wife wanted our family room tiles laid on the diagonal bias last summer, so I did the room that way. It really does look great, but be aware that it requires about 10% to 15% more tiles to lay them diagonally as opposed to laying them square. You'll also be making a lot more cuts if you go with a diagonal pattern, so it will be important to use the best tilecutter device you can find. You can rent these tilecutters from most tile supply companies. Take my word for it - don't use a cheap one. You'll break far less tiles if you get a good one, and you'll sacrifice only a few tiles initially learning to use it properly.

[SW03ES]

In my experience showing houses I've also found that buyers prefer straight tiling to diagonal tiling, just something to think about.

[VBdenny]

I have done a lot of tile work. I gutted my bathrooms and replaced everything, tub etc. In the first one I did I used 4x4 tiles and in the second the 6x6. I like the bigger tiles better. I am preparing to do my kitchen and dining room floors and we are going to use 13x13 tiles with some of the insert tile patterns. I bought a wet saw at The Home Depot for $90 and it works perfectly. I found out quickly that those score and snap tile cutters don't work very well.

[RX in NC]

A well-built score-and-snap tilecutter is only as good as the skills of the person using it. There is definitely a learning curve and you will sacrifice some tiles learning to develop this particular skill. I've employed this method in all of the tile applications I've done over the past 20 years and as long as I'm using a good one, I'll only break about 1 tile out of every 100 that I have to cut. If you go this route, I recommend that you practice at the tile store using some of their scrap tiles. Get good at it there before you take it home and start to work on your own tiles.

A small wet saw is a great idea if you're willing to spend the money. If there are HVAC system registers in the floor you're going to tile, you'll need some way to cut the sharp and sometimes small angles required on the tiles that the registers will sit on top of. A wet saw would be ideal for that.

VBdenny, those 13-by-13 tiles are really elegant, aren't they? I used them in our family room last summer and on our front porch in the summer of 1998, both projects laid on the diagonal. We still get many compliments on the front porch when folks come to our front door for the first time. And the great thing about tile outdoors is that unlike a wooden porch floor, it just doesn't break down or age. It still looks as new as the day I laid it. And talk about easy to clean - just a quick five minutes with a pressure washer and you're good to go for another year. You just have to be careful around the grout, which I re-seal every autumn after pressure-washing the porch. That job takes me about an hour to apply the grout sealant, let it dry for a few minutes, then buff it out.