Advice needed on tiling

regedit

Got a few tilers to measure our new house for tile today.
The tilers came up with 31 sq.meters floor tiles and 43 sq. meters wall tiles.
They said that it would take about 100 cuttings so it is not a complicated job.
They did not give me a price yet but will call back this afternoon.
They were asking me where we plan to get the tiles so I said Right Price Tiles. they said to stay away from them as the tiles are not good quality. They suggested that we getthem in Tubs&Tiles.
I would like to know what you think of Right Price Tiles?
I know that Tubs& Tiles have good iles but their prices might be above our present financial status.
Wondering what would a normal price be for 74square meters of tiles-just the labour and if someone can suggest a good place for adhesive and grout
Any help appreciated.

serotonin_sam

My opinion is purely a laymans view but I would tend to agree with them. When I was shopping for tiles some months back, I found that tubs and tiles had good quality tiles and right price's stuff was crap. I didn't have much money to spend but even so, I could find nothing in right price that didnt look 'cheap and nasty'.

I did find tubs n tiles expensive for the tile that I was looking at buying and ended up buying down the north and saving a packet. When it came to bathroom tiles, I assumed it would be the same scenario but strangely enough, the situation was reversed - with tubs n tiles being cheaper than the price I was getting for the same tile in the north.
If you go to tubs, each tile has a label with a price - and more importantly, the manufacturer and tile type. With this info, you can go on the net/phone and shop around - comparing like for like..

karltimber

Tubs & T have a sale on this week !!!!!

serotonin_sam

karltimber wrote:

Tubs & T have a sale on this week !!!!!

In fairness, is there any time this year when they havent had a sale on!

...or any of the other tile places for that matter.

regedit

Will try to pay a visit to T&T tomorrow and see what they have and if it is affordable.
BTW, just got a call back from the tilers.

For 31 sq.m of floor tiles and 43 sqm wall tiles, they said that the lowest they could do it -labour ONLY is 1900 €. I presume I will be able to drop this for a further 200€ but not more.
Can someone work out how much grout and adhesive would be roughly need for the above area and were is the best place to get them. Someone suggested Atlantic as the best place!

squire1

regedit wrote:

They were asking me where we plan to get the tiles so I said Right Price Tiles. they said to stay away from them as the tiles are not good quality. They suggested that we getthem in Tubs&Tiles.
I would like to know what you think of Right Price Tiles?

I have seen no problem with Right Price tiles. I used them in the past and honestly, if you see a tile that you like, then what does it matter if it is cheaper that one you dont like from some other supplier. As for being "Cheap and Nasty", again, if you see a tile you like, then what is the problem. It's not as if the one from Right Price are going to fall off the wall or anything. I wouldn't buy your adhesive from Right Price as this is where they make their profit. Best thing to do is ask your tiler where he normally gets his. Chances are he has a trade discount and can uy it for less than you can.

serotonin_sam

squire1 wrote:

I have seen no problem with Right Price tiles. I used them in the past and honestly, if you see a tile that you like, then what does it matter if it is cheaper that one you dont like from some other supplier.

different strokes for different folks.

squire1 wrote:

As for being "Cheap and Nasty", again, if you see a tile you like, then what is the problem. It's not as if the one from Right Price are going to fall off the wall or anything.

By 'cheap n nasty' I mean't they didnt look up to much by comparison. I just couldnt see any quality in front of me. The stuff I was looking at in right price is the stuff I would expect an investor to use for a house that was being fitted out for rental.

squire1 wrote:

I wouldn't buy your adhesive from Right Price as this is where they make their profit. Best thing to do is ask your tiler where he normally gets his. Chances are he has a trade discount and can uy it for less than you can.

Agreed. Go to a good builders suppliers instead.

regedit

Just a short update and one question.
Went to Right Price tiles, gave the man the dimensions (43 sq.m wall tiles and 30 floor) and he gave me a price of just over 400 Euro. With the same dimensions, I went to Tubs&Tiles and was quoted 700€. Who is mad here.
The question, the tilers mentioned that they would need 2 sheets of W.P.B. (some sort of marine board for upstairs ensuite and family bathroom) and the guys in RPT and T&T told me that there was no more need for that as the adhesives they have are elastic and stick to both wood and concrete. Can anyone advice on this

serotonin_sam

regedit wrote:

Just a short update and one question.
Went to Right Price tiles, gave the man the dimensions (43 sq.m wall tiles and 30 floor) and he gave me a price of just over 400 Euro. With the same dimensions, I went to Tubs&Tiles and was quoted 700€. Who is mad here.

Just make sure your comparing like with like.

regedit

serotonin_sam wrote:

Just make sure your comparing like with like.

Serotonin_sam,
Could you please elaborate on this. As a lay person I would have no knowledge on this matter. To me, grout is grout and adhesive -adhesive so I do noyt know. To be honest the polish guy in RPT took time and asked me details about the house, type of flooring etc while the one in T&T just gave me the price.
Could you please confirm that the marine plywood is needed if actualy the new adhesives can be used on wood due to their elasticity

serotonin_sam

regedit wrote:

Serotonin_sam,
Could you please elaborate on this. As a lay person I would have no knowledge on this matter. To me, grout is grout and adhesive -adhesive so I do noyt know.

Sorry. I thought you were comparing tiles - not grout & adhesives. I would imagine theres probably no difference but I'm not a tiler - I'm sure someone will come back and say if certain grouts/adhesives should be avoided.

regedit wrote:

Serotonin_sam,
Could you please confirm that the marine plywood is needed if actualy the new adhesives can be used on wood due to their elasticity

I know little more than what I have gleamed from reading previous boards threads on the subject (having been in the same situation a few months back). However, my understanding was that with wood, there is always a possibility the plywood could bend a bit. My impression from a previoius boards thread (do a search) was that this could potentially cause a problem regardless of what adhesive was used?

yop

Based on using both tubs and tiles and RPT I would agree that the quality of tile that TUB&Ts store would be superior BUT you will actually pay more.

I tiled 2 bathrooms and a kitchen from TUB&T and a sunroom floor and bathroom from RPT and I found that much more of the tiles from RPT cracked when putting them up.
Grout there would be little difference in, there is a white grout which you can an anti mould additive.
I have used a number of rapid set floor adhesives and found that the evo-stik was the best product as regards strenght and coverage.

regedit

Thanks to both of you.
If RPT is one and T&T another extreme when it comes to quality/price, is there something in-between? Something not extremely expensive but decent enough

ryaner77

hey OP !

I'm new to this whole boards thing but hope i can be of some help !

I worked in RPT for 18 months, There are lots and lots of similar tiles in rpt and other tile shops, the main reason they are cheaper is the fact that they are bought in such big quantities thats all. I'd always reccommend buying 10% more tile than you actually need to allow for breakages. They are only ceramics and are fragile at the end of the day. your tiler may have taken this into account when giving you his measurements so i'd ask him,

The only problem you may have is the RPT stock changes constantly so i keep a spare box or two in case of emergencys,

If you've any questions about rpt i will gladly answer them for you !

regedit

[quote=ryaner77]hey OP !

I'm new to this whole boards thing but hope i can be of some help !

I worked in RPT for 18 months, There are lots and lots of similar tiles in rpt and other tile shops, the main reason they are cheaper is the fact that they are bought in such big quantities thats all. I'd always reccommend buying 10% more tile than you actually need to allow for breakages. They are only ceramics and are fragile at the end of the day. your tiler may have taken this into account when giving you his measurements so i'd ask him,

The only problem you may have is the RPT stock changes constantly so i keep a spare box or two in case of emergencys,

If you've any questions about rpt i will gladly answer them for you ![/quote]

Thanks.
I am closer now to getting the tiles from RPT than I was before. Another poster said something about their tiles as well. Thanks for your info and will take into account the 10% extra tiles.

hargo

Try National Tile in Dundalk good value tiles.