Questions & Answers

I bought this 4" x 12" subway tile https://www.tileshop.com/products/bulevar-white-ceramic-wall-tile-4-x-12-in-494332

I'm planning a vertical running bond, so I laid the tiles out long-edge-to-long-edge(see photo)

, and after adding up the total length, dividing it by 14, and doing a bunch of boring math, I realized the tile has 1/16" gap between them even when I use no spacers, so it must have beveled edges on the long side, like lugs.

What's weird is when I lay them short-edge-to-short-edge (see photo)

, they don't have the beveled edge; they sit right up next to each with no gap.

So, if I want 1/16" grout line, I will have to put 1/16" spacers ONLY ON THE SHORT EDGES; no spacers on the long edge.

If I want 1/8" grout line, I will have to put 1/8" spacers on the short edges, and 1/16" spacers on the long edges. I went through and verified all this with actual spacers, and its true, but it just seems bizarre that the manufacturer would only include the bevel/lugging on two sides of the tile.

Am I missing something? Is it just cheap tile? The tiles themselves seem very consistent and uniform, no size variance, and I've tried about a dozen different tiles; I always get the same measurements. Is this a common practice?