Bill V - I found one of your comments in an old GW post from 2008. I copied and pasted below. So I'm thinking unsanded. If I am wrong, please let me know! Thank you so much for all of your help! As for the explanation of the different grouts, I just posted this in an FAQ thread on the gallery side of the bathrooms forum. Here it is, copied and pasted: Although there are others, for all intents and purposes, there are two kinds of grout-- portland cement based, and epoxy. The portland cement based grouts are the conventional grouts that have been around for millenniums. Although in the last few decades, they've been modified with latex and other polymers to make them stronger and more resistant to mold and mildew, they're basically the very same grouts that have been used since Greek and Roman days. There are two kinds of portland cement based grouts. One is sanded, and the other unsanded. The only difference between the two is, as their names imply, the sand. The ONLY thing that determines which grout should be used is the joint size. NOT the glaze, NOT aesthetics, NOT the material (ceramic vs. glass or polished marble), NONE of those. I'll repeat-- the ONLY thing that determines which is used, is the joint size. Anything under an 1/8" takes unsanded grout. Anything 1/8" or bigger, you use sanded grout. If you use unsanded grout in larger joints, the cement in the grout will shrink way too much as the water evaporates out of it, and the joints will end up shrinking and cracking bigtime. If you try using sanded grout in smaller joints, the grains of sand will literally clog the top of the joint, and not allow the grout to get down INTO the joint, and the grout will flake off in a matter of days.

The caulking should be where the tile butts up to the window frame. one thing you might consider is using a piece of travertine slab for the shelf.

Omg,i know this is from 2010 but for anyone looking for solutions on a same problem, its not the morter ,its not the floors its not deflection either that only happens years after tile has been installed, one simple trick the durock or concrete (never ever bare subfloor or over old tile thats is absolutely lazy dirty work) where you are installing must me wet,the tile must be wet everything must be wet,when concrete and durock soak up the water its creates suction. Same if tile is wet that does the trick,thats how it works in tuck pointing as well laying cinder block for commercial walls ,fyi never morter durock ever ever never had this problem but i fixed many do it yourself projects and so called jack of all trades or handymans poor quality work,even when licensed that doesnt mean they know what they are doing,look for experience and verifiable references , cant beleive no one knows this,this separates professionals from handyman being informed before messing with someones property thats all keep everything wet with a spray bottle

Yes, it is. You have one of two choices. You can either leave the tiles to be cut on the mesh, and cut them with tile nippers, in which case the cuts won't be very clean, or you can unmount the pieces to be cut and cut them one at a time on a saw. Unfortunately, if you put the sheet of tile on a wet saw, good chance the water will loosen up the glue that holds them to the mesh, and you'll have a mess on your hands. (sorry-- I didn't see the "porcelain" part when I read your original post! DUHHHH! :-) )