I put out an email to a builder friend who lives in Jamestown. He's going to contact his tileman and get back to me. Where in RI do you live? I'll need to give him that info. And it's a good thing you're a Sox fan and not a yankees (patooey) fan. You'd get a real nice shower if that were the case. ; ^ ) I'll be in Providence in a few weeks for the JLC-Live tradeshow.

I'm going to give you a little hint that not even very many installers know. Everyone thinks that the solvent based sealers are the cat's meow, and as sealers, they are. They last alot longer, and will do their job alot better. BUT--- as a grout release, not a one of them will stand up to a water based sealer. Years ago, when I lived in south Florida, I did alot of Saltillo (terra cotta) tile. As I'd set it, I'd spray it down with Aquamix's water based sealer. As much of a nightmare as most people think it is to grout terra cotta, using that stuff as a grout release, it was like grouting glazed tile. A couple of years later, I was up here doing a Saltillo floor for my last employer, and they gave me Porous Plus-- supposedly the absolute best sealer for that purpose. I went thru twice the sealer, at almost TEN TIMES THE PRICE PER GALLON, and it STILL didn't do as good a job. I would submit that you'd get the same results with limestone, no matter HOW coarse the texture. Check it out. Water based sealer isn't that much-- only about 20.00 a gallon-- pick up a gallon (and DON'T let them talk you into using ANY kind of solvent based sealer-- not Porous Plus, Not Bullet proof, NONE of them), and seal a piece of tile. Let it dry overnight, and then smear it with grout. Let it sit for about 20 minutes, and try and clean it. I have a pretty good feeling it'll put all your fears to rest.

The only ones I've had an issue with were Marazzi, and that was from several years ago but over a period of several years, and Florida Tile, which was from awhile ago too. I can't recall having touched Florida Tile since. Marazzi, I think they have gotten better. The issue with them back in the day was the tiles were just so varied in size. Open a box, stand the tiles on edge (like a deck of cards on edge) and it shows how out of square and varied in size they are across each dimension. I can't say the last time I used Marazzi...maybe last year in 2010? But they were pretty much standard then, I had no out of the ordinary issues. Some tile is only rated for wall use, some wall and floor rated. If the tile has a "glaze pattern", some are applied with screens, like silk screens. Look closely and you can see the screen grid within the glaze. Also, ask how often the pattern repeats in a box. A manufacturer might only have 7 patterns or 15 patterns. In a large room using a tile with a low number of patterns, the repetitive pattern could be apparent after the tiles are set. Through-body versus a surface glaze could be a consideration regarding cut edges. For the most part though, porcelain is porcelain. 2" and 3" squares will both conform to the pitch changes in the shower floor. Most shower drain covers are 4" squares, which nests nicely within a field of 2" tiles. 2" tiles will also give more grout lines, which can aid in foot traction and minimize slips in the shower. There are myriad ways to do a sink backsplash, there's no hard right or wrong. But sure, a tiled wainscot can look lovely, especially with a pedestal sink that shows off more of the wall. If you go that route, take the added wall thickness into consideration when positioning the toilet flange in the floor.

Kendog-- As to the first two choices, I think either one would aork aestheitcally speaking. It would really be a matter of which look YOU like best. We're planning to use pencil rail around our niches as well as above and below the stone and glass liner. Would it look best with pencil around the window as well or could we just overlap the tile there? I would NEVER just overlap the tiles. Being you're going to use the pencil liner for trimming the niche, I don't think it would look out of place if you were to trim out the window as well. The pencil trim has a higher profile than the tile. Should all of it be cut down at the back to make it more flush with the tile if we use it to cover the edge where the tile meets the wall? No-- it's MADE to have that kind of protruding profile. Trim will be needed on the opposite wall where the half wall ends or maybe we could try to bullnose this with a router? The color of the tile edge nearly matches the color of the tile face. Nearly isn't close enough. Either it's exact, or it's not good enough. If you'd rather not use the pencil liners there, I'd use one of Schluter's bullnosing strips. as for the curb, you could always use a marble threshold, thereby elliminating the need for bullnose. Not sure about yours, but most curbs, after backerboard and tile, are about 5 1/2" wide, and a 6" wide threshold set flush to the tile on the outside of the curb, will give you just enough of an overhang on the inside to provide for a nice drip edge. This will do a couple of things for you. First, it'll provide another layer of protection for the curb. Secondly, it'll provide for a nice flat surface for the shower door to sit on, and third, it looks alot nicer than two back to back bullnose pieces. Like this: The floor is about 18 square feet. Do you think it would work well if we cut our wall tile into 4 inch squares to use for the floor? Could we just sand the edges to make them smooth or would we need to use a router? You COULD cut them down, but if the floor isn't perfectly flat, you could end up with uncomfortable edges under your feet. Again, unless the face and edge of the tile look exactly the same, you don't want to use ANY kind of abraiding process (router, sand paper, grinder, polishing wheels) that will show in the finished product. Our tile is rectified porcelain and we'd like to use 1/16 grout lines if possible. If it's rectified, that shouldn't be a problem.