Summer Series – Tiles

TILES Oh we love a good tile!

Tiles add so much to a space and we think always contribute to a sense of quality. They not only have colour and shape, they have an inherent pattern to them and are something we can use to play with scale. They are also hard wearing of course and you don’t need to buy an expensive tile to enjoy their many benefits.

TILES: PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

We work with a number of great tile suppliers and, as with everything we do, are always learning and enjoy the input from our suppliers and trades people. For practical tips websites from businesses like @tilewarehousenz and @tilespace_nz offer plenty of informative ‘tiling tips’ to assist in the decision making process. Check our their website for more information

Here are a couple of wee tips:

If you want to line up grout lines for two types of tile, or if exact size is important to you for any other reason, measure your tile! Not only is there size variances across some tiles (talk to you supplier about this) a tile labelled 600mm doesn’t always mean it will be 600mm (it’s an imperial metric translation thing).
Plan your grout, colour as well as type I usually specify epoxy grout as it has better stain resistance (and I mean who likes cleaning tiles?)
Check slip resistance for floor tiles especially for use in wet areas. It’s good to find out the specifications as the tile’s look isn’t always a good guide — sometimes a shiny tile has still got good grip, even when wet.
When planning around the quality of your substrate be conscious that larger tiles need a flat surface and a laying technique that ensures there are no gaps.

TILES: AESTHETICS

Once you’ve made your big decisions around which type of tile, or combination of tiles, you want to use, there are plenty of other things to think about to ensure you get the best result.

Here are a few:

We love tiles for their material qualities and inherent pattern forming nature. Look up different laying patterns and think about which one will best suit a space.
Plan your tile layout and confer with your tiler. You are not only thinking about avoiding being stuck with a sliver of a tile down an edge of wall or floor, you are also wanting to think about alignment of grout lines and tops of tiles (with each other and features in a room).
Investigate the edging options. Many tiles can be mitre cut to avoid using an aluminium trim on an external corner. If you must use a trim, aim for the least obtrusive in shape and best match in colour (you can powdercoat to match your tile if an off-the-shelf colour doesn’t cut it.).