I am still looking for all sizes of the French Quarter Cobblestone to finish an area of my house. I had 300sqft set aside, but I lost it all in the California Fire on Nov 15th when my storage burned. If I was able to get 100sqft, that should be enough to finish. I need 6x6, 6x12, 12x12, and 12x18. Anyone with any of this left over please email me. Thank You. Drew

I am assuming here that the installer supplied the tile. Removal and replacement of ceramic tiles does nothing to degrade floor strength. The installer either is uneducated in his own trade or he blatantly lied to you. In fact, modular ceramic tile grid installations are designed specifically for this type of "repair and replacement" as each tile is segregated or isolated by grout joints. Removal and replacement will only become more time consuming with the addition of the grout. If you want the tiles replaced, do not allow him to grout them in. Pulling from 3 different boxes is not sufficient enough product culling. It can be sometimes wth a little luck or using a product known to have little to no shade variation, but often it simply isnt enough. If the shade variance is night and day, they need to be replaced unless you wish to live with it. What I like to do is open AT LEAST 3/4 of the boxes to start, making stacks to pull from so they take up less floor space. You can put 5 boxes per pile pulling 1 from each box until to place in the stack. So 10 stacks of 5 boxes each is 50 boxes of tile stacked 1 at a time per box. This gives us sufficient randomization from boxes. All thats required would be for the installer to know to do this, and time. Its the proper way to randomize and cull product for installation. In fact, if you look at actual installation instructions for ceramic tile, its not only the proper way, but the required way, although some manufacturers are quite vague about it. Some simply refer to blending for any shade variance, using matching dye lots, for aesthetics. The manufacturers need to be more precise with this information telling installers to open at least 75% of the tile and exactly how to blend for more randomness. Also depends on how the installer was taught. I have known installers who refused to read specifications and instructions because they thought how they were taught was correct, and they thought they didnt need any instructions on something they have been installing for 30 years, only to find that how they were taught was partially incorrect. If you are seeing (a) defined area(s) of multiple tiles where this shade difference ocurred, the installer pulled from less than the needed number of boxes to prevent it, or there is a manufacturing defect. Either way, its not your responsibility. I recommend being a bit more firm with the installer. You have issues and the installation must not continue until your concerns are addressed to your satisfaction. It is the installers responsibility to not install any visibly defective product. Drastic shade variances are visible defects. Its also his responsibility to repair or pay to repair anything he improperly installed. Remember that this is your home. Not his. He needs to respect your home and you as a customer.

I actually ended up going with 1/4" which I regret because it's a lot of grout look, very rustic. I wish I'd gone smaller, but that would have meant A LOT more cuts in the tile. I think the 1/8 would have been perfect. I used unsanded because I used glossy ceramic tile. I've not had any trouble with it, and it's been about a year. My only problem was two edge pieces came off, but it was because they'd not been stuck to the mastic appropriately. I used black tile with black grout. I DO like the look.

Oh, PHEW!!! I'm so glad they'll resolve it! One of my tile setters told me about visiting a tilery (or whatever you call it) and being shown a color range from very pale to quite dark. The artisans were so excited that they could offer so much variation in one color!!!! And the tile setter was thinking about all the clients who pick through boxes of natural stone to get it all to match, let alone glaze colors. I don't see any way to make what they sent you work unless you want an assymetric checkerboard. Keep us updated on what you decide to do.