That is true, Jewell. I am having 2x2 polished dark emperador marble accents in my Travertine floor. I have 155 sf of floor tile going down and not including the cost of the floor tile or accent tile (36 per sheet), the labor to install accents is costing me $400 because of the cuts to the 16 x 16 floor tiles.

abbycat- Linear drains can be expensive, because, like a lot of fixtures for the bath, they are, in my opinion, overpriced, and, also, installers sometimes add more to their normal charges. However, you can also do them less expensively with the right products and installer. I did a lot of research to find a reasonably priced linear drain, and finally settled on the Luxe brand. They are very solidly made and precisely manufactured. After shopping all around for price, I found it online at HomeDepot (!) for $214 for the 26" wide model, which was substantially lower than any other place (elsewhere online it was in the $340-$400 range). And it was way cheaper than a number of other brands I looked at, some of which approached $800. An install for a linear drain should not, again in my opinion, cost any more than a regular drain. You use a pretty standard shower drain base (with the linear drain and the plumbing for the p-trap is the same. (The drain base is a PVC fitting about 8" in diameter which seals the place where the drain penetrates the shower membrane.) For a linear drain, the mortar bed for the tile is a slightly sloping, flat plane to the drain, so that's basically easier to form than the standard bed which has to be sloped in from all directions to the drain. And tile laying is easy because, since the mortar bed is flat, you can use any format tile without having to worry about the slope you have with a regular drain, so no fancy tile cutting is involved. The only thing that is challenging is making sure the linear drain hole is precisely placed in the middle of the end you are choosing so that the linear drain is perfectly symmetrical between the walls. And, when the mortar bed is laid, there needs to be a removable form (such as a 2 X 4) inserted so there is a place for the drain to be set in. I did the plumbing, and my tile guy was experienced enough with linear drains that he didn't charge more to do it. However, I think linear drains are still slightly out of the ordinary, and it gives installers a chance to charge more because the drain seems more complicated and exotic. Shower drain base

OK...we've seen one poster (several years ago) have a horrific experience with her new build in Europe. She had her porcelain tiles laid in a second floor bathroom (European Builders and tile setters are MUCH higher in skill and education that Canadians...so keep that in mind). The building was cement block with some wood-joists. Thick subfloors with excellent deflection rating. And a tile setter who had been sent to Italy to learn how to install the product. Epic fail. As in 2 years later the national tile setters guild (Austria or Switzerland I believe) had to be brought in to sort out the retailer and the installer. Still not settled even though everyone agreed it was not done properly. You will notice the project pictures you are showing are all done over concrete slabs. There's a reason for that. The SUBSTRATE must be EXTREMELY RIGID. That's a start. Then the setting of the materials must be EXACT! The materials used to lay these supersized porcelain tiles are rarely found "off the shelf". This is super specialized product, product knowledge and skill-set. And the education level of the installer must be insanely high. Someone who believes they can use a single tile as a shower floor may not have the education level available. Your average "builder" rarely has the skill set to complete such a specialized installation. They have to know some hyper-expensive guys who have been trained specifically for this job. Ask how often they go to Europe to get training in this material. If they look scared and/or angry then you know you have got the wrong person. And in a shower you WANT lots and lots of grout lines. It adds TRACTION to the wettest surface in your house. A shower tile MUST BE RATED to go into this setting. The slip coefficient must meet safety standards. You need to check off all of these boxes to get this product installed. Assume the worst and go from there.

You should really re think your plan. Start at the hiring process , get less lost on the internet and uninvolve yourself with drain selections. Make a smart tile hiring decision You want the tile crew that Cites TCNA, ANSI standards , already knows the plumbing requirements locally, and insists and i mean insists on supplying all materials including the drain. Youll not save anything by getting overly involved technically, Make a smart 1 time hiring choice. Did you want any help in that field? how to hire an actual tile pro?