Can a Tile Be Too Big?

Debunking the Myth

So the day has come, and you are finally ready to dive into your flooring selection process. As you start clicking through the options, maybe you are realizing that there is a lot more to floor tile than just colors or patterns. From materials, to size, etc. there is a lot to take in and process. Often when consulting with designers and homeowners, we find that tile size is one of the more significant aspects of design that needs to be considered. From grout lines to visual appeal, the size of your tile can have a huge impact on the resulting look in a space. This brings us to large tile flooring.
Every day more people are choosing large tile flooring for their interiors including relatively small areas such as kitchen and bathrooms. Newest tiles and designs are only available in large sizes. In every international flooring show, everybody’s’ focus is on large format. But what happened to the old tiles? Why are tiles becoming bigger and bigger?

Small Grout Lines or Less Grout Lines?

First of all, your new tiles being big is not like your new pair of shoes are being big and you have to return them. Tiles don’t take up space in a room as a big couch would do. Tiles make your floor or your wall. A floor or wall that is made with less pieces, will have less lines (grout lines) as opposed to floors or walls made of smaller pieces (tiles)
The real question is: do you prefer your floors or walls with less grout lines or you prefer your space with more grout lines? Because, rectified edges only allow small joints and they won’t reduce the number of grout lines. Large tiles will do that.

Large Tile Flooring Is Not New.

Unlike most people would think, large format tile has been around for more than 15 years in the form of expensive marble tiles. A 36-inch or 48-inch marble or even larger slabs used to be the only preference for expensive, high-end floors and bathroom walls. Back then it wasn’t possible to produce porcelain tiles larger than the 24″x24″ size. Besides, prior to inkjet printing and polished finish, porcelain tile was only a cheap alternative to natural marble. Nobody thought that porcelain tile would be suitable for expensive houses.

porcelain tile with the look of Italian Statuario marble

Invisible Grout Lines

You Should Think Twice If You’re Considering 24-Inch Tiles for a New Project.

South Florida is the heart of tile business in our country. Flooring trends start here and spread to the rest of the nation beginning from NY. If you’re shopping for a flooring project in our area, you are already aware that most people are suggesting large tiles and there are fewer samples of 24″x24″ tiles in tile stores. You may want to listen to them. Today, we all want less clutter and open spaces in our interiors. Along for that purpose, large tile flooring is an excellent way to bring an open feel to the interiors. Take advantage of the abundance of large format floor tiles with the nation’s most competitive prices. We’re already getting lots of interest in our large tiles from other states where customers can’t find the same selection or the same competitive prices that we have here.

Compare the pictures of two floors with the same type of tiles in different sizes. The floors in the first picture have 24″x24″ tiles. The floors in the second picture have 48″x48″ tiles.

demonstration of grout and seam on the floors with 24" tiles — Grout lines with 24×24 tiles

demonstration of large tile flooring — Open Kitchen With 48×48 Tiles

See the diagram showing Grout Lines with 24×24 and 30×30 tiles on the same size floors.

illustration of grout lines on 324 sqft floors with 24x24 size tiles — Grout lines with 24×24 tiles on a 324 SqFt floor

illustration of grout lines on 324 sqft floors with 30x30 tiles. — Grout lines with 30×30 tiles compared to 24×24 tiles

What Sizes Are Considered Large?

Porcelain tiles starting from 30×30-inch up to 48×48-inch are the ones what we call large. Tiles, 63×63, 36×72, and porcelain slabs are called XL tiles.

What Size Is Better? Large or Extra-Large

The most frequent question that we get from our customers is: should I buy 24×48 or 48×48 tiles or go for an XL size like 63×63 or Slabs? What size is more popular?

When remodeling the floors, beside the price of the tile, the cost of the installation, along with the costs setting materials are the factor that we have to consider. Whereas, the cost of the tile gets higher as the size gets bigger, most contractors would charge the same for 24″x48″, 30″x 30″, and 32″ x 32″ size tiles. However, 48×48 and XL tiles would bring extra installation costs. Because these tiles require more manpower to lay and more setting materials to level. Also, extra-large tiles require apps 20%extra tile for the waste opposed to standard 10% of the 24×48 tiles. If the the extra cost is within the budget, bigger tile is better. On the other hand, a 24×48 tile size that allows the design run through its longer side is a great way to minimize the grout lines along with its visual appeal.

We specialize in large format tiles. You can discover much more.

Lunar-White-48x48-Concrete-Look-Tile-Commercial-Setting

> 48×48 Tiles

24x48 grey concrete look tile in a minimalist interior

> 24×48 Tiles

White bathroom with 63x63 porcelain tile

> 63×63 Tiles

Oasis Pearl; Modern living room with sleek 63x63 light grey concrete look tile

> Concrete Look Tiles

Marble look large format porcelain tile that makes the living room more spacious by eliminating the seam and adding a clean, natural feel to the interior.

> Marble Look Tiles

24x48 tune ivory on as wall tile in a high-end boutique

> Stone Look Tiles