That is what I thought. Everything was going good until we mixed the thinset. We mixed the thinset as per the instruction on the thinset. I wish I had read the ditra instructions where it stated on bag can be used to cover 150-200 sq ft of ditra to subfloor and one bag to bond 50 sq ft of tile to the ditra. Obviously we mixed it too thick and then the thinset went on this as well. My wife did add more liquid as we were realizing that it was too thick. We are just going to go forward with installing the tile on the ditra. It looks good and I know that when I was applying the ditra the thinset was getting decent coverage. We did set 16 tiles on Sunday and I walked on them yesterday and they seem very well fixed in place. No movement at all. How level do the tiles need to be under the vanity? This is a 48 inch vanity with 4 legs. I know it would be best to make sure it is level. The subfloor was leveled out prior to installing with some shingles and tar paper but all is still not perfect and I am not the best at adding/removing thinset to make each tile level with the surrounding ones. It is coming out good but nothing is perfect. OH...if things crack...we were planning on renovating the kitchen in three years so we will redo the floor and vanity at that time. Hopefully it wont crack but not the end of the world...we are only talking about 50 sq ft of tile. Thanks, Steve

Thank you, all. I thought a lot about all the feedback and about what SJ said about when/where/how to utilize wood planking if I like that look. I considered buying the whole house’s tile now, in case it’s discontinued, but that’s not what I want to do now. Storing a ton of boxes and feeling like I have a gun to my head to install them before I’m ready for the rest of the transition isn’t part of the plan. I went to a tile store (not big box or outlet) and bought a beautiful porcelain 12x24 similar to what Beverly showed in the second picture. It’s strategic because it’s in the master color scheme we are transitioning to and this bath is buffered from the rest of the house by a bedroom with carpet. So, in the event it’s discontinued, it will still flow and feel cohesive later provided I stay in the same color plan. This was a very helpful thread that indeed changed my mind from when I posted. Thanks again.

@emma - thanks for your input. Did you mean not use dark colored grout? The intent was much lighter/sandish. Or do you think that would be too dark?

The material the GC used is the big question. The second part of that question is: Was it reinforced to the requirements made by the tile manufacturer? The reason I ask is this: many people *think (even GCs get this wrong) cement board is "reinforcement" material. It is NOT. In fact it is ONLY to offer a level surface for the tiles to sit on. A proper plywood (not OSB...please not OSB) is required to achieve a CERTAIN thickness (total thickness of layers 1+2 = "X" amount of inches thick. This thickness is to be determined/calculated by the person doing the installation. To get to the deflection rating required by the tiles (ahem...tile manufacture's requirement needs to be followed) the JOIST SPACING is taken into account. The fact that the bathroom is over a garage might be an issue, it might not. But garage builds are notorious for being 'lower grade' than the build used in the house. That means joist spacing might be quite large. That means you need a VERY THICK subfloor to achieve the same deflection rating as a properly built joist system being made ready to take on tile. Yah. The architect had to make the space READY for tile. Which is where the 'over a garage' might come into play. Anyway, please find out: 1. Total thickness of subfloor BEFORE tiles were installed 2. Material used to reach the total thickness (cement backer board should NOT be part of the equation...if it is, you know where the weakness in the system is) 3. What was the deflection calculation used? 4. Is there a decoupling membrane (like Ditra or Schluter) under the tiles Was there anything else done to this space/area that might have added more WEIGHT to the area? Like a washer/drier pair? Or a water bed in the next room? Weight lifting equipment added to the next room? Or a large tub added to a bathroom expansion project?