abbycat- Linear drains can be expensive, because, like a lot of fixtures for the bath, they are, in my opinion, overpriced, and, also, installers sometimes add more to their normal charges. However, you can also do them less expensively with the right products and installer. I did a lot of research to find a reasonably priced linear drain, and finally settled on the Luxe brand. They are very solidly made and precisely manufactured. After shopping all around for price, I found it online at HomeDepot (!) for $214 for the 26" wide model, which was substantially lower than any other place (elsewhere online it was in the $340-$400 range). And it was way cheaper than a number of other brands I looked at, some of which approached $800. An install for a linear drain should not, again in my opinion, cost any more than a regular drain. You use a pretty standard shower drain base (with the linear drain and the plumbing for the p-trap is the same. (The drain base is a PVC fitting about 8" in diameter which seals the place where the drain penetrates the shower membrane.) For a linear drain, the mortar bed for the tile is a slightly sloping, flat plane to the drain, so that's basically easier to form than the standard bed which has to be sloped in from all directions to the drain. And tile laying is easy because, since the mortar bed is flat, you can use any format tile without having to worry about the slope you have with a regular drain, so no fancy tile cutting is involved. The only thing that is challenging is making sure the linear drain hole is precisely placed in the middle of the end you are choosing so that the linear drain is perfectly symmetrical between the walls. And, when the mortar bed is laid, there needs to be a removable form (such as a 2 X 4) inserted so there is a place for the drain to be set in. I did the plumbing, and my tile guy was experienced enough with linear drains that he didn't charge more to do it. However, I think linear drains are still slightly out of the ordinary, and it gives installers a chance to charge more because the drain seems more complicated and exotic. Shower drain base

Thank you, Allison. I have seen walker Zanger but have not seen Village Lagoon yet. I hope not to have standing water but we are doing a jetted curbless large shower so not sure how much water will puddle. Hopefully none. I also have young kids who may shower in this room who do create lots of puddles in their own bathroom. i am going to ask about sealing them it seems that would counter the absorption issues. off to look into Village Lagoon. Thanks.

Emma - we've done a number of tile jobs DIY with good results; however, not 13 x 39. That's a whole 'nother creature we were not prepared to tackle, especially on a vertical surface. We used that size tile on our fireplace and these two craftsmen spent most of the day getting it right. I think this large a format is too big for a backsplash. We do live in the Bay Area (Marin) and would be happy to share the guys who did this.

I like large tile for backsplash and am doing the same for the same reason, I couldnt get a third slab they didn't have one. I got 24x24 and I'm paying to have a professional install as it's tricky. So far looks lovely! Sizing to space properly is critical I found out from my tiler and he was right. If you have found your perfect tile, you can make it work well. If it's just ok, then I would send it back and look at long narrow floor tiles, or 24x24 or bigger to get your look. That is just what I finished going through. Now I'm stumped on tile for my fireplace..