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is hex tile hard to install, labor intensive?

last year

I was going to use a hex of 7-8 inches dimension in my 11x6' bathroom. I am wondering if I should back out and replace it with rectangle shape. Some concerns:

- labor cost where I am is expensive. The hex seems to need a lot of precision cuts, and then precision spacing. Is this going to be time consuming to do? It is porcelain, and I heard it is harder to cut.

- I am unsure whether this hex is of the right size for the size of the room

- what to do when we transition to the shower. There is a shower curb, so I guess I can just use small format tile inside the shower?

The floor was going to be my accent floor, with white glossy subway. But now I am unsure. Maybe I need to use rectangular field tile, and then have an accent wall instead..

Thank you!

Featured Answer

PRO

JAN MOYER

last year

last modified: last year

Put the hex on the floor in the bath WITH the tub. Put the white subway around the white tub. Find a larger format porcelain for the shower bath, use it on the floor and shower walls. hen add a simple counter top, a 2 x 2 for shower floor, or a 1 x2 for shower floor. You don';t need a slew of tiles for a great bath. Keep it SIMPLE Nor do you need "accent walls"..... and a lot of other junk .

Get off the internet, go to a dedicated tile store,

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Comments (7)

PRO
JAN MOYER
last year
All tile needs "precision installation. " Post the bath plan, the selections. Hex..... Porcelain is no harder to cut than any other and you need to post an inspo picture as well..
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
last modified: last year
I like 12 x24 porcelain tile in a stacked pattern for both bathroom floors and shower walls I actully rarely like hex tiles anywhere .I do agree we need to see the space
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Should the grout be the same color? Not necessarily. Will it look weird to use a darker gray on the floor and a lighter gray in the shower? Not at all. Any recommended colors for the shower and floor tiles along these lines? I've been getting stuff at Lowe's and they carry MAPEI Warm gray for the subway tile, and silver for the hex, if you lke a darker grey for the hex. Silver is actually a medium grey, but it'll appear alot darker with the white tile. Our bathroom isn't perfectly square. I think a colored grout seam that is uneven will be really obvious(that's my understanding where you would do any flubbing). Can you grout just the seam white? Can you skip grout and caulk it? Any suggestions here? Grout everything on the floor the same color. it'll actually show up more if you try doing what you suggested. It'll literally draw attention to it. What you want to dpo is make sure that you're square to the most obvious walls from the door. Especially with the hex, it won't be quite as obvious as you think, unless it's WAY out, and then nothing you can do will hide it, even using a blending color grout. One other thing-- that joint where the floor hits the walls should be caulked, but still caulk it with a caulking that matches the grout, both color AND texture. Does anyone know what the measure is for hex tile and subway? For subway, use unsanded, and for the hex, use sanded.
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la_la Girl
last year
I would get the absolute best tiler in your area lined up (being to prepared to wait many months but its so worth it) then run your tile selections by them for feedback.

I had 8” hex tiles installed in my kids’ bath (in a 100 yr old house so nothing is level or plumb) and my tiler had zero concerns and it looks perfect -he’s a total pro and I waited 10 months for him
mjlb
last year
"The floor was going to be my accent floor, with white glossy subway." Sounds like a slip and fall issue.
PRO
User
last year
Hex is definitely an upcharge to lay. It has more risk of lippage, and is harder to manage to fully level and make flat, even with a flat subfloor. But within the overall 60-80K costs of a master bath, the price increase is negligible.
Anon Fromca
Original Author
last year
sorry for misleading! The white glossy subway is for the wall :) I was thinking of hex for the floor, and it might be matte. I am doing two baths, one of them has a shower, and the other one doesn't. So I am thinking of putting it in the bathroom that has no tub. The original plan is to put it in the bathroom that has a shower.. can a 10" matte hex work there, or should I switch to a matte penny round (for example)?

I will look for inspo pic that works with this, but I have a million of inspos and nothing exactly match it. It is a new construction and is in a mess right now (no drywall, nothing).

60-80K master bath! Does it include everything from framing? Thanks everyone, you are all SO helpful and generous!

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