Not that many people use large format tile like that. It has some very specific and tricky requirements for installation and it's not every tile setter that has the experience and patience to set it correctly. It's also a lot more costly to have installed due to the difficulty of install. Just be sure that your tile setter knows what he's doing on this job and has quoted you an appropriate price based on the correct parameters. If you're DIYing it, you may want to hang out at John Bridge tile forums to pick the brains of the pros. Heck, pick their brains to make sure your pro knows the correct proceedure!

Beautifull serene look. Interesting 1/3 offset pattern! I'm assuming it's rectified? How bad was the warpage/lippage issue?

About 1/16" from center to ends. If the tiles were laid out soldier course, you couldn't even see it. But set them up in a normal brick joint tight to each other, and it would've been a nightmare. That's what they were originally looking for, and then TCNA came out with their warning about large format rectified porcelain and warpage. So we went with a 1/3 brick joint and a 3/16" grout joint instead of a tight joint.

live wire oak - I have a contractor that is familiar with laying down flooring. he did say it may be a little more difficult than your stand 12x12, but it shoudln't be a problem.

bill vincent - love the way your floors look. What color grout did you use? Fortuntaley, our tile will be ready in a weeks time. Our tile too is from Italy, but for some reason the warehouse we are buying from has it in stock.

I'm sorry what was the warning TCNA came out with? I'll have to google a search for it.

No need to Google. This came from Daltile, but it came to them from TCNA. Ask and you shall receive:

Rectified Tiles
What Is The Appropriate Grout Joint Width?

Rectified tiles continue to increase in popularity, particularly in the commercial arena. For years, the industry and Dal-Tile have recommended that Rectified tiles can be installed with a 1/16" grout joint. However, from the contractorÂs perspective, installations have become more time consuming and difficult to ensure compliant installations when attempting to install a Rectified tile with a 1/16" grout joint. In response, the new TCNA (Tile Council of North America) Handbook addresses this issue by recommending that the width of the grout joint used be determined by the ANSI A108.02 specification which states that the actual grout joint size shall be at least 3 times the actual variation of facial dimensions of the tile. To simplify: Rectified tiles, regardless of size, shall have a grout joint width no less than 1/8". As a result, Dal-Tile is changing its recommended grout joint width to be 1/8" for all of its Rectified tiles.

In addition, we will no longer recommend in our literature that Rectified and Non-Rectified large format rectangle sizes (Ex: 12" x 24") can be installed in a brickwork or running bond pattern where the overlap is 50% [normal brick joint]. The reason for this is that the allowable warpage for a tile based on ANSI specifications can create an installation issue when large format rectangular tiles are installed in a brickwork/running bond pattern. This allowable warpage can create a scenario where lippage is inevitable given the overlapping pattern. To mitigate this effect, Dal-Tile will be removing the brickwork pattern from our catalogs and literature. This will be replaced by a new pattern that will be referred to as a "Staggered" brickwork pattern where the overlap does not exceed 33%, and the grout joint width must be a minimum of 3/16".

Also-- grout was Mapei's Pearl Grey.

bill vincent - thank you! This is clear, I will have my contractor read over, I'm sure he's aware of how it should b done.\\

Here's ours, Mirage Slate porcelain tile, 12x24

Here is ours in the den. There was definintely some lippage, not anything that I wasn't expecting. Tile guys weren't cursing me on this the way they were on the glass subways in the bathroom, which was a really hard job for some reason.

Love the look! I'm so happy I'm going with this color and size til. Thanks for the feedback!

youngdeb what kind of tile do you have? I love it.