Fancy Grey Tile. Accent Tile by Lowe’s

So we did a lot of research on buying tiles. Most of that research was on types and colors of tiles, not the tile buying process or who would lay the tile. Not focusing on the process or who was probably our biggest mistake that cost us over $700 in useless tile. To note we spent a lot more time doing research as we did not have a General Contractor that restricted us on who we used or where we bought. We felt the best savings and quality was with our own research. This information is for just such a person or who is acting as their own General Contractor.

Buying from a Big Box Store

My wife an I spent days looking at all the tile combinations. We brought home many sample boards and tried to mix an match the best we could. After all of the research we found the perfect combinations for tile and grout needed. We visited stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot. We ended up purchasing some of the tiles from both. The grout was from both stores. It was a very positive experience in that we found what we liked and could return what we did not need. A recommendation I would recommend for anyone that was not too picky about their tiles.

Net Notes on Buying from a Big Box Store:

-Easy to return tiles and other items (grout)

-Easy to buy more if needed (usually other stores around if they run out)

-Not always the best selection

-Good prices

Buying from a Tile and Flooring Store

Most of the tiles we purchased were from a local Tile and Flooring store, Bill Hege. Our salesman was very helpful and polite. He did an excellent job guiding us on the price of the tile. What was nice about the store and why we went back was due to the pricing was right up front. We were not looking for the most expensive tile and were trying to be as budget minded as possible. We ended up purchasing about $8K of tile from brands like Florida Tile. Our tiles were beige and gray for the most part of the order with some common beige flooring tile. Tiles in retrospect could have been ordered from Lowe’s. Looking back I would not have ordered this tile from any tile store period. It seems that many of the tile suppliers like Florida Tile have a no return policy on custom tile and at best they have a 25% restocking fee for any tile they do accept. I was really baffled by the inability to return tiles that were so basic in shape in color. How is a beige and grey tile ‘custom’? So you need to hire a tile guy who knows how to measure and measure accurately. I will discuss the installer later.

Net Notes on Buying from a Flooring and Tile Store:

-Broad Selection

-Usually Good Help

-Pricing is usually a guessing game

-No return policy on most all tiles and a 25% restocking fee on the few that are returnable

-It takes 5-21 days to order tiles

Purchasing Tiles Online

There were a number of tiles we purchased online. We found them much cheaper from reputable sites online. They did have all the caveats of restocking fees and the risk of getting the wrong tile. Overall we did have a very good experience. We saved a good amount of money over purchasing from the tile stores. Not everything was the cheapest and we erred on the side of purchasing our tiles from the store over purchasing online. One of the tiles that we ordered was mis-marked on the sample at the store and we ended up with the wrong tile.

Net Notes From Buying Tile Online:

-Good place to save some money

-Tough to return tiles if they are wrong color or tile

Finding a Professional to Install the Tile

Make sure you do your research on this individual or company. It is this person’s job to do the tile estimates and work with the Tile Store or you to provide a correct estimate. Go to a place like Angie’s List and avoid the trap we fell into and use the ‘good guy’ that the General Contractor suggests. Our tile installer was terrible at measuring. Something pretty basic right? Something part of your job as a professional tile installer? I should have done it myself. We ended up with over $700 boxes of tile extra due to his mistakes and my mistake of hiring this chuckle head. We also were lead astray on his estimate on how long the job would take. At the time of the posting this contractor is still not finished with the job. He also was requiring the highest end of the estimate. His estimate was for anywhere from $4700 to $5000. I was already asking for $5000 before being done. To note he was far over his time estimate and completely missed on ordering tile that we cannot send back. We still have the $700+ boxes of tile we cannot return. We have paid him $4500 to date and I yet to decide how if any more to pay him since he was so off on the ordering of the tile.

Net Notes for A Tile Professional:

-Look up their reputation on Angie’s List or some other site

-The Tile Professional is responsible for measuring the tile needed for the job.

-Get this agreement written in a contract