Hi Micshak, No, you're not argumentative at all - your frustrated and understandably angry about your experience and are coming from that place. I didn't say that there weren't minimums, I said that rectified tiles allowed finer than traditional grout lines. Happily for me, I've had a similar issue to Stacey and were fortune to have great building team who ensured that my problem was fixed as soon as I raised it with them and they covered fixing the issue and resulting damages from their pocket - it wasn't even a conversation topic - what I got was "absolutely, yeah, that needs to be fixed, no worries" - the difference between great people and the guy you sadly got. Your story almost bought me to tears but did bring home the advice I had from more experienced family members on personally checking license and trade affiliations such as HIA and checking the trades insurances as well as being on site every day and only paying when I was happy for the job. It goes to show - just because you're a good person, doesn't mean that everyone you meet is a good person. Know that I believe that poor tradesman and badly behaved tradesman who don't produce reasonable quality work should be publicly flogged and branded because of the heartbreak, stress and financial hardship they put people through. Stacey needs to be able to give the option of having the problem fixed and the tiler/builder the chance to regain his reputation before trying to fix things yourself - despite your horrible experience, most are tradies are hardworking good people and want to do great work for you to keep good will for their business. Sadly for you anyone who is going to prohibit this man from getting work/money isn't going to do much except be background noise. Davco, the tile supplier etc aren't able to stop him from getting work - but you sure can and I'd encourage you to go after him with unrelenting vengeance) - go to the appropriate licensing board and talk to them. Go to HIA if your tiler is a member and the Fair Trading body in your state as a matter of course - they should be able to force compensation. I would threaten to get on every website, blogsite (including TrueLocal), the local paper and social media to tell as many people as you can about your experience with this tradesman naming names and showing what appalling work was done if you don't receive a refund/compensation/a first class quality fix within 14 days - and then if you're not happy follow through with the shaming and make sure he knows about it by sending him links/snapshots/clippings naming him and his business and let him know you're so upset that this will continue to be refreshed on a monthly basis until you receive satisfaction or he's out of business. If he indicated any businesses or people that would recommend him or gave you a list of previous jobs, I'd be sending letters to them (with photos and supporting correspondence) letting them know - and copying him. Builders all talk ;) Oh - and you could always do what a friend of mine did - have friends ring the gentleman in question to book work then cancel at the last minute after you've done your shame campaign siting the fact that they heard that he was a shameless, substandard tiler and their going with a more reputable tiler. Evil, but no more than than deserved. Stacey - I honestly hope you have more my experience than poor Micshak's. Let us know how you get on.

Ali, I think you are overthinking this, let your back garden be more natural as a contrast to the structured effect of the tiles in the house. I don't think you need consistency, the pool changes the whole vibe of the area so design for the pool to create a welcoming oasis - think tropical island resort. Have you checked with your local Council if there are limits of hardscape you can have? Some Councils do limit this and that will include your roof, driveway, paths, patios, the pool, etc. As well if you want this much hardscape you will need to consider runoff and drainage, particularly to ensure your neighbours don't get swamped in heavy rain or you have areas that puddle and take days to dry out. Consider summer heat too, sitting outside and the radiated heat that comes off hard surfaces, white and light colours reflect heat while dark colours absorb it. As well too much hardscape does not absorb noise - your neighbours will hear all your conversations and noise from the pool will be amplified. If you want that pool area to be inviting, then it needs lush greenery around it to offset this and soften and cool. Carrara marble tiles around a pool look fabulous and would be a great contrast to your dark tiles indoors. The area outside your kitchen should be grassed and include gardens as space for your dogs, even a small tree or two for the environment and to create shade for the dogs. Artificial turf gets extremely hot and would certainly not provide a pleasant or suitable outdoor space for them. I think I would read up on the breed of dog you plan to get also and fully ascertain their needs to ensure you provide properly for them. If you are planning children down the track, they will want a nice safe, green area to play too.

So far......These are the light grey tiles around the pool. The coping of the pool is done with light grey Marble, and we got mosaics on outside around the spa - Still not finished yet.... Tilers are here today working :)) Hopefully hould be finished soon!

A light grey large format tile (600 x 600) would be great. You wouldn’t get the glare that you get with white, will look almost as light as white in the sun. It’s modern and would go with the Monument colour.