We have the opportunity to purchase a lot of stunning 12x12 calacatta marble tile from a wholesaler near our house. The wholesaler offered us a deal (57% off wholesale price) because the tile in this lot has chipped corners. Apparently they purchased a whole container of this tile and when they got to the last few pallets they discovered the tile issues (they don't work with this supplier anymore). Some pieces have no chips, some have a tiny chip that could be hidden with grouting and many have at least one chip that would be harder to hid.

The marble is stunning and we really would like to use it but we are trying to find a work around. We are leaning towards cutting the tile down to a smaller size like 11.5x11.5 or 5.5 x 11.5. The other option is to cut the corners and add a 2x2 accent tile, but we think that may be too busy.

We are planning on putting the tile in the shower/tub surround and walls up to chair rail height. Tile won't be on the floor.

We will need to either pay our contractor to cut the tile and add back the micro bevel to each cut or do it ourselves. Doing it ourselves would require us to rent a wet saw and probably purchase a profiling wheel for the bevels. A cost of about $140 if we can get it done in a day. $200 if two days.

Knowing the issues with the tile and the work involved, how much do you think we should pay per sq foot?

Also how much extra tile should we purchase? We need 135 sq ft. Dealer said if we cut it down, we can just order the normal 10% extra, but if we were going to try and cull out the worst chips we would need to purchase a lot more. 10% extra is only 14 tiles and considering we have never cut tile and I am sure we are going to want to cull out some pieces, I don't think 10% is enough. 20% = 27 tiles, 30% = 41 tiles. My DH is leaning towards 180 sq ft, which is 45 extra tiles. Thoughts?

I appreciate any feedback.