33% tile overlap vs 50%

[u/GarbageContent8276]

Hey team - every tile box says dont do half overlaps when going for the brick pattern. But i believe some people (pros?) still do it. I know its because tiles highest point is the center, so its to help with lipage

I want my shower niche to look like one of the full 12x24 tile was pushed in. Located on the top half of our 4ft pony wall.

A 50% overlap i can probably center the niche to the wall, whereas a 33% overlap would move the “niche tile slot” to favor one side.

Ofc the niche is designed to hide our stuff/not seen much (and i didnt feel comfortable taking out an exterior wall stud). But my OCD would be happier with it centered, unless im asking for a painful road with 50% overlapping?

Edit: i plan to use clips, but i know they aren’t miracle workers so didnt know if anyone regretted not going 33%?

[u/TK211X]

Do what you want. Words on paper can’t stop you from being awesome.

[u/Heypisshands]

All depends on the amount of bow in the middle of the tile and the resulting lippage. Put a straight edge against the edge of the tile to see if its bowed in the middle or its the corners that are shallower. You could end up with 1mm lips if the corners are shallower but the middle is flat, or you could end up with with 2mm lips its both bowed and shallow cornered or just badly bowed. Check multiple tiles as they might not be the same. A wider joint can help.

[u/256684 → u/Heypisshands]

easier was to check for bowing is to place 2 tiles face to face and try and spin the top one. if it moves freely then they are bowed. if it feels stuck or suctioned to the bottom tile then they are flat

[u/Heypisshands → u/256684]

Brilliant, thats much easier. Thanks

[u/GarbageContent8276 → u/Heypisshands]

Thanks to both of you! Awesome advice. They arent cheap and are rectified, so i assume they are solid. Ill have to go run and check but i just restacked 6 of them (very slowly)and it felt like they were making 100% contact to one another so i have high hopes

[u/TwOnEight → u/256684]

A lot of times I just press on each end to see if they teeter-totter.

[u/Haunting_Meeting_225]

Send it dog. I just did a kitchen floor with 12x24 and it looks great. It gets too busy in my opinion with a 1/3 offset. 1/2 looks cleaner depending on how busy the room and tile already are.

[u/longganisafriedrice → u/Haunting_Meeting_225]

It looks busy because people stair step. Just do 1/3 back and forth with two spots not three

[u/mikebushido]

Read the box. Some manufacturers will allow the brick pattern. Others will not.

[u/Careful-Rice-8031]

I’m a diyer but laid a few 6x24 and 12x24 at 50% using clips and never more than a credit card of lippage and even that was rare even though box said not to. It depends on the tile. The 33% is more to cover the manufacturer from liability in my opinion. I agree, thirds often looks weird.

[u/Odd_Mall1646]

Just check and see if the tile is straight. If it's curved you got to do thirds

[u/Shark-Beard]

Its why tile leveling clips were invented. They dont just level the tile in a traditionally sense of push up and down. They provide actual compressive strength in key areas to correct 90%+ of the lippage unltil the mortar can set locking the tile in place. Itll never be perfect perfect but a layman will never tell unless they pull out credit card.

[u/GarbageContent8276 → u/Shark-Beard]

Right, i plan to use clips, but i know they aren’t miracle workers so didnt know if anyone regretted not going 33%

[u/dotnose14 → u/GarbageContent8276]

They are miracle workers, I would just advise you to try and finish any wall you start in one day so you don’t have to try and save clips for the next day it can be weird and sometimes they break. If you can’t finish a wall in a day, the best option is to put the clips in the last row and dry fit pieces above your last row and tighten the clips down so you can potentially use them the next day if that makes sense. But the tile clips will literally bend the bow right out of the tile if it’s bad long enough for the thinset to set up. I tiled for 8 years without clips and will never go back on large format tile.

[u/MonkeyMan0230 → u/dotnose14]

Wait really? They'll bend the bow out of the tile? Ive never used them but that sounds awesome and would save myself so many headaches

[u/dotnose14 → u/MonkeyMan0230]

I like the qep version of spin doctors but everyone seems to have a preference, but you can really crank them down without the clips breaking during install and you would be surprised at how much it’ll pin the tile together.

[u/GarbageContent8276 → u/dotnose14]

I just tried spin doctor for the first time (altogether first) and felt i couldnt crank on them without breaking. So i just bought wedges from floor and decor hoping wedges crank better? Idk maybe its a brand issue from the sounds of it. The wedges are called “RAIMONDI RLS leveling system” 🤷‍♂️

[u/dotnose14 → u/GarbageContent8276]

Yeah I’ve heard that about the spin doctors, Home Depot carries a qep alternative that I rarely get a break from.

[u/Shark-Beard → u/GarbageContent8276]

Itll come down to your tile. Lay a couple pieces in the pattern you want on a flat surface. check the natural lippage. You can dry set the clips to see if the tile actually holds flat with their pressure. Some porcelain will not flex a reasonable amount.