Choosing tiles for your home can be thrilling, but it also requires thorough planning to buy the right tile the very first time. Tiles can enhance and even damage the aesthetic appeal of your home. So a wrong tile selection can be an expensive mistake.
We’ve brought together the basic tiles buying mistakes that look small but can cost heavily on your pocket. These will help you when buying tiles for your home.
Table of Contents
Mistakes That We Make While Buying Tiles
1. Not Ordering Extra Tiles
You’ve done the calculations and ordered the exact count of tiles for the tiling area. But then you realize that you require a few more tiles for work completion. It is frustrating and to add on to it if you hired a professional to install them.
Hamish Smith, Creative Director of Ca’Pietra Tiles, said: “It’s the most common and even an expensive blunder when you order tiles without accounting for breakages and wastage. That is why we suggest buying 10% extra tiles to cover damages. It is only a small price to ensure you have sufficient tiles for completing the tiling project.”
Keep in mind that the different lots of tiles can differ in shades too. That makes it more important to get the correct numbers in one go to avoid having different shades in the layout of your tiles.
2. Discarding the Spare Tiles
It is as important to order extra tiles as to save the spare ones. Keep the left-over tiles safely to fetch any requirements in the future. Even if left with a complete box of tiles, keep it safe and don’t think of returning them to the store. You will find it hard to find an exactly matched tile for any damages in the future.
Spare tiles ensure that you can cope up with any tile damage issues in the future. Else, you have to redo the complete flooring simply because of a few damaged tiles.
3. Selecting the Wrong Size
Tiles are available in different sizes, typically from 7.5cm x 15cm to 60cm x 120 cm large format. So choose the size wisely. Sometimes, we are so inclined to the tile pattern that we overlook the size and land up in trouble later. Selecting an ideal size is a deciding factor for the success of your project.
4. Giving Importance to Price Over Quality
Hamish says, “As it is said, buy cheap, buy twice. Buying cheap and low-quality tiles can save you lots initially, but they would require a replacement quite early when compared to quality tiles.”
If you plan for handmade encaustic tiles, then it will cost you some extra bucks. They use natural dyes that result in color richness and depth. The lower price versions can very flat as they use artificial colors. If you have a restrictive budget, then ceramic tiles can be a better option. They are also easier to maintain.
5. Not Asking for a Sample Tile
Around 75%-90% of people do not order a sample of the tile they choose. A tile sample gives you the exact feel, finish, texture, and color of the tile. It’s important to plan wisely for a tiling project, look at the tile and imagine how it would appear when fixed. Tiles may look very different at showrooms if compared to their looks at home due to the lighting effects.
Also, have a view of the tile at the angle you intend to place it. For example, observe it flat if it will be tiled on the floor and standing beside the wall for wall tiling.
6. Not Hiring a Professional
Tiles installation requires a professional to lay them. An inexperienced tiler can result in a costly mistake. It requires a defined skill-set to lay down tiles that give a touch of finesse to your floor or walls.
Also, choose the tiler who has experience with the type of material you choose for the tile. While ceramic and porcelain are the most commonly used tiles but natural stone, encaustic, large format, and glass tiles have their experts for fitting.
Remember to not call your tiler till the time you have received the tiles and fixing material. Or else the tiler will have no work to do but will still invoice you for the time.
Avoid the Smaller Mistakes and Save Big
You can save big if you avoid the mistakes mentioned above. Always ensure that you order extra tiles and store extra tiles for future damages. Remember that tiles come in batches, and one consignment of tiles can have different shades from another.
Do proper research before buying the tiles. Imagine how the tiles will look in your home before purchasing and installing them. Once installed, you cannot change them as it would cost a lot of money.
Finally, as in most cases, we should leave the work for the professionals. Hire a professional tiler for your project. Properly fixed tiles enhance the aesthetic appeal of your home and give your home a new look and feel.