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Large format tile, generally anything starting around twelve by twenty four inches and up, has become a common request in our showroom, often specifically because homeowners assume fewer tiles automatically means less maintenance. That assumption is partly right and partly misses a few real tradeoffs that only show up after the floor has been lived on for a while.
Fewer Grout Lines Genuinely Means Less Cleaning
This part of the assumption holds up. Grout is porous, and it is the part of any tile floor that actually collects grime, absorbs spills, and needs periodic resealing. A standard twelve by twelve tile floor has roughly four times the linear grout footage of the same room laid in twenty four by twenty four tile, which translates directly into more edges where dirt and moisture can settle.
Less grout also means less total surface area that ever needs resealing in the first place, which is a real time and cost savings over the life of the floor. If your main maintenance frustration with a current tile floor is scrubbing grout lines or reapplying sealer every year or two, moving to a larger format tile directly addresses that specific complaint.
Lippage Becomes The New Thing To Watch For
Lippage is the small height difference between the edges of adjacent tiles, and it becomes more visible and more likely with large format tile for a simple reason: bigger tiles are less forgiving of a subfloor that is not perfectly flat. A standard size tile can flex slightly and settle into small substrate imperfections without much visible effect. A large format tile spans a wider area, so the same minor substrate variation shows up as a noticeable edge you can feel underfoot or catch a mop on.
This is not a flaw in large format tile itself, it is a direct result of substrate prep quality, which is exactly why proper installation matters more with bigger tile than with standard sizing. A rushed or under leveled subfloor that would be forgiving under a twelve by twelve tile becomes a real problem under a twenty four by forty eight tile.
Cleaning Time Versus Cleaning Difficulty Are Different Things
Large format tile genuinely takes less time to clean in terms of passes with a mop, since there is more continuous surface and fewer interruptions from grout lines catching debris. But if lippage is present, even slightly, it can create a spot where a mop or broom catches an edge repeatedly, which adds a different kind of friction to the cleaning process that a perfectly flat standard tile floor does not have.
Standard size tile, while it has more total grout to maintain, tends to be more forgiving of everyday cleaning tools and does not carry the same lippage risk, since any minor substrate variation is spread across many more, smaller tile edges instead of concentrated at fewer, longer ones.
What This Means For Your Specific Room
Choose large format tile if reducing grout maintenance is your top priority and your installer can confirm a properly leveled substrate
Choose standard size tile in older homes or additions where subfloor flatness is uncertain or harder to guarantee
Ask your installer directly about their substrate leveling process before committing to large format tile specifically
The size decision genuinely comes down to how much you value fewer grout lines against how confident your installer is in the subfloor underneath. Neither option is the wrong choice, and both perform well for years when the substrate work is done properly.
If you are weighing tile size for an upcoming project, we can look at your specific subfloor and talk honestly about which size will actually maintain better in your space, not just look better on install day. Contact us to talk through your project.
R-n-R Flooring and Design carries both large format and standard size tile, and our installers throughout Weber, Davis, Morgan, and Salt Lake, UT and Southern Idaho, ID and Southwestern Wyoming, WY know exactly what substrate prep each size actually needs. Stop by our showroom at Ogden, UT to see both side by side.
