We used 12X24 size tile in our bath. Not sure if tests for good quality porcelain is the same for all sizes. But our tile guy put one of the porcelain tiles on a flat service (I bought a sample) - glass topped table - and he looked at whether the flatness was even - the corners seemed to be particularly important. I think the main point he was looking for was minimum "lippage" - so if tiles are flat on all sides - that means you can have a very flat wall - something we wanted. If you have home made rustic tiles (or something like that) - I don't think you would care about flatness but then they probably wouldn't be porcelain either. I'm not a tile guy so take what I'm saying with a grain of salt (kind of) but this is what I saw him do for testing and this is how I understood what he was looking for. The end product for our porcelain tile wall is VERY flat which has a very nice quality look, IMO (though I'm a little biased.) I don't know anything about the tile shop. I do know my tile guy requested that I shop locally for tiles so he could actually make the purchase and inspect the boxes before accepting the product at the store/warehouse. If your tiles aren't totally flat, there are methods for laying the tile that can minimize the fact that the tiles aren't flat on all four corners but I think I'm done with everything I know on this subject. There are tile forums such as John Bridge where you could get more precise info from some experts. That's one place where my tile guy hangs out and his work is very high quality. p.s. our 12X24 tile was very cheap, $1.99 sq ft from Floor and Decor - they get left overs from some quality tile sources so cheap doesn't always mean poor quality. This post was edited by elphaba on Wed, May 1, 13 at 1:39

As hubby, tongue-in-cheek, likes to say about me, "there's nothing too good or too cheap for her". It really depends on the WHAT! Before we spend on a product, service or an experience, we like to consider what will we gain by making the spending decision. We like to be well-informed consumers (especially when something is a large amount of money) and will choose from both categories - old and new. I wonder if this is a right-brain / left-brain question ;?) I'm more of a logical thinker than emotional, so that accounts for many of my choices. I couldn't care less if someone sees me in a $2 (on sale) white T-shirt from Wal-Mart worn for working out (I even have some I bought for $1 at Wal-Mart). A $300 work-out outfit doesn't make me sweat any less or perform any better. While I'll spend a LOT for SmartWool athletic socks which feel better and out-wear cheap cotton socks any day, and I buy quality shoes for working out, and for everyday use. We had a lovely antique bedroom suite, but we got tired of the upkeep, drawers that stick, and the size of it, so we donated it to a Hospice auction. Replaced it with minimalist furniture we purchased from Aldi at a fraction of the price they were selling the same stuff for at the expensive furniture store down the street. -Grainlady

I was quite pleased with the 3 1/4 oak I purchased from National Hardwood in Skokie. They happened to have a 600 sq ft closeout lot of select long length oak which was large enough for my project. The closeout price was slightly more than $3 per sq ft, the original price was more like $5. I have worked with wood sourced from big stores and the quality was horrible with uneven coloring, short boards, milling errors. This product was gorgeous and almost 100% usable so we still have several pieces left. I had been through some huge stores where I had struggled to find anything I liked but these guys had a smaller selection without out the junk product. If I had not been there for that lot, I would have had a tough time choosing a product.

I see that it has no groutlines as well. I want to use it for my bathroom floor. My installer is not recommending it bc he says water will seep thru in shower. Do guys remember if the sign at floor and decor says it can be used on floors. Or is it just wall tile? I am in love with it but don’t want to return it. It’s so beautiful.