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janesylvia

Is tile size of 13x26 too big for the wall of a shower stall

janesylvia
11 years ago

The shower stall is very small, only 34x36. Is the tile size 13x26 too big on the wall surrounding the stall shower?

Thank you very much.

Comments (12)

  • chibimimi
    11 years ago

    Are you using it longways horizontally? If so, there will only be one full tile in each row, plus a cut piece. Is this a look you would like? You could do it running bond, with one row being short piece - long piece and the next being long piece - short piece. It's still a lot of cutting and possibly a lot of waste. Have you spoken to your tile installer about this?

  • wi-sailorgirl
    11 years ago

    We used 12x24 tiles in our shower stall (and around the bottom half of the rest of the bathroom). Our shower is larger than yours (about 3x5 feet) but the overall bathroom is pretty small. I think our tile guy told us there are only something like 16 whole tiles on the walls in the bathroom.

  • janesylvia
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Chibimimi, thank you very much for your response. The tiles would be positioned vertically, therefore two and a half tiles on each side. The small shower stall would have three sides of tiles and one side of glass door. I haven't interviewed any contractors yet. I am now buying and planning materials first before contacting any contractors.

    Wi-sailorgirl, thank you so much for your sharing of the picture of your shower stall. Although small, your bathroom looks very nice and elegant. I can see all the materials you picked are of high end. The 12x24 tiles do look nicer than 13x26 ones. The 13x26 tile that I liked does not come with the size of 12x24. I'll think about it.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    11 years ago

    Yes it is too large, IMO.

  • elk2000
    11 years ago

    I don't think it's too large. Big light tiles, especially with polished finish, will make your shower, and room, look bigger. We are currently remodeling small 5'x8' bathroom with 36"x60" shower and will be using Porcelanosa 12"x35" white polished tiles for shower walls placed vertically. Just remember, the less grout you have, the better.

  • janesylvia
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thank you very much, AnnieDeighnaugh and elk2000.

    Elk2000, mine would be polished crema marfil tiles. How big will your tile spacer be? Will 1/16" spacer be fine between my 13x26 tiles?
    What listello or decorative trim will you use to match your beautiful Pocelanosa big tiles? Really appreciate your help.

  • elk2000
    11 years ago

    Porcelanosa tile are rectified, so 1/16th grout spacers will be used. I really like very small gaps between tiles, even on the floor, but that space will really depend on how good your walls and floor are. I know, tile setters hate big tiles, it's much harder to lay if walls or floor are not straight. So a lot of attention will be paid to prepare walls and floor to be as even as possible. Plus we'll be using unsanded grout with additive.
    I don't want to use too much of other colors, the tile itself is very nice. Since the room is very small we don't introduce a lot of color variations. We bought a few mosaic sheets, also from Porcelanosa, that has some light gray, white marble and crystal tile mix that will be used only in 2 big niches. We'll also thinking adding chrome trims between wall tiles, it looks very nice but Porcelanosa charges about $120 per 8', it's too much! I need to look online if I can find some less expensive alternatives.

  • gmp3
    11 years ago

    I have 12 x 24 in my basement bath running vertically. I really like them.

  • janesylvia
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    gmp3, Thank you very much for sharing your experience.

    elk2000, thank you so much for your detailed information. Porcelanosa's tiles and trims are expensive. I haven't decided on the decorative trim yet and will look in more resources.

  • elk2000
    11 years ago

    Porcelanosa tiles and trims are definitely expensive, but we had 40% off coupon so the prices were actually OK. What's interesting is that once you sit down with salesperson to talk numbers, they almost right away give you 35% off. :-)

  • janesylvia
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Elk2000, thank you very much for sharing the tip, which is very helpful.

    I forgot to mention one point. In April when I had my current house remodeled, a contractor told me that he usually does not use tile spacer when paving the tiles surrounding the shower/tub. Another contractor said it's better to use 1/16" tile spacer because tiles are not exactly the same and could not have perfect match on the edges, therefore the grout would look uneven if not using tile spacers.

  • elk2000
    11 years ago

    It would really depend on quality of tiles (and how good the tile setter is when he cuts it). In the first bathroom we remodeled we installed tiles we bought in New York, they are nice but the edges for a lot of them are uneven, some tiles were 1-2 mm longer than others. So even though we used 1/16" spacers we can clearly see that in some places the joint is bigger/smaller than in others.
    Porcelanosa's tile quality is very good. The sizes are exactly the same, the edges are even. I guess you get what you pay for.
    Just inspect your tiles carefully. If there are some uneven pieces try to install them in less visible location.