Decent place for tiles

[furryhobnob]

Hi guys and gals, I'll be decorating the bathroom in the next few weeks and would like some natural stone tiles for the shower enclosure and for the splashback behind the sinks, I'm basically asking if anyone has any recommendations for buying online or a shop at a fairly decent price, budget for the bathroom is around £2k for floor tiles, wall tiles and plastering, can be increased a bit if needed, below is an example of the kind of thing I'm looking for, cheers

 

[Simian Sibling]

Last time we bought tiles we tried the usual. B&Q, tops tiles et al but in the end we bought them from an independent shop run by an Asian family. They had tones of the stuff. They were friendly, gave good advice and above all gave a discount to us with out us asking as we bought a fair amount.
Shop around and do the lot. Big and small. If it takes you an extra week to find what you want so be it as at the end of the day your going to be looking at it for the next 10 years.

I would also say don't go with just the cheapest. Also ask the tiler what he thinks you should steer clear of. Ours gave good advice and they charge different amounts for different types!
Good luck

 

[furryhobnob]

Last time we bought tiles we tried the usual. B&Q, tops tiles et al but in the end we bought them from an independent shop run by an Asian family. They had tones of the stuff. They were friendly, gave good advice and above all gave a discount to us with out us asking as we bought a fair amount.
Shop around and do the lot. Big and small. If it takes you an extra week to find what you want so be it as at the end of the day your going to be looking at it for the next 10 years.

I would also say don't go with just the cheapest. Also ask the tiler what he thinks you should steer clear of. Ours gave good advice and they charge different amounts for different types!
Good luck

Yeah I'm not necessarily looking for the cheapest, more like decent quality for a good price, already been to topps tiles and a couple of others, not really been to any independent shops yet due to work and lack of time etc, cheers for your reply

 

[baker]

Have you tried wallsandfloors.co.uk?

Putting the epic issues I had with my tile order from them during my extension, I couldn't fault their customer service, especially as I'm pretty certain they would have been out of pocket after resolving my order.

The quality was very good, and price also good. If you use their online chat they will actually do quotes for you which are cheaper than their listed website prices... They also have regular promos/codes on the site, so make sure that any discount they offer you is better than the offers running on the website.

They also have topcashback/quidco if you do order through the web.

 

[baker]

Also ask the tiler what he thinks you should steer clear of. Ours gave good advice and they charge different amounts for different types!
Good luck

Good point, deffo worth checking with tiler regarding tiles. We ended up with 15mm thick limestone, which added extra time for the tiler due to the cutting of the tiles.

 

[furryhobnob]

Have you tried wallsandfloors.co.uk?

Putting the epic issues I had with my tile order from them during my extension, I couldn't fault their customer service, especially as I'm pretty certain they would have been out of pocket after resolving my order.

The quality was very good, and price also good. If you use their online chat they will actually do quotes for you which are cheaper than their listed website prices... They also have regular promos/codes on the site, so make sure that any discount they offer you is better than the offers running on the website.

They also have topcashback/quidco if you do order through the web.

I'll have a look mate, cheers for the recommendation

 

[baker]

When I did research I was able to identify the supplier of the tile we wanted, and found that a lot of other tile stores all sourced from the same place.

In the end I think we ended up paying about £50sqm from W&F... a local independant couldn't get anywhere near that, and were quoting £80sqm... the funny thing was it was a tile that was not held in stock and ordered on request... so god knows how W&F could undercut so much.

The Independent couldn't believe what price I was quoted. Which also included delivery, as the Independent was also charging delivery on top

 

[DPinBucks]

Am I misunderstanding, or do you really want to put those stones in showers and as splash-backs?

If so, I strongly recommend you ensure they are properly waterproof-sealed. Otherwise they'll absorb a huge amount of water. That won't do them any harm in themselves but water will percolate through behind them, and the room will be permanently damp and humid.

As I say, sorry if I misunderstand.

 

[Wahreo]

Another vote for walls and floors.

I got some 'Granito' Tiles for my cloakroom....from £80 per metre to £30.

The mark up of tiles on this island is incredible. Very big margins.

FWIW, I'd not go for natural stone in a Bathroom. I've done a lot of refits in people's houses and have it in my own home and I find the stuff Needs a lot of maintenance.

I much prefer Porcelain.

 

[furryhobnob]

Am I misunderstanding, or do you really want to put those stones in showers and as splash-backs?

If so, I strongly recommend you ensure they are properly waterproof-sealed. Otherwise they'll absorb a huge amount of water. That won't do them any harm in themselves but water will percolate through behind them, and the room will be permanently damp and humid.

As I say, sorry if I misunderstand.

Yeah I fully understand they will need sealing mate due to porous nature of the stone

 

[Wahreo]

The Shower area should be tanked also.

 

[baker]

On W&F if you use code SAMP4FOR1, you'll get 4 full size tile samples for £1 delivered.

I used this when getting 600x400 limestone tiles to sample... crazy how much that must cost in delivery alone!

 

[furryhobnob]

The Shower area should be tanked also.

Tanked?

 

[Wahreo]

Waterproofing the shower area before tiling.

Either with a paint on membrane, a glue on sheet membrane or by using a waterproof Tile backer board with sealed corners.

This is particularly important when using mosaic. More grout joints- more chance of failure.

 

[furryhobnob]

Waterproofing the shower area before tiling.

Either with a paint on membrane, a glue on sheet membrane or by using a waterproof Tile backer board with sealed corners.

This is particularly important when using mosaic. More grout joints- more chance of failure.

Cheers for that pal, me and my stepdad are boarding and tiling the room, he's a diy expert so I imagine he knows this already, but nice for me to know now as I'll look into it before we do it so I have a better understanding

 

[Wahreo]

Any questions then fire away!

I've been doing bathrooms for 24 years.

First thing to remember is not to use PVA as a primer for your walls.

 

[furryhobnob]

Any questions then fire away!

I've been doing bathrooms for 24 years.

First thing to remember is not to use PVA as a primer for your walls.

Really appreciated mate, I'm guessing I need something better than pva for moisture reasons? Your not local to Leicester are you?

 

[Wahreo]

A lot depends on the adhesive you use and the wall construction........

I tend to use an APD Primer.

PVA basically goes live again when wet which is no good for tiling despite it being widely used. It's a common misconception, even by the cheap tile adhesive manufacturers.

 

[furryhobnob]

A lot depends on the adhesive you use and the wall construction........

I tend to use an APD Primer.

PVA basically goes live again when wet which is no good for tiling despite it being widely used. It's a common misconception, even by the cheap tile adhesive manufacturers.

The walls I will be tiling to will be plasterboard with a gap behind them I think , it looks like the previous owners battoned the wall and put plasterboard on top as the taps come out of the wall, so I'm guessing the pipe work for the taps is running behind the cavity in between the plasterboard and brick, I'll know more once I've ripped the current walls off, but I'm hoping to put new plasterboard onto the batons and then have it all plastered, then tile the shower and sink area

 

[PSM1]

I got my last stone floor tiles from Mandarin Stone. Lots of choice and some good prices as well.

 

[Wahreo]

The walls I will be tiling to will be plasterboard with a gap behind them I think , it looks like the previous owners battoned the wall and put plasterboard on top as the taps come out of the wall, so I'm guessing the pipe work for the taps is running behind the cavity in between the plasterboard and brick, I'll know more once I've ripped the current walls off, but I'm hoping to put new plasterboard onto the batons and then have it all plastered, then tile the shower and sink area

I'd be tempted to buy one of the paint on membrane types for the shower. Just prime the walls and pop a couple of coats of the stuff in the area and then silicone the tray to wall joint before and after tiling.

Mapei do one, Screwfix sell it. It'll be £60 ish though.

Remember, if you decide to install stone on your walls, skimming them actually reduces the weight you can hang on them from 32kg per sq/metre to 20kg per sq/metre.

Including adhesive and Grout.

 

[furryhobnob]

I'd be tempted to buy one of the paint on membrane types for the shower. Just prime the walls and pop a couple of coats of the stuff in the area and then silicone the tray to wall joint before and after tiling.

Mapei do one, Screwfix sell it. It'll be £60 ish though.

Remember, if you decide to install stone on your walls, skimming them actually reduces the weight you can hang on them from 32kg per sq/metre to 20kg per sq/metre.

Including adhesive and Grout.

Have you got a link for the paint on membrane types? And the tiles will be going straight onto the plasterboard, I won't bother getting it skimmed on there unless it's recommended to do so?

 

[Wahreo]

http://m.screwfix.com/p/mapei-shower-waterproofing-kit/78484

 

[furryhobnob]

http://m.screwfix.com/p/mapei-shower-waterproofing-kit/78484

Reviews very well from the link, thanks alot mate you've been a great help so far