travertine french set

[phil w]

Hi guys
recent new member, excellent forum full of great advice, hope you can give me a bit of help. Recently bought some travertine for kitchen floor (chipped edge rustic travertine pattern set) set cosists of :-
(1) 16x24, (1) 8x16, (2) 16x16 (2) 8x8
The thing I car'nt get my head around is either way you lay them their is no allowance for a grout joint. e.g two 8" laid next to a 16" if you get my meaning, I'm pretty sure it's me just looking at it completly the wrong way.
or should the tiles be butted up to each other and grouted over the chipped edge would prefer a full grout joint but either way I lay them seems to give me a step. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, Thanks Guys.
Phil

 

[DHTiling]

Hi Phil and welcome.. two 8's do not sit beside a 16 anyway..

Lay to the pattern ( Opus ramano) or french.. same pattern.. now and again you have to trim a 8x8 just depends upon supplier..

 

[phil w]

Thanks Dave for taking the time to reply really appreciate it,when I said 2 8" next to a 16" ment for example to the hight of d an c next to a me not explaining myself clearly :smilewinkgrin:found the opus ramano pattern on internet after posting thread, looks like I will have to trim all the 8x8's the 5 sets I've opened so far all the tiles 8x8, 8x16 etc are bang on size is this a common problem or am I just unlucky lol.What size joint would you recommend laid them out dry with 6mm joint think it looks okay
once again thanks.

 

[Time's Ran Out]

The advantage with the chipped edge tiles you have bought is after cutting to fit you can re-chip the edges to match the rest.
IMHO 6mm will be too wide as the grout line will dominate the design. Also make sure you recess the grout in the joint to expose the chipped edge.
The small tile in these sets for some reason is always too big and when it happens with a porcelain/ceramic tile, I find it's often better to use a completely random design to disguise the size variations.

 

[PHG Dave]

Thanks Dave for taking the time to reply really appreciate it,when I said 2 8" next to a 16" ment for example to the hight of d an c next to a me not explaining myself clearly :smilewinkgrin:found the opus ramano pattern on internet after posting thread, looks like I will have to trim all the 8x8's the 5 sets I've opened so far all the tiles 8x8, 8x16 etc are bang on size is this a common problem or am I just unlucky lol.What size joint would you recommend laid them out dry with 6mm joint think it looks okay
once again thanks.

Hi Phil and welcome to the forum.
Your tile sizing is is the general rule unfortunately.
One way to work with them rather than having to resize the two smaller pieces is to keep the gaps on the smaller size and to work by eye rather than using spacers.
I have attached a picture of some opus pattern trav laid this way and if you look closely you will see that the gap between the 16x8 and 8x8 is slightly narrower than the others and the two pieces do stick out slightly beyond the edge of the 16x16 but is hardly noticeable once grouted

 

[Ian]

What I don't understand is if it's such a common problem, why don't the manufacturers adjust the size? It's not an issue with stone, but I had to trim some porcelain this week which is not as easy with it being harder than travertine or slate.


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[DHTiling]

I do as PHG above.. always seems to fit for me with the odd occasional trim to an 8x8..

I don't use spacers.. rack of eye..

 

[Ian]

I have done similar to you in the past Dave, as when grouted it's hardly noticeable, but there's always someone who wants white grout with slate! And in the case of this weeks job (JOTM entry) light tile/ grey grout, very obvious if the grout lines aren't consistent.


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[Yorkshire Tiling Services]

Do not use spacers...
Odds them ...... adjust spacing as you go to get best fit... you will need to constantly adjust spacing as you go. Invariably the combination of tile sizes will not fit exactly using one size of tile spacer.. don't worry, when grouted will look fine.

 

[The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP]

The job I am on atm is uncalibrated slate from TG, having to trim 3mm off two sides of the 200mm x 200mm

 

[The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP]

Sorry I forgot to say:welcome:

 

[White Room]

Hi and welcome..