Thanks :( The tile is beautiful and they cost a lot. He was very apologetic and said "Why didn't you ask me for a staggered effect?" I just assumed as fake wood tile it was obvious and was "trusting " as mentioned above!! He did offer to rip it all up buy new tiles and redo the wet seal but it has taken over a month to get to tiling stage (we had to have complete expensive asbestos demolition as there was a piece at back of shower when we ripped it out) and I have 4 kids that are fighting over bathroom every day! We decided to leave it for now and he will retile over the top if I really hate it. He is a really kind genuine guy. It is I suppose a cautionary tale... Never go out when decisions are made.. Never assume anything even if you seem picky. I will post a finished pic. The rest of the tiling is going well!! Thanks for input! You are so knowledgeable on here!

scrappy25, what brand and model of flooring is that?

Also, could someone answer the question I asked detroitburb above?

What would be a software program to use to draw and then communicate the layout on paper?

No software needed. Just an architect's scale and pencil, or graph paper.

It is a make called Timber and the wood variety is Stringybark. I wanted a be achy/driftwood look and it has a texture to it so you don't slip. It is beautiful sob!!

Great news he will stand behind his work! Hope, for all, that you adjust to the pattern.

that is beautiful jdani! That's an upscale tile and the stacked bond is an upscale look. It takes a perfectionist to make a stacked bond look good and that looks really good.

Ivaniphone, I went with the ultra cheap Marazzi Montagna Dapple Gray porcelain $1.99/sf from home depot. Had previously installed the gunstock oak in my kitchen and loved it. It is not through and through coloring so the risk is a chip that shows white but so far no chips despite several dropped and broken dishes in the kitchen. The contractor used a urethane grout for my sunporch installation of the Dapple Gray, the container says Quartzlock2 "Natural" (although it looks pretty dark to be natural). I wanted it slightly darker like this to hide dirt. HTH

I have now read the entire thread. Our wood look floor tiles will be laid on Monday (it is now Saturday) in 2 bathrooms, ensuite and laundry. The tiler has asked us to tell him how we want these expensive tiles to be laid. Gosh I had no idea, so I came here to look for an answer, (and learned all sorts of new terms like lippage, stair stepping, etc). So... If I say, according to Sophie Wheeler in one of the comments above; "LFT requires that no more than 1/3 offset bond patterns be used. No random offsets.", do any of you who are still reading this thread think that will be the best thing to advise?

Melanie Price:

Tell your tilepersons you want the floor laid as per the Tile Council of North America's standards for Large Format Tiles. It is great because it not only tells you how, it tells you why. You should get two copies. Familiarize yourself with one and give them the other.

OK Thanks Joseph - I'm not sure the professional tilers here in Sydney Australia will be familiar with this, but I'll be sure to ask. It must be the same, wouldn't you think?

"The tiler has asked us to tell him how we want these expensive tiles to be laid ...

So... If I say, ..... will that be the best thing to advise?"

Familiarize yourself with what needs to be done. Ask potential tilers to spell out how they will install them. Hire someone who already knows what to do and is knowledgeable and well-versed of proper installation methods. Have the required installation specs stated in your contract.

Hire someone who is experienced with those tiles and who you do not have to supervise and advise how things should/should have been done. Very important! Unfortunately it all requires research on your part.

Draw a picture and hand it to him that way no dispute! Ours should have known as he was very good tiler but perhaps not used to these long planks!! Also he thought aligned would give a modern look! I like it now but it took a while to get over the disappointment!

Yes thanks to all - it's now Monday morning and our tiler has started after some discussion as above - he has no problem with it and we're all confident - with fingers crossed. :)

"Draw a picture and hand it to him that way no dispute! "

Not so! You can not be diligent enough in getting things laid out correctly. Providing a picture or drawing is not enough! You have to be there at all times when the work is being done to make sure things go as planned.

Yes, competent contractors love homeowners hawking over them. It's my favorite.

Be there at all times is a great idea... I have 4 kids... Just not possible unless they never went to school/sport/doctor/dentist etc!! My tiler was actually late the day I went out as his daughter had been taken seriously ill and I would have been there if he'd been on time! I just don't think you can stand over people anyway. It was just a sad mistake to assume it would be laid like a wood floor. It is much less common here just coming into popularity in Australia.

To set the record straight- I TOTALLY trust this tiler. He is excellent and a total professional who does artwork with tiles. He is contracted by our wonderful designer 'Tranquil Renovations' (you can find them here on HOUZZ). I only made the comment because he asked us to tell him how we wanted the tiles to be laid, beforehand, as he should have, and as I had no idea, I turned to HOUZZ comments for some basic education. I never meant to imply I didn't trust his work, but I appreciated all the reply comments. :)

I have made the unfortunate mistake of always trusting them with their jobs. Just sayin' and a warning to be very careful, not so naive. Read around.

Of course you can't be there at all times and hovering over. But you need to be knowledgeable, proactive and know what's planned, communicated and going on. Otherwise it's too late. These are not easy problems to fix or redo.

Unfortunately, simply delegating the work to someone, as it should be, is not a wise or smart approach in this industry. And even competent or qualified contractors can mess things up. The world is in a rush.

I made the same mistake of letting installer choose the pattern. But after living room was half done demoed the whole thing and had them set it in 9 inch offset pattern. I'm happy with the patten although I wish I can say the same thing with setting. One thing you have to keep in mind is that every single individual who works in construction business will say that they can set tiles because there's money to be made there. Good thing is that wood looking tiles are very forgiving when it comes to inconsistent grout jonts due to their inherent wood grain lines. I'm satisfied with final outcome though. Now gotta tackle the baseboards.....my DIY project!

Question. why do people choose a light colored grout for wood look tile- to me it screams that it's fake (isn't it the point to make it as realistic as possible?). If you look at natural wood the microbevel edges create a shadow - but a lighter color grout, well, looks like grout with fake tile.

Is there another reason that i'm not aware of?

Sometimes the reason is that grout often comes out lighter than expected from the sample swatch. A lot of the time that is due to the installer using too much water in mixing or when applying rather than following the manufacturer's directions on the bag so the pigment isn't washed out.

monika2024:

Things are often created as a tribute or an inspiration of an original, not as an exact replication. I've got several examples in mind, but mentioning them would easily get me kicked off Houzz. At least another talkin'-to.

thanks for the tip about it being lighter- we are about to grout our floor and did't think of that. Good tip!

I install tile for a living and have for 15 years i never random lay it i stagger it on thirds allways thr manufacture reconmends it never be half staggerd or brick layed i use to lay it random but its much more difficult to get the floor flat and i allways lay it on thirds also it is not wood its tile ut has grout lines dosnt matter if you lay it random it will allways look like tuke its tile if tou wanted a wood floor thats what you should have had installed

If you have an excellent tiler it's very possible to get a true wood look layout with large format rectified tile. My tile is 8x48 rectified, my grout lines are 1/32, my layout is very random and wood like with very very little lippage. It took precise floor prep for level, paying close attention to the layout and the overlap. My floor is fabulous, everyone has to reach down and touch it because they can not believe it not really wood. I was here. I talked long and detailed with my tile installer, I showed him pictures of what I would not accept and what he would be removing if it happened. He fully understood what I wanted and expected. His job was exquisite. My floor is as exquisite. It's possible. The layout of the OP was one of the examples of what he would be removing and an exact stairstep was another.

You are my hero. We have so many regrets. One big expensive mistake.

Hey don't worry Laura - this pattern is actually coming back into fashion now, like all decorating fashions eventually do. I actually like this because it is unique to all the mass produced modern designs that I am tiring of.

This old thread stuck in my mind when we were guests in a fancy resort this winter. They had wood look tile in the bathroom running into the foyer and part of the room laid like the original post. This was a huge resort and I can only assume that all of their hundreds of other rooms were the same. I guess this is a new enough product that not everyone agrees on how it is "supposed" to look.

Oh Laura I understand how upset you are. I told my tile guy if I saw any of the many "patterns" we have seen here that I might actually have to hurt him lol. He was already a little bit afraid of me, when I called him in to sit down with me to look at pictures on my tablet he told his helpers if he didn't come back in 30 minutes to come looking for him lol. He was very funny and we got along great but he knew how serious I was about my floor. It's very expensive and if you are going to be paying that kind of money you want it done to your specifications. I was on site and checking in randomly. I absolutely love my floor. I wanted the grout lines to disappear, they do.

Laura your tile is lovely you picked a beauty. With furniture and rugs it does become less eye catching. I have always been extremely sensitive to patterns I see them clearly when others don't. Some people don't notice that much.

They need to remove it at their expense and re do it the way you explained to them how you wanted it from the beginning. That is unacceptable. Why should you have to put up with their mistakes. Good thing it's not heart surgery! It's just absurd.

Nicole:

I find it hard to believe there aren't any control joints in the concrete on a placement that large. You can't tile over them without Ditra.

Seems this thread will be forever resurrected. See this photo? THIS is called laying out a pattern BEFORE it is installed for all to agree. It will cost you about $70 in labor and it is a non-negotiable step as we want the homeowner to be happy with their selection and to fully understand (visualize) the pattern that THEY are agreeing to.

Dragonfly, I'd put the lady in the picture of the tile smiling and giving a thumbs-up.

Joseph Corlett, You mean this one? Need to photoshop a thumbs up. (If you were referring to her, thanks for peeking at our custom work). Oh wait, I get it now. The customer you meant. Oh well, here's a tile lady...

Joseph, what is the purpose of a control joint?

http://www.cement.org/learn/concrete-technology/concrete-construction/contraction-control-joints-in-concrete-flatwork

Hi everyone. This thread has been really helpful. Our wood look porcelain tile (6x48, marazzi treverkchic, rectified) is being laid soon, and I want to be super clear with my installer about what I expect. I want the tiles laid randomly, like in ravencajun's photos. Does anyone think this image would convey that random pattern clearly? If not, any advice would be appreciated.

I feel your pain ... I just experienced the same thing and in tears as it has a box patterned appearance when looking across it and makes the 40” long planks look like shorter boxed in rows following a pattern!!

hujeanne

Be careful of terminology! I think "random" when tiling is a pattern that is laid in an offset of thirds. When speaking of "random" in laying wood, there is no exact pattern. Part of the problem may be that all pieces of the tile are the same length where actual wood planks usually come in varied lengths from 1 - 7 feet.

Help... I asked for random... Got this. Besides looking horrible, isntisn't a seam like this a problem?

You need to post in a separate original thread. You have MUCH bigger issues than the tile pattern. That shower area is improperly built.

The pattern of the tile is fairly common for 12x24 tiles(stock set). However, it should always be discussed with the customer first( with at least a drawn detail of direction and how it is to be installed, Second, worked from the center of the room so it looks balanced to the eye, also if that back part were the wall is in fact a an extremely small shower, then the comment before me is right, you do have MUCH bigger problems. I have been a floor covering contractor for close to 30 years, and no matter how small a project is, it is important for an installer and customer to go over the customers wants( best to get it in writing). One can always show a customer setting patterns with some tiles(as they are not tile contractors. Some customers will say,(you are the expert, do what you feel is best), which can result in customers being upset with the end result.

@ravencajun what is the name of your floor??

terrible installation!

Lisa this post is from 2013

Matthew, you sound defensive!

Post never gets old. It’s important to know whether your tile is rectified or pressed, and the specs of the tile like offset and grout width. You can’t just take any ole pressed tile lay it randomly or else you’ll induce lippage at the edges, which could be a hazard. When tile is made the center and the ends are often not flat as the tile fires. With one third offset tiles there are very few ‘non-pattern’ patterns. Many large tiles will not allow for a 1/2 offset due to the difference in tile height at the center as related to the ends