Who This Checklist Is For (and When to Use It)
I manage supply-chain and specification coordination for a mid-size commercial tile distributor. In my role, I see the same breakdowns over and over: wrong trim specified, field measurements that don't account for subfloor variance, or a granite countertop edge that forces a tile pattern shift. This checklist is for architects, interior designers, and general contractors who are about to order Marazzi tile—especially wood-look planks or the Moroccan Concrete Terra Cotta collection—and want to avoid the change orders that eat into your margin.
Use this when:
- You've selected a Marazzi product but haven't finalized the layout.
- The kitchen island has a different countertop material than the perimeter (granite vs. quartz, for example).
- Door trim hasn't been installed yet, but tile thickness affects jamb detail.
- You need to coordinate with white kitchen cabinets that show every grout joint.
Here are the three steps. They're sequential—don't skip one.
Step 1: Lock in the Grout Joint and Substrate Tolerance Before You Order Tile
Most buyers focus on tile color and finish. They miss the single biggest cause of field rework: a mismatch between the tile's actual rectification tolerance and the substrate flatness. Marazzi's porcelain tile, especially the 6x36 wood-look planks, is rectified to +/- 0.5mm. That means a 1/16-inch grout joint is technically possible. But if your subfloor is out by even 1/8 inch over 10 feet—which is within normal concrete tolerance—those tight joints will lippage, and you'll be ripping out rows.
Action item: Before you submit the tile order, require a 10-foot straightedge substrate check. If the floor is more than 1/8 inch out of plane in any direction, specify a self-leveling underlayment. Marazzi doesn't warranty lippage caused by substrate deviation (their published installation guide is clear on this). I learned this the hard way on a project in March 2024—36 hours before the hardwood-look tile went in, the GC's crew had already poured leveler, costing $2,800 extra. We absorbed half because we missed it in the spec.
Checkpoint: Pass this requirement to the GC in writing. Get a confirmation email. Then order the tile.
Step 2: Coordinate Door Trim Removal and Jamb Height Before Tile Counters Are Installed
Here's the detail that 90% of designers miss when they're working with both Marazzi Moroccan Concrete Terra Cotta floor tile and white kitchen cabinets: the tile thickness plus thinset plus underlayment adds roughly 3/4 inch to the finished floor height. If your cabinets are level-set to a 3/4-inch subfloor with no tile, then you lay the tile afterward, the toe-kick clearance disappears, and the door trim that was scribed to the bare slab now sits 1/2 inch above the tile—or gets trapped under it.
Action item: When the tile order is placed, confirm with the cabinet installer whether cabinets are being set before or after tile. Industry standard for kitchens: install base cabinets first, then tile around them. But that means the cabinet installer needs to know the finished floor height to set the cabinets high enough for the tile to slide under the toe kick. If they set the cabinets at standard height (4.5-inch toe kick) and your tile stack is 3/4 inch, the finished toe kick becomes 3.75 inches. Not the end of the world, but if you have existing door trim near the kitchen, it needs to be undercut to clear the tile.
Honestly, I'm not sure why this coordination step is so frequently skipped. My best guess is that the tile specifier assumes the GC handles it, and the GC assumes the tile installer adjusts. In practice, neither does. Last quarter alone, we processed 47 rush orders for trim undercutting because of this exact oversight. The cost isn't huge—maybe $200 per door—but the schedule delay is brutal.
Step 3: Create a Single-Source Reference for Countertop Edge Profile vs. Tile Backsplash Termination
This step specifically applies when you're pairing Marazzi tile (wood-look or concrete-look) with a granite or quartz countertop. The common mistake: the countertop edge profile is ordered before the backsplash tile layout is finalized. If you order a standard 1.5-inch bullnose edge on a 2-cm granite slab, and then you decide to run the Marazzi wall tile up to 4 inches above the countertop as a backsplash, the tile and the granite edge collide in a way that looks awkward. You end up with a small sliver of tile visible above the stone edge, or you have to cut the tile to fit behind the edge. Either way, it's not clean.
Action item: Before the countertop template is made, spec the tile backsplash termination point. If the tile ends at the countertop, the countertop edge should be a flat or eased edge (no bullnose). If the tile extends to the wall studs, the countertop edge can be a decorative profile, because the tile will terminate above it anyway.
The assumption is that you can always order the tile after the countertop is templated. The reality is that most granite and quartz fabricators have a 10-14 day lead time, and tile can ship in 5. But if you wait to see the countertop before ordering tile, you're adding two weeks to the schedule. Just spec the termination. This is one of those decisions that costs nothing but prevents a change order.
Common Mistakes and Cautions
1. The grout color sample looks different on a 6x36 wood-look tile vs. a 12x24 concrete-look tile. Marazzi's Moroccan Concrete Terra Cotta tile has a slightly porous surface texture that absorbs grout differently than the glazed wood-look finish. Always do a mock-up with the actual tile and grout before committing. I've seen designers select a gray grout that looked perfect on a sample board but turned greenish on the concrete tile because of mineral content.
2. Small orders don't mean small service. If you're ordering 200 square feet of Marazzi wood-look tile for a residential kitchen, you deserve the same detail support as a 5,000-square-foot commercial order. The vendors who dismissed my $400 orders when I was starting out are the same vendors I no longer use. Treat small accounts with the same care—they might be specifying a whole subdivision next year.
3. Verify current Marazzi pricing as of January 2025. Per Marazzi's published dealer pricing, the Moroccan Concrete Terra Cotta collection runs $4.70–$6.30 per square foot (material only, FOB warehouse). The wood-look planks range from $3.90 to $5.50 per square foot. Verify current pricing at marazzi.com as rates may have changed. The difference between the listed price and the actual job quote can include freight, minimum order fees, and pallet charges. Ask your rep for a line-item breakout.
