Installing new tiles - worth it to 'spend more'?

kermit ↓

Fri, Jan 10 2025, 8:08 am

Hi all - looking for advice from people who have gone through installing tile.

Really need to redo the tiling in main bath they're yucky, moldy & cracked. it's our starter home (although in this economy we will likely be here a while Tongue Out

)

I definitely don't want to get garbage tiles that will chip or break or crack in a few years, but realistically how likely is it to happen in the next 10 years or so if I get discounted options from home Depot or online?

is it worth it to spend more on something high quality from a Jewish store?

what's the mailah in general? do most people buy from the Jewish places for the better quality or it's more they'll have the 'fancy hungarian' types of styles?

amother

Pumpkin

Fri, Jan 10 2025, 8:16 am

kermit wrote:

If you’re debating between porcelain and marble get porcelain. Home Depot is totally fine. The Jewish stores are just more expensive but not because of quality, the tile is just more expensive, just like at Home Depot you can get one tile for 1.99/sq foot and one for 3.99/sq foot.

mathbrain ↓

Fri, Jan 10 2025, 8:59 am

Got tiles at floor and decor for bathroom 5 years ago. Bathroom looks amazing, tiles are really pretty and modern looking. Similar to what I saw in many Jewish home improvement advertisements.

I originally went to A frum store and had massive sticker shock then I was quoted 10k for tiles + instillation for what I chose.

Went to floor and decor. Their designer there helped me match floor and wall tiles. I ended up tiling the walls of the entire bathroom - more than what I was planning at the frum store. Tiles cost $1k. Installing was $3k.

Yes, it’s a very large bathroom. And yes, floor tiles plus all walls tiles, plus tile ‘niche’ created by the bathtub. Love the results.

↑ kermit ↓

Fri, Jan 10 2025, 9:05 am

amother Pumpkin wrote:

thank you! for sure not marble, was debating porcelain or ceramic, but I'm thinking it's probably better to spend more on porcelain

why do more people not just get from home Depot, it's just the look?

↑ kermit ↓

Fri, Jan 10 2025, 9:06 am

mathbrain wrote:

such a ridiculous difference in price! and I'm happy to hear they're still holding up!!

amother

Aster

Fri, Jan 10 2025, 9:07 am

kermit wrote:

Like you did, they probably assume that more expensive+ Jewish store= better quality.

amother

Crimson ↓

Fri, Jan 10 2025, 9:22 am

Ceramic tile is fine for walls.

Porcelain tile is better for floors because it is harder and the color goes through whereas ceramic tiles are less durable and can chip and crack more easily than porcelain. Also when ceramic chips it is more obvious because the color is different where it is chipped versus porcelain which has the same color.

That is why you would get porcelain for floors which get heavier wear than a wall tile.

That said there are differences in the quality of tiles as some have excessive lippage and so don't look right and can cost more in the end as many have to be discarded.

As someone who did a gut remodel the most important decision is to get a highly qualified reliable GC who employs skilled labor. If you have a shower you need to know exactly how they are going to do the waterproofing and take pictures while it is being constructed so that you know exactly what they did.

Even in terms of aesthetics there are some tile setters who are very skilled and produce magnificent results and others who produce results that look like it was done by a blind person.

↑ mathbrain

Fri, Jan 10 2025, 9:28 am

amother Crimson wrote:

Ceramic tile is fine for walls.

Porcelain tile is better for floors because it is harder and the color goes through whereas ceramic tiles are less durable and can chip and crack more easily than ceramic.

That is why you would get porcelain for floors which get heavier wear than a wall tile.

That said there are differences in the quality of tiles as some have excessive lippage and so don't look right and can cost more in the end as many have to be discarded.

As someone who did a gut remodel the most important decision is to get a highly qualified reliable GC who employs skilled labor. If you have a shower you need to know exactly how they are going to do the waterproofing and take pictures while it is being constructed so that you know exactly what they did.

Even in terms of aesthetics there are some tile setters who are very skilled and produce magnificent results and others who produce results that look like it was done by a blind person.

Correct
Regardless of where you purchase tiles, the most important thing is hiring a skilled person to lay the tiles. We called the guy down first. He gave us the square footage of what we needed, and purchased based on that. We could’ve gotten someone for cheaper, but this tile setter was more of an ‘artist’ and a perfectionist.

Floor and decor has a really nice selection, much bigger than Home Depot, and a range of prices.

amother

↑ Crimson ↓

Fri, Jan 10 2025, 9:35 am

mathbrain wrote:

Some of the skilled tile setters want to order tiles themselves after you select them because they can be sure of the qualify of the tiles. It isn't necessarily more expensive since they get a trade discount and pass it along.

Also cheap tiles often have to be culled and many might not be usable. A good tile seller goes through tiles that have patterns so that the end design is pleasing. FWIW this is also true of wood flooring as you want the planks laid out so that the pattern of the wood grain isn't all clumped together but has the variations looking aesthetic.

ETA My tile setter was so talented that the Inspector for the City complimented the tile work in my bathroom LOL

He also did the tiles for my balcony and I have had various construction people come in and take pictures of the balcony because they like it so much.

↑ kermit

Fri, Jan 10 2025, 11:07 am

thank you so much this is so helpful to know!!

It sounds like porcelain tiles are a must for the floors, at minimum for the floors but I want to match going up the wall so probably the whole thing.
and that the best place to invest is with the person I hire, more than splurging on Jewish brands Smile

time to start asking around the neighborhood for someone good

thank you!!

Last edited by kermit on Fri, Jan 10 2025, 11:09 am; edited 1 time in total

amother

↑ Crimson ↓

Fri, Jan 10 2025, 12:23 pm

amother Tuberose wrote:

I just chose tiles, and just so you know porcelain are more slippery than ceramic

This isn’t correct.

Floor tiles have what is called a COF which measure how slippery a tile is. That is what one should be looking at when purchasing floor tiles.

I woiod never have large tiles on a bathroom floor because they are more slippery than smaller tiles because the grout is grippy. Modern grout is much easier to keep clean but is a bit more expensive as it also resists mold.

When selecting grout color is importantly. My floor tiles are Calacatta marble and my grout is a light grey which blends in and doesn’t show dirt like a white grout.

Because my floor tiles are small they are not slippery at all. I have the same floor tiles on shower floor and rest of bathroom floor. My wall tiles are 3” x 6” with some accent penny tiles and I have a marble wall feature which is floral mosac.

amother

Snow ↓

Yesterday at 8:32 pm

mathbrain wrote:

Floor and decor did the entire job?

amother

Hyssop

Today at 4:02 am

I would look around and compare options. When I was redoing my (small) bathroom a few years ago, I found beautiful handmade Italian tile that looked like bead board. It was expensive, but I was considering buying it because the room is small. It was on back order for a few months so I instead selected a beautiful border tile and used bullnose tile and larger tile to mimic the look of the other for a fraction of the price. I’ve never regretted it. A tile store with knowledgeable staff should be able to guide you. I also agree that a skilled setter is essential to a good outcome. Hopefully, your tile store can also recommend someone good or ask friends whose bathroom renovation you like.

DVOM

Today at 4:36 am

Another shout out for floor and decor

We recently retiled our fireplace.

The tiles and all the installation supplies cost about 300$. The designers/builders there were so helpful. We also chose porcelain, we were told it's more durable and will hold up better to the heat of wood fired in our fireplace.

I watched a bunch of YouTube videos, and we demoed the old and installed the new ourselves.

It was really fun, and came out beautiful. (As always, I wish I knew how to post pictures here)

amother

↑ Snow

Today at 5:17 am

amother Crimson wrote:

Also cheap tiles often have to be culled and many might not be usable.

Years ago I did 2 bathrooms, one I bought in Stone and Bath (I think they used to be on 39th street) and one I bought the tiles in Weisman Liquidators. I paid a pretty penny in Stone and Bath, and they told me that the floor tiles they are selling me are are the exact match for the wall tiles (same company). When I needed some extra floor tiles, they gave me different tiles than the ones they sold me and I installed for the floor. Then I found out the floor tiles I was sold, were NOT the matching ones (they lied).

At the end, most people like the Weisman tile bathroom better, and it was way cheaper and I assume closeout tiles. I had zero problems with them or with any tiles I ever bought in Weisman liquidators.

amother

Blueberry

Today at 6:30 am

I’ve done some remodeling recently, with some tiles from Home Depot and some from Floor & Decor. I haven’t seen such a difference in quality between tiles of different prices. They all look nice.

But please make sure you have a tiler who knows what he’s doing! It’s a true chochma, and there is a big difference when the person laying the tiles is an expert.

amother

↑ Crimson ↓

Today at 7:16 am

DVOM wrote:

It is actually much simpler than most sites.

You need to post in the Post Reply mode which is the one which also has the emoticons

On the bottom you will see Upload Images - Post Image

Depending on where the photo is you select Upload Images and then navigate to the photo in your photo library - location wlll depend on where you store your photos

Once uploaded you will see an URL and you copy that and paste it into the Post Image window which you open

Then select Preview to make sure you have done it right and then hit submit.

amother

↑ Crimson

Today at 7:34 am

One issue with Home Depot is that the selection is generally not that good and just has "builder grade" quality.

This is true for everything they sell - granite is the ubiquitous stuff like Ubatuba; cabinets are the mass produced lines; faucets and fixtures etc.

Tile can be amazingly beautiful if one wants something beyond white subway tile or equivalent

If you go to a really good tile store, the tiles are so beautiful that it is difficult to select.

https://www.missiontilewest.co.....room/

https://www.missiontilewest.com/inspiration/

https://annsacks.kohler.com

My friend just did her bathroom with Zellige tile

I got an accent feature for my bathroom from Artistic Tile

https://www.artistictile.com/c.....D4N65

I got wall tiles from Encore tiles for kitchen backsplash and bathroom walls and they sill give me pleasure to look at

https://encoreceramics.com/?do.....00000