There can be variations in tile products depending on what they consist of. And endless design patterns are possible. The limit depends on your imagination and creative thinking.

These varieties are offered in the business and explored by professionals in the construction and can even be used in DIY projects.  We will talk about tile spacers for large format tiles.

Tiles are usually made with hard-wearing materials, often used for covering walls, floors, roofs, etc. But its purpose isn’t limited to lessening tears in different parts of a building.

Exterior and interior designs nowadays incorporate the use of the Mosaic art style. With this, design possibilities are limitless!

Why are Tile Spacers needed when installing large format tiles?

Tiling jobs can be a bit challenging if you feel the pressure of making sure all tiles are aligned, getting the project done on time, and tile made sure that they were leveled to prevent any safety hazards.

Tile spacers are small plastic products that help in laying tiles with consistent and even spacing. And even professionals use these when doing tiling jobs!

Even you, a DIY enthusiast, can also make tiling look natural and professionally built! Using these tiny products can improve efficiency and productivity in these projects.

Apart from these, there are numerous other benefits when a tile spacer is used in laying large format tiles. If you are looking forward to starting your first DIY, or if you’re considering starting a renovation or construction business, using tile spacers can also contribute to lowering the cost to be incurred in your projects.

The general rule is to use tile spacers that range from 2 – 3mm for an installation using ceramic wall tiles and tile spacers of 5mm for a ceramic floor tile installation.

Still, numerous factors can influence the size of the tile spacers you use. Commonly used tile products such as those made of porcelain, granite, and marble tiles are generally installed with a 3mm spacer.

Should I use tile spacers on large tiles?

Using tile spacers for large tiles depends on your preference. But there are design principles that can also add to your decision.

As a design and aesthetic preference has developed over the years, the use of various tile sizes has been made accessible.

Years ago, standard tile sizes that were frequently used were 8×8 floor tiles and 4×4 wall tiles.

What are other large format tile sizes?

Now, the more common and preferred sizes include 12×12, 18×18, 12×24 inches. You can often see these tile installations, especially in commercial establishments with even larger for floor tiles, and 8×10 and larger for wall tiles.

Usually, well-thought designs incorporate not only a part of the room, but it preferably includes the entire appearance.

With large rooms, the use of larger tiles is a right choice. If tiling a small hallway, bathroom, or other smaller area, then smaller tile sizes that range from 6×6-inches to 12×12-inches would be the best choice.

Larger tiles can make a small room seem bigger. Visually, a smaller room can appear more significant if you use large tiles.

With a larger tile, grout lines are less frequent. This makes the floor look more polished and more spacious-looking to the eyes.

The size appearance of rooms can also be affected by the color preference of tile, which you will use. With darker hues and tones, it can also make rooms look bigger too.

If paired with the right shade to match the wall color, space really can appear much bigger than it is.

You can also make the room “bigger” using light hues with the floor and the ceiling as the fifth and sixth walls of every room.

A lighter color for floors will make the room appear brighter and more expansive. The same concept also applies to the ceiling—use a light color or white to “open up” space above.

Using Tile spacers for Large Tiles

 We are covering this topic because the size of your grout joints will determine the size of tile spacers that you will use.

Larger tiles require fewer grout lines, which can be visually appealing because it makes the area covered seem spacious and expansive and as well as being easier to clean.

Large tiles are usually used in unusually large or open areas, where smaller tiles with lots of grout lines might make the space look busy.

With large rooms, bigger tile sizes make the job easier. Having fewer grout lines also means that it is more comfortable to maintain and clean tile-covered areas.

Smaller tiles are less likely to damage and cracks on the tile itself because of the grouts in between them. Larger tiles, in comparison with smaller tiles, are manufactured as with sturdier built in general.

That said, you should work on increasing the strength of your floor before tiling if you are concerned about cracking.

Though large tiles were commonly used in hallways and spacious areas such as living rooms and dining rooms, large tiles can now be used that suit a variety of surfaces like shower walls.

This will create a beautiful focal point in the home and can give the illusion that space is more significant than it is. You don’t have to be anxious when using large tiles for your next project.

What are the Grout Sizes for Large Format Tiles

 For tile installation, the standard rule says grout lines in between floor tiles should be 3.0mm or more significant, and it also depends on the type and size of the tile.

Most floor tiles used are 8×8, but larger sizes are now commonly used.

Narrow grout is preferred often because a wider joint provides more surface for staining to occur. People often consider narrow grouts because it makes the surface look more unified, flatter, and polished.

There are tiles, however, such as slate or quarry tiles that require wider grouts because their sides are not usually refined enough.

These tiles typically are spaced with grout lines 4.0 mm or more extensive. Tile spacers are traditionally used at tile corners and or sides to achieve evenly spaced grout lines.

For large tiles, such as 18 x 18 inches or larger, it looks good with narrow grout lines then fill the spaces between tiles with a grout colored to match the tile. This technique makes the color aesthetic of floor design look more cohesive.

With large tiles, you can use many different patterns. It gives so much design freedom to your project.

Many now use 12 x 24 for their tile installations. But installing large tiles can come with some challenges. There are some differences that should be considered when installing large tiles compared to regular tile installation.

It is very trendy nowadays to have minimal grout space, but that isn’t always the best option for some tile types. Keep in mind that space between tiles also serves another purpose– relieve stress between tiles.

If the tile space is too narrow, the tile could chip at stress points once the grout dries. Stress from home settling may also be an issue with little grout space. It is an aesthetic decision whether which width you would prefer to go with your design.

Using ceramic and stone large format tiles -greater than 15″requires a minimum of 1.5 mm to 5.0 mm grout width. But using wider grouts can be unnoticeable, but these can make a big difference to the quality of the installation.

A tip to remember: If the size of the tiles increases, the amount of grout joints will decrease, and this means there is less grout to worry about. Too many grout lines can also give the illusion that space is smaller than it actually is.

Why larger tiles are better than small tiles?

 Now that you have an idea with the grout sizes, you can now buy the right tile spacers. But you may also wonder why large-format tiles are better than small tiles! Here are the reasons:

• Larger tiles are much easier to install than small ones.
• Larger tiles are commonly used for bathroom walls but are great for kitchens and other rooms too. Smaller tiles take more time for installation, and setting time becomes longer.
• You can also use large tiles with small patterns in them. They may also be available with different pattern options and color variations, making them more consistent than smaller tiles.
• A larger tile means less interruption of the flooring surface, which makes the floor look more polished and look open spaced.
• It works well with a home concept that aims expansively and with an open-spaced look.
• Another reason tile installation with large tiles is useful is that as the eye sees large tiles, the brain automatically associates them with ample space.
• It makes an optical illusion that gets you into thinking you are looking at a larger area than it really is.

Are all tile spacers compatible for large format tiles?

Most tile spacers are compatible with almost all types of tiles.  You can choose from a wide variety of large tiles for design and have no problem installing them using common tile spacers.

There are tiles, however, that have higher quality and are suitable for more types of applications that already have built-in tile spacers. In this case, the use of tile spacers depends on your choice.

Do you need some tile preparations before using the tile spacers?

For tiles that require leveling the surface before installation, sure the installer is aware of the extra preparation work beforehand, and this should go smoothly and quickly.

It is recommended to compile materials needed and to make necessary preparations such as leveling tiles that need extra work.

Once all the preparation required is done, installation with large tiles goes much faster as compared to smaller tiles. This is because larger tiles cover larger areas, thereby lessening the installation time.

For large bathroom tiles, if you want a standard look, tile installers recommend grout lines of 1.5 mm for walls and 3.0 mm for floors.

For regular-format tiles, between 12 x 12 and 16 x 16 inches, you can stay with those measurements or go up to 5.0 mm, depending on the tile and the look you want.

Installing large tiles such as 12×24 tiles can be a bit more challenging compared to smaller tiles. Still, with a planning and achievable design layout, even you, a DIY enthusiast, can pull through this DIY project even if you don’t have a ton of tiling experience.

Which Type of Tile Spacer is best for Large Tiles?

When working with large tiles, keeping everything level is pretty much the biggest challenge. You need to make each tile level, but you also want to make sure that all of the tiles are sitting evenly and aligned with one another on top of the mortar.

It depends on what tile size and design you’ll use.

Keep in mind that there are different shapes available for tile spacers, but each has its purpose and using which type depends on the patterns you wish to achieve.

If you want to attain neat rows and columns like those of a ‘Checkerboard,’ this pattern is best achieved with cross-shaped flooring spacers.

Wedge spacers allow grout lines to have the same width, and it also helps in achieving aligned tiles.

For features of this type, you can use LASH, meaning: it Levels, Aligns, make Spaces, and Holds the tiles for professional finish installation. It can be used in both horizontal and vertical surfaces helping in maintaining even grout lines and helps to avoid tile lippage.

But with 12×24 tiles, they often do not necessarily form checkerboard patterns, so another type of spacer such as ‘T’ shaped tile spacers are best for more irregular, offset patterns.

Another type of cross-shaped variety is what are called Tavy tile spacers. These have a circular ring around the X that helps prevent them from sinking into the adhesive and also allows you to see all four corners of every intersection.

Another notable feature of this type is that you can use both sides; it has a cross shape on one side, which you can use in corners and a straight edge on the other, which is ideal for any type of sides where spacers are required.

Conclusion:

Using tile spacers provides much convenience and needed efficiency even for when installing large tiles. If you lack tile laying skills and you desire to create designs with consistent and even spacing, use of spacers between tiles is ideal to prevent tile lippage and to achieve consistent and even spacing.

They can be bought either by pack or by the tub. It is made available to purchase them by packs in different sizes, starting at 100 pieces, 200 pieces, 250 pieces, 400-500 pieces, and 1000 pieces. Most tile spacers nowadays also vary in shapes.

We would definitely recommend using them, even if you think you’re pretty comfortable with tiling.

Using large tiles in tiling jobs are now commonly done for various reasons. While it is more comfortable compared to laying smaller sized tiles, it is frequently used for achieving aesthetically pleasing output, open and expansive look it gives floors and walls depending on what establishment or renovation it will be used.

Masons would appreciate the easier maintenance resulting from fewer grouted joints. But installation challenges are also present when using large-sized tiles.

Working with large-format stone requires a tighter look, and its weight makes it harder to handle in both floor and wall applications. It is recommended to use proper tools and types of equipment when doing tile installations with large tiles.

Laying tile can be challenging even for DIY projects, and laying large tiles increases pressure to it, but with proper use of tile spacers, these can get the job done more relaxed than expected.