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View Full Version : Best place to get tile?



LOLzilla
05-16-2013, 10:20 AM
Yes yes, I know Dave is the man to install tile.

Where is the best place to get tile? Looking for a good selection of large subway tile.

FreakinPrince
05-16-2013, 01:11 PM
can i ask for Dave's contact?

thanks

TL911
05-16-2013, 01:29 PM
Try Teriasol (I think that's the spelling), they carry a lot of tiles and sometimes you can get really good deals. Located near the Blackfoot Inn.

The other place to try is Icon, they do granite, marble, and tiles. I've been there once, and they do have tiles but seemed to me to be a bit pricey.

Good luck!

LOLzilla
05-17-2013, 11:49 AM
http://www.tierrasol.ca/

That's really close by. I'll check it out!

TL911
05-17-2013, 01:18 PM
^^^ They got some really nice stuff, one bathroom in my house was done by stuff from Tierrasol

FishPoo
05-17-2013, 09:35 PM
amestile.com is pretty good, i like their showroom and their website works pretty well and shows current stock as well.

C_Dave45
05-18-2013, 09:24 AM
The CHEAPEST place to get tile is the big box stores. Home Depot, Rona, etc. These large companies buy up usually discontinued stock or factory "seconds" and then blow them out at low prices. I can't even touch their prices at my wholesale level.
But the material is just that...CHEAP. You'll find bad gauging (different sizing within the box) and bad die lot matching. As well, once that line of tile is gone, you likely won't be able to get more. So if you're short for your job, you might be hooped.

Then there are retail tile stores.... ie: Icon, Maguires, Northlands, Carpet/tile stores, etc. These all carry "current stock" tile that is in production. This is the most expensive tile, but also the highest quality. These guys all buy from the same wholesalers that I do. Which takes us to the next option:

Wholesalers; Ames, Tierra Sol, Euro Tile, Olympia, Julian Tile. (all located in what I call the "tile district"..by Frank Scissons casino) All these places have their own showrooms and most will sell to the walk-in public, at retail prices. Each place has it's own line of tile, meaning you won't find the same tile at another wholesaler.

Some of the wholesalers will have a "bargain bin", a section of discontinued tile that they want to get rid of. If there is enough to do your particular job, then grab it...you won't find it cheaper. You can easily find $7.00/sq ft tile blown out for $2.99
Tierra Sol has a large selection of this in their warehouse.


Now a huge note regarding the type of material you choose:

Customers always phone me wanting me to install tile they bought from Home Depot. They spend days looking at $7/ft porcelain tile and then they see a huge skid of Natural 16x16 Travertine Marble for $2.99/ft!! "WOW...real Trav for cheaper than that ugly porcelain. I'll phone a tile guy and get him to install it".

WRONG, wrong, wrong!!!! Any "real stone", Slate, Trav, etc that these stores are blowing out is the worst of the worst. Also, real stone takes almost 3 times the labour to install. You're looking at $10-15 per square foot for install rates.
Also, real Travertine marble is so soft, it scratches just looking at it. Stains. Loses it's finish. Have to seal it. STAY AWAY!!!

Spend a few bucks more and buy a good looking porcelain. In the end you'll probably end up paying LESS for the finished job, and you have a product that is bullet proof, won't scratch, won't stain and won't crack.

There ends our lesson in Tile

:D

Unknown303
05-18-2013, 09:53 AM
Originally posted by C_Dave45
The CHEAPEST place to get tile is the big box stores. Home Depot, Rona, etc. These large companies buy up usually discontinued stock or factory "seconds" and then blow them out at low prices. I can't even touch their prices at my wholesale level.
But the material is just that...CHEAP. You'll find bad gauging (different sizing within the box) and bad die lot matching. As well, once that line of tile is gone, you likely won't be able to get more. So if you're short for your job, you might be hooped.

Then there are retail tile stores.... ie: Icon, Maguires, Northlands, Carpet/tile stores, etc. These all carry "current stock" tile that is in production. This is the most expensive tile, but also the highest quality. These guys all buy from the same wholesalers that I do. Which takes us to the next option:

Wholesalers; Ames, Tierra Sol, Euro Tile, Olympia, Julian Tile. (all located in what I call the "tile district"..by Frank Scissons casino) All these places have their own showrooms and most will sell to the walk-in public, at retail prices. Each place has it's own line of tile, meaning you won't find the same tile at another wholesaler.

Some of the wholesalers will have a "bargain bin", a section of discontinued tile that they want to get rid of. If there is enough to do your particular job, then grab it...you won't find it cheaper. You can easily find $7.00/sq ft tile blown out for $2.99
Tierra Sol has a large selection of this in their warehouse.


Now a huge note regarding the type of material you choose:

Customers always phone me wanting me to install tile they bought from Home Depot. They spend days looking at $7/ft porcelain tile and then they see a huge skid of Natural 16x16 Travertine Marble for $2.99/ft!! "WOW...real Trav for cheaper than that ugly porcelain. I'll phone a tile guy and get him to install it".

WRONG, wrong, wrong!!!! Any "real stone", Slate, Trav, etc that these stores are blowing out is the worst of the worst. Also, real stone takes almost 3 times the labour to install. You're looking at $10-15 per square foot for install rates.
Also, real Travertine marble is so soft, it scratches just looking at it. Stains. Loses it's finish. Have to seal it. STAY AWAY!!!

Spend a few bucks more and buy a good looking porcelain. In the end you'll probably end up paying LESS for the finished job, and you have a product that is bullet proof, won't scratch, won't stain and won't crack.

There ends our lesson in Tile

:D

This guy appears to know what he is talking about.

Doozer
05-18-2013, 08:50 PM
We used Julian tile when we were developing our basement, for some opaque glass tile.

They had quite a lot of displays set up that you could browse around and look at, which helped.

JordanLotoski
05-18-2013, 09:07 PM
Who carries the most Modern tile?

I was at Icon last week, pretty good selection, but id still like to look more

C_Dave45
05-18-2013, 09:29 PM
Originally posted by JordanLotoski
Who carries the most Modern tile?

I was at Icon last week, pretty good selection, but id still like to look more

Definitely check out stone tile west (http://www.stone-tile.com/)
Although Julian is getting right away from run of the mill spec tile an getting more into the high end designer stuff. So check those two out.
They both are carrying this new porcelain series where the pieces are 3' x 10' long.

LOLzilla
05-19-2013, 10:06 AM
Dave, anything to be aware of when selecting glass tile?

C_Dave45
05-19-2013, 10:15 AM
Originally posted by LOLzilla
Dave, anything to be aware of when selecting glass tile?

Just keep in mind this:

When glass tile first came out, it retailed around $70/sq ft. Now, you can get it for as cheap as $15/sq ft. The material is cheaper, the paint on the back is cheaper. Meaning you get very tiny imperfections of the edges and/or the paint and you wont see it until its installed and grouted. Then the light refracts through any of these imperfections and they stand out like a sore thumb. Also, some manufacturers use such cheap paint that you can actually see the "trowel marks" in the glue/thinset behind the glass once it's all installed. So you have to "back-butter" each and every piece as you put it on.
Then, on any "L-cuts" (cuts around plugs/corners/etc) the glass tends to crack the rest of the way.
The smaller tile (ie: 1x1's in a 12x12 sheet) tend to be a little more forgiving because there are less cuts...but then a slower process to install.

Glass looks beautiful..but is a pain to install.
Pain=higher install rates. Again around the $15-$20/sf range.

Doozer
05-19-2013, 10:34 AM
Originally posted by LOLzilla
Dave, anything to be aware of when selecting glass tile?

I made sure to get a bunch of spare tiles so that I'd have some coverage in case some of the issues Dave mentioned happened to me. Luckily, it turned out ok.

This was the stuff we got from Julian. It was about 4 years ago, and the amount of tile you're looking at cost somewhere just under a grand, if I remember right. Installation was separate and part of the rest of the basement development so I can't isolate that cost.

http://www.doozersden.com/other/tile.jpg

TL911
05-21-2013, 09:23 AM
Originally posted by C_Dave45
The CHEAPEST place to get tile is the big box stores. Home Depot, Rona, etc. These large companies buy up usually discontinued stock or factory "seconds" and then blow them out at low prices. I can't even touch their prices at my wholesale level.
But the material is just that...CHEAP. You'll find bad gauging (different sizing within the box) and bad die lot matching. As well, once that line of tile is gone, you likely won't be able to get more. So if you're short for your job, you might be hooped.

Then there are retail tile stores.... ie: Icon, Maguires, Northlands, Carpet/tile stores, etc. These all carry "current stock" tile that is in production. This is the most expensive tile, but also the highest quality. These guys all buy from the same wholesalers that I do. Which takes us to the next option:

Wholesalers; Ames, Tierra Sol, Euro Tile, Olympia, Julian Tile. (all located in what I call the "tile district"..by Frank Scissons casino) All these places have their own showrooms and most will sell to the walk-in public, at retail prices. Each place has it's own line of tile, meaning you won't find the same tile at another wholesaler.

Some of the wholesalers will have a "bargain bin", a section of discontinued tile that they want to get rid of. If there is enough to do your particular job, then grab it...you won't find it cheaper. You can easily find $7.00/sq ft tile blown out for $2.99
Tierra Sol has a large selection of this in their warehouse.


Now a huge note regarding the type of material you choose:

Customers always phone me wanting me to install tile they bought from Home Depot. They spend days looking at $7/ft porcelain tile and then they see a huge skid of Natural 16x16 Travertine Marble for $2.99/ft!! "WOW...real Trav for cheaper than that ugly porcelain. I'll phone a tile guy and get him to install it".

WRONG, wrong, wrong!!!! Any "real stone", Slate, Trav, etc that these stores are blowing out is the worst of the worst. Also, real stone takes almost 3 times the labour to install. You're looking at $10-15 per square foot for install rates.
Also, real Travertine marble is so soft, it scratches just looking at it. Stains. Loses it's finish. Have to seal it. STAY AWAY!!!

Spend a few bucks more and buy a good looking porcelain. In the end you'll probably end up paying LESS for the finished job, and you have a product that is bullet proof, won't scratch, won't stain and won't crack.

There ends our lesson in Tile

:D

Thanks for the Knowledge! :rofl: Now i know what to look for when i go to buy tiles

dubhead
05-21-2013, 09:44 PM
+1 for every thing dave has said, from someone who has a a couple of years of experience installing glass tiles and then worked at a home depot while going to school. (especially their bargain bin travertine that shit is fucking garbage)

FraserB
05-21-2013, 10:18 PM
Originally posted by dubhead
+1 for every thing dave has said, from someone who has a a couple of years of experience installing glass tiles and then worked at a home depot while going to school. (especially their bargain bin travertine that shit is fucking garbage)

LOL, no doubt, look at it wrong and it breaks. But we moved a ton of it when it went on cheap haha. Could easily spend a whole shift on the forklift loading that stuff. Or any weekend special tile.

LOLzilla
05-28-2013, 10:38 AM
Moving forward with the glass tile; has anybody come across blue glass subway tile?

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v0POGrQPyBo/UBXr9NIFHdI/AAAAAAAAKJE/h1wDfMP8iqg/s1600/DSC_0111-copy-watermark_thumb2.jpeg

Tierra Sol has various versions of clear but looking for something with a bit more color.

Ntense_SpecV
05-28-2013, 11:04 AM
Originally posted by LOLzilla
Moving forward with the glass tile; has anybody come across blue glass subway tile?

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v0POGrQPyBo/UBXr9NIFHdI/AAAAAAAAKJE/h1wDfMP8iqg/s1600/DSC_0111-copy-watermark_thumb2.jpeg

Tierra Sol has various versions of clear but looking for something with a bit more color.

That is really nice looking! Love the classic lines of the subway tile with the sheen of glass.

LOLzilla
05-28-2013, 11:40 AM
Just trying to find it now.

tiledirect.ca = no go, glass mosaic's only.
amestile.com = some selection, pretty neutral color choices though.
http://www.amestile.com/section.asp?pageid=11636

C_Dave45
06-04-2013, 03:32 PM
Originally posted by LOLzilla
Just trying to find it now.

tiledirect.ca = no go, glass mosaic's only.
amestile.com = some selection, pretty neutral color choices though.
http://www.amestile.com/section.asp?pageid=11636

If you really want to get wild colours, sizes, shapes, etc, then you can order glass from Interstyle (http://www.interstyle.ca/glassproducts.html) in Vancouver. You order through Tierra Sol and they bring it in. If you can't find anything there, you won't find it.

But be prepared to pay. They only use the best glass and paint. Most of their glass starts around $50/sq ft range and goes up from there. They're all custom ordered from a colour palette you choose. I think it's around a 8-10 week (maybe even longer) lead time.

My son ordered glass for his kitchen backsplash, just accent pieces (1x8's) and it was like $500 for just a handfull of pieces.

Picture Gallery (http://www.interstyle.ca/gallery/residential.html)

http://www.interstyle.ca/img/home-PhoenixChildrenHospital.jpg

FishPoo
06-10-2013, 10:23 AM
Originally posted by LOLzilla
Moving forward with the glass tile; has anybody come across blue glass subway tile?

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v0POGrQPyBo/UBXr9NIFHdI/AAAAAAAAKJE/h1wDfMP8iqg/s1600/DSC_0111-copy-watermark_thumb2.jpeg

Tierra Sol has various versions of clear but looking for something with a bit more color.

Stumbled upon something similar at Olympia tile...

Looks like bottle green...the website doesn't really do it justice, the colors are much more vibrant in person for all the shades.

http://www.olympiatile.com/products/glass/cristallo_collection.html

JRSC00LUDE
06-10-2013, 12:06 PM
Originally posted by LOLzilla
Moving forward with the glass tile; has anybody come across blue glass subway tile?

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v0POGrQPyBo/UBXr9NIFHdI/AAAAAAAAKJE/h1wDfMP8iqg/s1600/DSC_0111-copy-watermark_thumb2.jpeg

Tierra Sol has various versions of clear but looking for something with a bit more color.

We just did a store with something like this, it was a Daltile product called Whisper Green. They have a couple nice blues.

http://products.daltile.com/series.cfm?series=119

LOLzilla
06-13-2013, 04:09 PM
This thread got way better, thank you both.

flipstah
03-31-2014, 02:31 PM
Originally posted by FishPoo


Stumbled upon something similar at Olympia tile...

Looks like bottle green...the website doesn't really do it justice, the colors are much more vibrant in person for all the shades.

http://www.olympiatile.com/products/glass/cristallo_collection.html

Thanks for this. I like this a lot!

Looking to re-do my kitchen as well so looks like I'll be stopping by the places that Dave mentioned to see what's out there!

flipstah
03-31-2014, 02:32 PM
.