Remember, tile setters have a different agenda than you do. They go for speed and lowest risk because that's where the money is. Let them know that you're willing to pay for a pattern that may take more time and money please.

The manuf of the tile will advise as to the recommended overlap should be. They are not all the same. Make sure the tile is rectified to get the best job and smallest joint.

Yes, tile is rectified. I will let tile setter know. Are the "steps" I circled and the "H" pattern" I identified an aesthetic no-no?

That is 1/3 offset. Personally I hate that pattern! I have all my tile laid straight set or 1/2 offset and communicate upfront with the tile person to make sure they can work with the tile I want to use. Try to buy good quality tile (straight and level) and hire really good tile setters.

The dreaded H is shown below. Your picture is 1/3 offset. Which you could like or not. Make sure to lay out the tile in advance, calculating the grout gap, so you don’t get a weird surprise.

@chispa and @susanl, my tilesetter is @Jud Tile LTD who is highly rated on a local consumer service platform. The sales rep/designer volunteered that they would first layout the tile on the floor in an adjoining room.

@kandrewspa, the rep also recommended laying the tile horizontally, not vertically--why do you agree? Is it that 12x24 vertically is too large for my shower? A visualizer photo of the tile is below; except my b

ack wall is 54 inches wide so I would use only 16 full tiles...I want something unique and modern looking. The tile I like does come in 4x24 size and same thickness as the 12x24, although I don't much cotton to having more grout lines to maintain and it is much pricier and I will need more of it. What do you all think?

FYI, I will use this mosaic on the shower floor and there will be a lighted niche in the shower and the walls will be painted a crisp white to offset the dark tile in the shower and on the bath floor.

I like it stacked like you have it in the visualizer, rather than the 1/3 offset.

Not that it matters!!!😀

@susanl, of course it matters; that's why I asked! :-)

Large format tiles are often recommended to be off set 1/3 to avoid LIPPAGE.

If the rep is telling you this? There is a reason. Either use a smaller tile, or take heed.

So the "dreaded H" is running bond pattern? What is so dreaded about it?

@catbuilder, I'm not sure but my tile's manufacturer instructions say not to do it. It says no more than 1/3 offset.

If the tile manufacturer recommends a 1/3 offset, of course, you should do it. This pattern (the step pattern) avoids lippage, as someone said above. Lippage is when the edge of the tile, when laid flat next to other identical tiles, sticks out a bit from the overall level of the tiles. This creates a “lip” where you can see or feel that the edge protrudes from the flat field of tile. Lippage happens more often with larger tiles because they tend to warp more in the drying process. The longer the tile, the more likely it is to warp. Warping is most severe halfway down the length of a tile. If you line up the tiles so that the halfway mark on one tile hits the edge of a tile in the next row, you have the least warped part of one tile hitting the most warped part of the above or below tile, creating the highest chance of seeing lippage. So, you lay tiles so that the 1/3 point lines up with the edges of the tiles in the next row, minimizing the occurrence of lippage. Or, you stack them evenly in rows. I hope this helps you to understand the issue and its solutions.