It gets impractical when you don't have a good/experienced tile installer and when your foundation or sub-floor aren't "stable" enough to support large tiles. The last thing you want is big tiles cracking.

I used 24x24 matte on the bathroom floors and 30x30 polished on the shower walls.

We used large format porcelain tiles with a matt finish for slip resistance in re doing a small 1970's master bath. I love it on shower walls and bathroom floors. We used hex penny tille on shower floor and niche for extra slip resistance. Easier to clean and looks much more open than the old little square tiles. Remember to plan the orientation for the 12x24 rectangles. You can make an illusion of more width or height depending how you lay the tiles. I think only the really large tiles would be harder to ship. Isn't most freight based on weight?

If I understood correctly, the tile store employee said 2x4' tile was shipped on an A frame, four tiles per A frame, couple hundred dollars shipping for one A frame. Why would anyone buy them at that cost?

Because they can afford it? Some folks pay shocking amounts of money for all sorts of fun decor stuff. Might be the kind of tile needs that kind of shipping to prevent breaking.

Oh I guess we need to clarify what is large format. 2 ft by 4ft would require different packing and cost more than my 12 inches by 24 inches tile. it was larger than the 4 inch by 4 inch shower walls and 12 inch by 12Inch floor tiles we replaced. Our tile installer just had us pick out tile at Floor &Decor and he picked up there so we didn't have shipping cost. The advantage there is you are dealing with in stock tile and no delays for delivery. They did have some of those BIG beautiful slabs at F&D but we would have needed to cut them down to fit our tiny 1970s shower. Our tile guys from Grace Tilie Remodeling were awesome at repair the problems from old shower and using the right stuff like those little plastic spacers to level tiles so everything was level and watertight.

Yes foundation is key. We wait 6 months for foundation repair to settle before retile my old house and still had the trauma of the new tile cracking. Luckily we had bought extra tile ( always get 10% more) so we could replace those. They were Italian ceramic so in the next house we used porcelain which is stronger because it is fired higher. I believe those huge slab tiles are porcelain. but with rectified porcelain that can have tiny grout in a matching shade to the tile gives a very smooth look. The tile pattern and color variations also effect the look.

Kathleen that is what we are thinking, rectified porcelain tile with minimal grout lines. We know we'll have to do some floor leveling but at least we don't have your foundation issues. I've already been on F & D's website for our nearby stores but not seeing the look I want, so it's likely we'll be having tile shipped. If using something like 2x4' tile is dramatically more expensive to ship per pound than say 30x30" and smaller, I will most likely decide to go smaller. I just don't know if what one salesperson told me is true.

Shop at your local independent tile stores, not big box stores.

Look for those builders seconds and surplus places ( not the chain stores.) I found a random warehouse in an industrial part of town with odd lots of great tile and stone. Instead of schluter strips or bullnose we trimmed our stone look shower tile with real travertine for 10 cents a tile. This might not work it you are looking for a huge amount of really large tiles. A good tile installer will figure in some basic leveling in their bid.

It isn't just the shipping that adds more cost to large tiles. It is the non returnability of any of them when you see that they are bowed up garbage unfit for install.

Stop buying tile online. Always buy through a local reputable tile source.

Then be willing to pay the qualified tile contractor quadruple labor for prep and setting. The walls will have to be reframed or shimmed flat for LFT or LGP. Floors will too.

We're in the midst if a 2'x4' tile remodel for floors, walls and shower. I will like it but

- when one piece gets chipped or broken you might have lost a lot of tile. You only need so many partial pieces.

- Walls need to be plumb,, floors very level, and rigid. Any flexing in your floor will cause a crack.. Less forgiveness with so many fewer grout lines.

- planning, planning, planning before installing each piece

- 2'-x4', does. not mean 24" x 48" , even with the grout gap your likely 1-2 inches short of an 8' ceiling

- our tiles are very brittle, I don't know if it's the brand or what

Random thoughts, many dealing with aging in place:

- Solid no to 2x4 tile. That is monsterously large -- we put something about that size in our HUGE church basement room, and it looks great. It would look ridiculous in a household bathroom.

- Since aging-in-place matters to you, consider adding under-floor heating. At some point you may start tripping over floor mats /may have to give them up (oh, did my grandmother HATE that). But you're still going to want warm feet. This isn't something you can add later.

- Unpopular opinion: Instead of tile on the floor, consider linoleum. Good sheet linoleum looks great and lasts forever -- the linoleum in my office was installed in 1970. It is softer underfoot (better for aging knees and hips), and it's kinder if you fall. It's more waterproof and has no grout that needs cleaning. I have linoleum in my kitchen and tile in my bathrooms -- I strongly prefer the linoleum.

- Unpopular opinion: Go with a shower pan instead of tile in the shower floor -- a shower pan + tiled walls can look great. It's cheaper, you know it'll be sloped properly, and (assuming you buy a quality item) it will last longer. When you go with tile, you're at the mercy of your installer's quality -- even a good installer will have an off-moment and will leave someone with a "puddle spot". If you do go with tile floors in your shower, you must choose something on the smaller side for "grippiness" underfoot. Large tiles will be more slippery, and the last thing you want is a fall.

- The shower walls are really where you'll have to clean tile most often, so this is where you want to go with those large-scale tiles /avoid grout. If you go with a vertical lay, which is most likely, about 9" wide and 12-15" tall will be large enough to avoid a lot of work /will still look good. You can go with solid-surface walls and eliminate the grout problem altogether, but that's a pretty big price premium -- and while you want to avoid grout, it probably isn't worth that cost.

The tile looks nice. The shower walls look almost like slabs with such small grout lines + the grout color blending into the tile.

Post photos of the entire bathroom when finished!

Thank you for posting a picture so people can see that the large tiles actually have the reverse effect on the space! Very soothing and not so busy with loads of grout lines. Well done!

Can't wait to see the finished project

The OP asked about shipping of 2'x4' porcelain tiles ... I am planning to purchase 2'x4' tiles from a local slab yard. My tile guy will be picking up the tiles and delivering them to my house. So, I am not paying a shipping charge. (The delivery cost is included with the installation cost.)

Looks super nice!

100%+ overage quantities needed. Plus 100% more labor. If that cheap.

Good point about overages. We followed manufacturers' recommendations of 10% over the needed square footage, which was then rounded up to the full case for each tile amount. My tile guy was experienced and skilled, with only one miscut in the whole floor, yet we were one tile short for our floor. Because I used the same tile (except for size) in the bath floor and the shower walls, and we had two spare tiles for 2x4 size, we were able to cut one and finish the floor. We ended up with no full tiles left over other than mosaic. This was with good quality flat and square tile. The bargain tiles are often neither straight edged nor flat requiring the tile guy to make a pile of rejects.

Congratulations, Jenny, it looks very handsome. May you enjoy it for years!