Generally people got confused with the tiles. Also the price varies a lot. If you think it is a quality ones, then go ahead.

Steve, I've used the Kerdi Trays, and while they are easy to use, there's a little weirdness to them. Sort of like a floating floor, they can sound a little "hollow" when water hits the tile, but that can depends on the shower head used and the type of spray that comes out of the head. When I've used the Kerdi Trays to advantage is when I had multiple showers to do at once. I framed the showers a uniform size and down went the trays, boom, boom, boom. Done fast. I do prefer a mud bed versus using the Kerdi Tray. But that is simply my opinion. Nothing wrong with the trays. Mud slopes aren't horribly difficult. Just set your drain elevation. Set your perimeter wall mud height. Then fill in the in-between part. The beauty of deck mud is that it's lean enough that you can shave it here and build it up there while you work it. For your first attempt consider having a few screed boards or straight pieces of scrap wood of varying lengths that you can use to screed the mud or use as sighting boards to keep the mud flat as you work the slope from drain-to-wall. There are also commercially available sloping kits, essentially sloped screed boards. Or you can cut your own tapered pieces and use them to help you hit the slope. Humps in the sloped floor can be shaved down. If you have a divot/depression, do not accept it. Fill it in prior to kerdi-ing the sloped floor. If the "discouraged about Kerdi" comment indicates a dissatisfaction or trepidation with the Kerdi product itself, there's a hybrid approach that has been discussed a few times using a sloped mud bed, a kerdi drain set in the mud bed, cement board on the walls and HydroBan (instead of Kerdi) to waterproof everything. Put a few beers on ice. You'll be ready! Best, Mongo

That was the house we had in Houston TX. Now we are in the Dallas Area. That was our only major mosaic project. The front porch was also done. We did not know what we were doing. I took a hammer and tried to soften all of the sharp edges before the mosaic part began. Major job but I understand there are more safisticated ways of doing it now. Ha At our house here I have a bunch of scrap tile that I got from Freecycle.com I am probably going to do the same thing for the back porch. I have never done a patterned mosaic picture before so I'm not quite brave about trying that. But this was just an example of what busted up tile would look like. Susie

Sharp cut edges can be eased by hand with a carborundum stone, or with judicious use of a diamond blade on a grinder. Other ways as well. But it's not something that is regularly done. With a glazed tile, any easing of the edge after a tile is glazed and fired can remove the glaze and expose the bisque beneath. If the color of the tile body is substantially different from the color of the glaze, that can be problematic. Best bet is when grouting that the grout not be raked out of the joints. Leave the joints full so the grout completely covers the cut edge, the grout should be flush with the face of the tile.