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Large formats

Large-format tile installation

60 × 60, 120 × 60, 120 × 120 cm or full-size slabs: large formats create calm, continuous surfaces, as long as they are laid on a perfectly prepared substrate with the adhesive, method and tools they require.

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Bright entrance hall with large-format tiles running up to the staircase

At a glance

Large-format tiles in a nutshell

Large-format tiles are tiles with a large surface area, in practice from 60 × 60 cm upwards, up to 120 × 120 cm and slabs more than two metres long. They are laid on the same principle as standard tiles, with stricter requirements for substrate flatness, adhesive coverage, handling and lippage control.

Few joints and few tiles per room mean that every flaw stands out more. That is why we prepare these jobs with particular care, from checking the substrate to planning the layout, in Paris, Évreux and the surrounding areas.

  • Substrate flatness measured and corrected if needed
  • Back-buttering with a deformable adhesive
  • Levelling system to prevent lippage
  • Layout, offset and joints suited to the tile size

Materials

The large formats we install

The term large format covers very different products: their size, thickness and intended use change the way they are laid.

  • 60 × 60 and 80 × 80 cm squares

    The most requested sizes for living rooms and entrance halls. They are still easy to handle, but already need a flat substrate and full adhesive coverage.

  • 120 × 60 cm rectangles and long planks

    In stone, concrete or wood effects, they make a room look longer. Their length makes them more sensitive to their own slight natural bow, which limits the possible offset between rows.

  • 120 × 120 cm tiles

    At 10 mm thick, one tile weighs around thirty kilos. It is handled by two people with suction lifters, and laying it is planned as a small job in its own right.

  • Porcelain slabs

    Sizes such as 120 × 240 or 160 × 320 cm, used on floors, shower walls or splashbacks. Moving, cutting and fixing them takes a handling frame and several people.

  • Thin porcelain

    Around 3 to 6 mm thick, sometimes reinforced with a mesh on the back, it allows renovation with minimal build-up, for example over existing tiles. Its adhesive and installation method are those specified by the manufacturer.

  • Rectified tiles

    Most large formats are rectified: their edges are ground after firing for precise dimensions. That is what allows thin joints, but never zero joints.

Our method

How we lay large-format tiles

With large formats, the laying stage corrects almost nothing: everything is decided beforehand.

  1. Substrate check

    We measure flatness with a 2 m straightedge and a short rule, in several directions, and check the substrate’s strength, surface cohesion and moisture. A dip that a small tile would have absorbed becomes, here, a tile that rocks or sounds hollow.

  2. Flatness correction

    If the substrate is not flat enough, we apply a primer and a self-levelling compound, or rework local defects. Loading on more adhesive to compensate is no solution: the extra thickness settles unevenly and creates lippage.

  3. Layout and tile inspection

    We check the batch and shade on the boxes and test a few tiles with a straightedge. The layout plan sets the starting point, direction, offset and the position of movement joints, aligning joints from room to room where possible.

  4. Back-buttering

    The adhesive is combed onto the substrate with a large-notch trowel, in straight parallel ridges running one way so that air can escape, and a thin coat is spread on the back of the tile. We regularly lift a laid tile to check that contact is complete.

  5. Placing and levelling

    The tile is placed with suction lifters, slid across the ridges and then beaten in to collapse the adhesive. The clips and wedges of the levelling system hold neighbouring edges at the same height while the adhesive sets.

  6. Grout and finishes

    Once the adhesive has hardened, the clips are removed and the joints are grouted with a suitable mortar. Perimeter and movement joints are finished with a flexible sealant, followed by skirting and trims.

  7. Final check and handover

    We check flatness, alignment and lippage with you, including in grazing light from the windows, then tell you when the floor can take foot traffic and furniture.

Considering large-format tiles?

Tell us the size you have chosen, the area and the condition of the floor or wall: we will come and check the substrate and give you a free quote.

Request a free quote

Tools

Our large-format equipment

Some tools are specific to large formats: they protect the tiles as much as they ensure the quality of the work.

  • 2 m straightedge, short rule and laser level to measure flatness and levels
  • Electric paddle mixer for consistent levelling compound and adhesive
  • Large-notch trowels and a flat trowel for back-buttering
  • Pump suction lifters to lift and position the tiles
  • Handling frame for full-size slabs
  • Clip-and-wedge levelling system
  • Long rail cutter and wet saw with a diamond blade
  • Grinder, diamond hole saws and hand pads to cut openings and smooth cut edges
  • Beating block and rubber mallet to bed the tiles

Good practice

Standards and good practice

Large formats require a clear understanding of the scope of the reference texts, and of their limits.

NF DTU 52.2
The French reference standard for bonded tiling. Its scope is limited by tile surface area, with thresholds that vary with the location (floor or wall, indoors or outdoors) and the substrate. Within that scope it requires, among other things, a compliant substrate, a suitable adhesive and back-buttering above a certain size.
Adhesive classes (NF EN 12004)
Tile adhesives are classed C1 (normal) or C2 (improved), with extra letters: E for extended open time, T for reduced slip, F for fast setting and S1 or S2 for deformability. For large formats we generally use a deformable C2 adhesive, at least S1, depending on the substrate and the manufacturer’s guidance.
Beyond the scope of the DTU
Beyond those limits, as with slabs and thin porcelain, installation follows a technical assessment (a French Avis Technique or equivalent) or the instructions of the tile and adhesive manufacturers, which we apply to the letter.
Flatness and lippage
The professional rules set flatness tolerances for the substrate and lippage tolerances between adjacent tiles. With large formats there is little margin: a slight substrate defect or the bow of the tile is enough to create a noticeable edge, especially in grazing light.
Movement and perimeter joints
Structural expansion joints in the building are always carried through the tiling. Movement joints are planned on large areas, at changes of substrate and at thresholds, and a perimeter joint keeps the tiles free from the walls. With large tiles, their position is set at the layout stage.

Trade terms

See the full tiling glossary

Your questions

Frequently asked questions

What size counts as a large-format tile?

There is no single threshold. In the trade, tiles are generally called large format from 60 × 60 cm, extra-large beyond 120 cm a side and slabs once they exceed two metres. For installation, what matters is the tile’s surface area, length, thickness and location: these determine the adhesive, the method and the technical framework that applies.

Why avoid a half offset on long tiles?

A large tile is never perfectly flat: it has a very slight bow, within the limits allowed by manufacturing standards. With a half-length offset, the middle of one tile, its highest or lowest point, meets the edge of its neighbour, and the lippage becomes visible. Manufacturers therefore often recommend a limited offset, usually a third of the length at most: we check it on the technical data sheet.

Can large-format tiles go on walls?

Yes, on shower walls, splashbacks or a whole living room wall. First we make sure the wall can take the weight: a plasterboard partition has a limited load capacity that depends on the boards and the framing. Tiling starts from a level batten, with back-buttering and a reduced-slip adhesive, and heavy tiles are fixed by two people with suction lifters.

Can large formats be laid on an upstairs wooden floor?

In some cases, but never without a prior assessment. A timber floor deflects under load and moves with humidity, while a large tile is rigid: the risk is cracking or debonding. Depending on how stiff the floor is, it can be reinforced, overlaid with suitable boards and an uncoupling membrane, or fitted with a system under technical assessment. For some formats we will suggest a smaller tile instead.

Can large tiles be laid without grout joints?

No. Even rectified tiles keep a joint: it absorbs small size differences as well as movement in the substrate and the tiles. Laid edge to edge, tiles risk chipping at the arrises or lifting. With rectified tiles, however, the joint can stay very thin, around 2 mm, and be matched to the tile colour so that it fades into the background.

Should you keep spare tiles?

We strongly recommend it. A range can be discontinued, and two production batches never have exactly the same shade. A tile cracked by a heavy falling object can be replaced: the grout is removed, the tile is cut out, the adhesive is cleaned off and a new one is laid. With a tile from the same batch, stored flat in a dry place, the repair stays discreet.

I live upstairs with no lift: is that a problem?

Not necessarily, but it needs planning. Before ordering, we check the door widths, the stairwell and its turns, because a 120 cm tile or a large slab does not bend. The tiles are carried up by two people, protected and held on edge, which takes time and has to be included in the quote. For very large slabs, access sometimes dictates the choice of format.

Our other services

  • AI-edited image

    Screed and levelling

    Traditional or flowing screed and self-levelling compound: a flat, sound and dry substrate, checked before the floor covering is laid.

  • Floor and wall tiling

    Indoor floors and walls in porcelain, ceramic wall tiles or mosaic, laid on a prepared substrate with even grout lines.

  • Wall tiles and splashbacks

    Ceramic wall tiles, metro tiles, zellige or mosaic on walls and splashbacks, with clean cuts around sockets and well-finished corners.

  • Terrace and outdoor tiling

    Terraces, balconies and steps in frost-resistant porcelain or 20 mm pavers, bonded, bedded in mortar or laid on pedestals, with carefully set falls.

Further reading