wall tiles on floor of shower?

10 years ago

For the sake of the slope, I'd like to use small tiles on my shower floor, up to 2-3"? However, the smaller tiles I see on a superficial search are accent wall tiles. Can these be used in a shower on the floor? Or do I need to search out small tiles that are specifically for floors?

Obviously, there won't ever be furniture on these tiles. And the only time I've ever worn shoes in a private shower was when I was tiling my existing shower. That doesn't happen often.

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Comments (5)

MongoCT
10 years ago
Tiles are rated as "wall tile" for various reasons. Could be due to the lack of the durability of the glaze or because they are unglazed.

Could be due to the softness of the tile body, which can be a factor with some manufactured tile but is typically a factor with handmade tile.

You could call the manufacturer's tech department and ask. With it being in a shower, also ask about porosity and water absorption.

They probably won't endorse a wall-rated tile being installed on a floor simply because it's not rated as floor tile. But logic should be able to help you conclude if you could use the tile on a shower floor.
amberm145_gw
Original Author
10 years ago
I'm definitely not looking for anything unglazed or handmade.

Thanks for your input.
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enduring
10 years ago
Many floor tiles that are in large format also have a selection of mosaic in a 2x2 format for use in the shower.

This post was edited by enduring on Thu, Feb 20, 14 at 17:42
amberm145_gw
Original Author
10 years ago
Unfortunately, the handful of tiles I've considered for the floor DON'T have a matching 2x2. The 2x2 tiles I have seen are just too busy looking. Put in a whole lot of grout lines and it gets even worse.

I've since visited a couple of wholesaler's showrooms and talked to the "experts". Basically, there is a very limited selection of tiles for shower floors. It's looking like I'm going to have to design the whole bathroom starting with the floor of the shower. That's kind of annoying, but the alternative is to pick everything else, and then have ugly shower floor that doesn't "go".

Or just buy an acrylic pan. :(
divotdiva2
10 years ago
we bought large format 12x24 tiles for the whole bathroom and had the tiler cut them down smaller for the shower floor. More labor/cost for us but didn't like the 2x2 matching tiles available to match from the manufacturer. I originally wanted the large format in the floor but settled for a smaller size approx. 4x6 for safety. Look at the specs for your tile, see what sizes the field tile is available in, and if you are willing to pay extra labor to cut them, or cut them yourself.

Don't settle for acrylic if that's not what you want.