Tile Layout in Shower

[Dusty Workshop]

Hey there, 
I am tiling a shower that is exactly 36"x48".  The tiles that I am using are 23.62 inches long.  With a 1/16" grout line between them, there would be a 0.35" gap between the tile and the side walls. The tiles are also 0.35" so with a 0.25" bed of thinset the tiles on the side walls would be proud of the back wall by 0.25".  Is this enough overlap?
The other option is to tile the side walls first.  I know that this is undesirable for the grout line layout.  My tile and grout are both shades of white so I don't think that it would be glaring. 
Thanks for your input.

[OneStaple]

I think you'll be fine with that overlap, which should be roughly the thickness of your thinset bed (~1/4"?). I'd probably be comfortable with 1/8" overlap, although it also depends on the width of the gap you're planning to leave in the corner (meaning, I wouldn't want the aspect ratio to get too lopsided). Something like 1/8" (or less) vertical gap between tiles on the side and back walls would be fine with 1/8" overlap of the tiles.

I assume you're using something like a 1/2"x1/2" trowel for tiles that size. That gives a thinset thickness slightly under 1/4", but can vary with what angle you hold the trowel at.

Double check your back wall width at multiple places from bottom to top. A lot of walls aren't totally plumb or can be somewhat wavy. It wouldn't be hard to find walls that are out of plumb enough to create 1/2" of width variation on the long wall, and I'd hate for your plans to work at the bottom of the wall but create a problem as you get near the top or something.

Dry test layouts are also always good. Then you can see what you're dealing with. It can help to have a second person holding tiles on the wall.

I'm not sure why you say it's undesirable with respect to the grout lines to do the side walls first. I don't see any issue with that, and have seen it done both ways depending on what the project requires. I assume you're using 100% silicone caulk in the corners and not grout. You can often get the caulk that's color matched to the grout with many companies.

I'm not a pro with tiling, but I just finished tiling my fourth full bathroom and shower, so I'm just speaking from experience.

Good luck!
Tyler