Was thinking of these larger marble look tiles (probably Matt
Not shiny) in living/reception room floor but am worried about seeing too much of joints that later on might end up looking dirty from every day walking, dust etc..
have you tried floors ?

The first question I would ask : Did the tile installer come highly recommended and if so, by whom? If the answer to the questions are yes, and a very reputable tile shop, or you've seen his work in person, I would listen to him.

Grout is the necessary filler between any two tiles. Marble is about pattern and veining. and the beauty of natural stone. No matter how thin the grout, no layout pattern will ever be "lost", and in fact that is why grout is so often tied in color to the background of the veining. In the thinnest possible manner. The only way to "break up marble" is to not have as much of it.

I'd listen to the tile installer. Let him begin laying tile in his recommended grout spacing and see if that "rectifies" any doubts you have.: )

GN Buillders - Thanks! I will lay out a few tiles on the floor to get an idea of spacing

malcteka - What? :)

Jan Moyer - Yes, he came recommended from a nice slab yard / tile store. I think I will leave him be. I hate being a nuisance (I'm the type of person that won't send food back at a restaurant even if the order is wrong). However, I am very particular when it comes to design!

It is common with stone installations to use tighter gtout joints. I commonly push for 1/16 or 3/32.

One of the many factors i take into acct is the tiles edge. Is it a square edge a champher or a micro beveled edge? a tight 3/32 joint can end up looking larger than an 1/8 when finished with a beveled edge tile....

still ....get what you want ....- best

9 times out of 10 I prefer a tighter grout joint. True it depends on the material and edge, but in your case I'd let the marble speak for itself especially in a herringbone pattern. Also keep in mind your application--narrower grout lines in a shower will look better over time.

Yes, I hear you! But you can be "very particular about design" and end up very wrong and very unhappy. Let him proceed and then stand back and assess. Tighter is almost ALWAYS better.

If your marble is honed or polished, more than likely it is rectified. The boxes will not tell you and there are quite a few salesmen/women who do not know their products. These products are made this way at the manufacturers plant. The only time you will have varying sizes is when the product comes tumbled. Yes you can have either 1/16", 1/8" or 3/16" grout joints. If you're planning to do a herringbone pattern on the floor I would recommend 1/8"-3/16" for grout joint, you'll want to have some traction and the grout will give you just that.
Also look into epoxy or single component grouts for the bathroom floor and shower walls. These grouts will keep true to their coloring and do not allow mold/mildew to grow within them. Could cost a bit extra but well worth it in the long run. I do not recommend using those types of grouts on the wet floor area of the shower as they do not allow moisture to penetrate. Your wet floor needs to breathe properly and should have standard sanded grout.

Tundra Finish - Thanks for the insight!

Ivanka - Thank you!

Jan Moyer - That is very true!

Cinar Interiors - Much appreciated! I was looking at the Laticrete Spectralock Pro Premium grout. Seemed to have good reviews. Will keep that in mind about floor though. Didn't think about that.

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Went ahead and let him do the 1/16" and he's working in the walls right now. Looking better than I thought it would.

we built a similar shower from picture #1 -completed in late 2018. 6 months after - I saw the grout joint outside the shower door was expanded - was told it is normal. Then 2019-we saw some of grout joint were loose on the wall-2020-the wall outside the door hinged, were bubbled and also outside the shower bench areas-we checked that wall- there was no wet. Everytime we fixed the wall- re painted- the bubble kept coming back- we thought we did not re touch correctly -I think we fixed them 2X- Early 2021 -the glass company replaced the sealant on the glass ; but the paint kept bubbled-This time when we opened the wall - there were wet. The original plumber checked and found no leaks. The original contractor came and pointed there were cracked in the grout joint below the step out ( we just saw the marble theshold has a fine cracked)- We had 2 different expert in the bathroom- We showed them the picture of how they built the shower. They used a copper pan, durarock cement-then just tile the shower WITHOUT covered with the liquid waterproof membrane, Both of the expert told us - they did not installed the tile properly- the grout is tight- no space at all for the grout going into the joint ( it is why the water went inside)- since there was no waterproof membrane, water seeping through from the bench - from the curbs. Can someone let me know what is the correct way to fix this? The expert will demo the floor-leave the copper pan, cover the rubber membrane up to 3 tiles from the wall , demo the bench - covered with the rubber membrane, place the concrete, painted with this liquid waterproof before tiling. This is my 25 years of dreams and had a very rough 9 months renovations, if someone here can help me what is the right way to fix to prevent this to be happening again, I will appreciate it.

@hkwan Show us the picture... Picture worth a thousand words.

as you see grout join under neat the marble threshold was expanded ( bubbled -3-6 months after the reno was done). I did not take a picture joint grout inside the shower where there is a cracked on the joint grout. ( a long that threshold where now the marble has a thin crack). The original contractor told us the water came from there, but he could not give us any clear answer why the same issue appeared outside the bench area. He told us because of the moisture. I feel he should have put those liquid waterproof membrane before tiling and cover all over the bench. I dont want to point finger - if anyone who is an expert let us know what is the right thing to do. If we follow the advise from the two experts - will this be resolved. Should we request a water test before the tiling and how should I approach them to do so?

If the tile backerboard wasn't installed and prepped the correct way, everything needs to come out and re-done. Bandaids never work when it comes to showers or other wet locations.

Hi- can you explain what do you mean by "tile Backerboard and Bandaids? The original contractor did installed Durarock all over the wall and bottom but NEVER place this liquid waterproof membrane ( I dont know the name of the product) before tiling NOR protect the Bench from the water. We were told they did not place/paint this liquid waterproof membrane- The new guy will demo up to 3 tiles from the bottom of shower- They also will place and extend that waterproof rubber all over the bench, floor, curbs, also we might want to increase the height of the threshold at least 3 inches.

To put it in plain terms, Durarock must be installed the right way, screws must be placed in specified intervals, all the nail/screw locations and joints must be sealed using Alkali Resistant Mesh tape and sealed, etc prior to the tile installation.

Some "tile guys" don't do any of that...They slap some tin-set or glue directly over the joints and install the tile without prep work and you start having problems down the road.

start a new thread w pics

I will try to create new thread later

I find the 1/16 tile spacers with the grit of the thinset wind up being about 1/8th of an inch when the tile is finished anyway. Particularly on a non rectified tile.