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are penny tiles to slippery on the shower floor?

6 years ago

looking to put in penny tile on a walk in shower floor, and wondering if this is going to be a falling hazard? any penny tile veterans out there? thanks for your time!

Featured Answer

MongoCT

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

1) Penny rounds will be fine on a shower floor.

2) It's quite common for penny rounds to have grout widths in excess of 1/8". Those widths will typically put it out of the realm of using a basic unsanded grout, as basic unsanded grouts do not have bulk fillers to prevent shrinkage cracks when used in wider grout joints.

For penny installations where grout widths vary, consider a grout like Laticrete Permacolor or an equivalent. Good for widths from 1/16th to 1/2".

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Comments (11)

PRO
Master Tile Kitchen and Bath Design
6 years ago
Penny tile has a lot of grout joints which will provide good grip even on a shower floor. We use them often for shower floors. :)
PRO
Cassandra Warner Design
6 years ago
My contractor likes to use unsanded grout so the shower floor is easier to clean as the abrasive grout attracts dirt. I have never used penny rounds on a shower floor, not sure if matte penny rounds would still work anyways with unsanded grout?
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I've seen them at a couple of local tile shops here in the Bay Area. One company that makes them is a German company called Jasba. (They have a really interesting colour pallette). I've posted a link below - click around a bit to see more colours as the webpage is a weird layout. The other company I don't know the name of but I think it may be the same company that makes a lot of those 'dot and octagon' old fashioned tiles. I think. Sorry can't be more specific about that source. I've been quoted around $8 per sq. ft. Here is a link that might be useful: Jasba's penny rounds
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The numerous grout lines will provide traction underfoot. Just have an even slope on the floor so the tiles don't roll up and down. Also be aware that the slope of the floor can sometimes skew sheets of mosaic ever so slightly as they are set. Instead of ending up with a continuous floor of uniform mosaic hex, you can see the outline of the individual 12" sheets.
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I would chose a cast iron base if that were an option, but the size is incorrect. I find the other options less appealing, but I think there is no reason to really research them.. Given that the person tasked with dealing with this is a tile contractor, I really doubt anything but a tile replacement is an option under the warranty. And honestly that seems fair to me. The tile contractor is going to be losing money on this. At least with tile replacement, he's getting whatever discount he can out of his suppliers and he's paying his own employees' wages to do the work. And I think like for like replacement is really all anyone can reasonably expect under a warranty. (And changing to a curbless shower and/or linear drain seems like an entirely unreasonable request. Those would require substantial changes to the shower build and would be a substantial up charge. No way do I have a basis to ask for that.) thank you!
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“Trendy” is a word that indicates that a style will rise in popularity quickly, over-saturate the market so that people tire of it, and disappear from popularity at a faster pace than a non-trendy item. Whether something is trendy versus classic versus simply part of the fashion cycle has nothing to do with the naturalness of its components. Something such a style of granite can be trendy, meaning that it will burn brightly, but quickly through showrooms, be purchased by many, many people and dominate the fashion so that people get sick of looking at it sooner than other fashion choices from the same era. Trendy items also tend to identify themselves with a smaller number of years. In refrigerators, for instance, harvest gold color was “so early seventies.” Some things start out as trends and become classic. Stainless steel refrigerators are now at that tipping point where they become another classic color, along with white. Almond is an example of a refrigerator color that did not ever trend big. It is often available, though, fifty years after its introduction. It may also be in danger of becoming classic, but it never has reached enough popularity to quite get there. It may yet (or could already have) fizzle out, but would we notice if it did?
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PRO
Dragonfly Tile & Stone Works, Inc.
6 years ago
Some sanded grout is rough, and some not so much . We use Laticrete Permacolor or Laticrete Select as it is much stronger and a very smooth grout joint. All grout is not created equal. As for penny tiles for shower floor, most mosaics, like penny tiles, do create the friction that you need for a non-slip surface. Very acceptable selection for a shower floor in that regard. Please do be sure that the installer knows how to install these sheets of tiles without an obvious grid line as they generally come on sheets and you do not want to see the separation between the sheets. Here's a couple penny round floors we have installed. The "blue guest bath" used the penny rounds on the ceiling and niche as well, although we used white on floor but pulled a few of the blue penny tiles from the ceiling blend to break it up and add interest.
shannon
Original Author
6 years ago
gorgeous! thank you for all these comments!
PRO
Creative Tile Eastern CT
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
To add to Mongo & Dragonfly's good advise on the Laticrete products which I also use. My first choice would have been Mapei FA. (Personal preference only). Not knowing what is available near you it's just another option. As stated above no to unsanded.
kudzu9
6 years ago
There will be no problem with slipperiness. The main issues are:

1. The somewhat bigger challenge in cleaning a floor like this.

2. Whether this trend has peaked and will look dated all-too-soon.
sloyder
6 years ago
lots of crevices for your feet to grab ahold of, unlike a larger format tile.
amanda99999
6 years ago
Keep in mind the pockets of grout to clean dirt out of. We had penny tile - original to our 1920s house - on the bathroom floor (not shower). Granted it was black tile with almost black grout - the worst IMO for showing dirt etc. It was hard to clean: the grout areas are large and depressed below the top of the tile that you walk on. (So I'd vacuum first, then scrub the grout pockets individually. Ugh.) If you are ok with that, then go for it - not too slippery because of all that grout. It was beautiful! We replaced it with white 1" hex tile, medium gray grout, and while I'm sure its getting just as dirty I can't see the dirt, hair, etc.
PRO
Creative Ceramic & Marble/ Bill Vincent
6 years ago
Hell, with all the good advice y'all are getting, you don't need me here!! LOL
Nancy in Mich
6 years ago
Amanda99999, do you think it was more the color of the penny tile and grout that caused your problems, or the raised dome effect of the little round tiles being higher than the grout surface?

I ask because my "frugal" half is getting ready to buy a mixed gray penny tile for the room floor, and I would probably use a light gray grout. (My spendthrift half is zeroed in on a porcelain marble-look dog bone basket weave that costs almost three times as much.)

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