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We are retiling our shower, and while we're at it we've decided to add a stripe of colored glass tiles. This stripe will be above the area where water usually hits, FWIW.
We really love the opalescent shimmer of the translucent tiles, but we don't really like the colors. On the other hand, we like the opaque beige color tones of another set of tiles, but these tiles aren't very translucent (they have a little bit if it matters).
My question:
Is there any way we can paint or stain these tiles to add a little more of the translucent shimmer? I don;t mind redoing it every few months, if necessary.
speaking about tiles.... does anyone know why the "pencil" tiles used to border stripes are so expensive? The mosaic tiles cost $10 for a 12 x 12 sheet, but these silly little pencils cost $2-5 for a thin strip just six inches long. We'll spend three times as much putting a thin border on our stripe than on the fancy stones for the stripe. That makes no sense to me.
Not to be confusing but I just realized the word I meant to say was iridescent, not translucent. We want colored glass tiles that have an irridescent shimmer
Finding a coating that will hold up to the installation and grouting process will be tough, and you'll end up having to repaint them just due to wear from cleaning, etc. You say you won't mind repainting them every few months now, but trust me- after 6 months or so, you're likely to stop doing it (since it's not going to be easy to do once they're all grouted), and wish you'd never installed tiles that you had to paint.
Have you looked online for tile, or are you looking at limited choices at one or two stores? I can't imagine that you can't find exactly what you're looking for online.
Buying tiles online? I hadn't considered trying that. How do you gauge the color/quality without seeing it in person. Also, are shipping costs a problem, since tile can get quite heavy.
You're only talking about a few square feet if you're planning on just a small accent strip, so shipping won't be an issue. You can look at the photos online to get a good feel for the color, and order samples from some places if you're not comfortable with purchasing your whole order without seeing it in person first.
The reason "pencil tiles" are expensive is that they break more frequently than other tiles thust the "yield " at every step of the supply chain (casting, glazing, firing, shipping) decreases. They are a speciality / luxury item...
As to painting tile the simple answer the DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. The whole point of a nice hard glaze on tile is to make it hard to stain. Paint will NEVER adhere to it for long.
If you want a different color tile you need to go to a better supplier. Quality tile jobbers will have access to literally MILLIONS of colors of tiles most of which can be had in a variety of finishes from glossy to matte, opaque to translucent, opalscent to irridenscent ... Try these:
These firms do not generally sell w/o a showroom and I have found that to be a GOOD thing as too other the natural variance in tile means that what you see on the interwebs is NOT going to look the same as what you get in your kitchen / bath and with a showroom you have have a MUCH better opportunity to check batch-to-batch consistency and have a local business owner go to bat for you if something is out of spec...
Thanks Chet. I've had very bad luck buying remodeling materials online, so I'm just not willing to try it again (although it's a tempting thought) so I appreciate the advice about finding local showrooms. I'd rather find something at a local show room so I can return it if there's a problem, and show the defect or the unmatched dye lots to a person rather than try to explain it to someone on the telephone.
I know EXACTLY what you mean. Funny thing too is that for pretty much everything I did in my most recent bathroom remodel I did use a mix of local suppliers and online stores and I firmly believe some firms, both online & "bricks & mortar" are just so messed up that they want to go out of business. The good manufacturers go out of their way to get their products at the "right" supplier that can deliver the level of service needed and the junky manufacturers that let any shlock discount outfit sell their junk with horrible service don't deserve to be around...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caladium
Thanks Chet. I've had very bad luck buying remodeling materials online, so I'm just not willing to try it again (although it's a tempting thought) so I appreciate the advice about finding local showrooms. I'd rather find something at a local show room so I can return it if there's a problem, and show the defect or the unmatched dye lots to a person rather than try to explain it to someone on the telephone.
Chet if you've recent done a project like this then I'm glad you stopped by this thread. I've never remodeled a bath before so I need wisdom from someone who's been there and done that.
What do you think of the quality of the tiles from Home Depot and Lowes? There's one set of iridescent tiles that might be ok called "Smoked Oyster". Home Depot sells it and it's by Anatolia Tile. It's inexpensive (10.99/sf). Any thoughts on possible problems? The price sure is right. How about the pencils from Lowes or HD? If pencils are fragile, would it be better to buy more expensive ones to get better quality?
Another one we're considering was found in a local store called The Tile Shop. I think it's a chain, but it's not really a discount chain. Any thoughts on their quality? My sample doesn't have a manufacturer or product name--maybe it's the Tile Shop brand?
The third one we might consider is called Project Plus Bronz Mix Azzuro Mix. It's by Casa Italia. The price is pretty good,$15.40/sf. Have you heard anything about this company? This one is my favorite but we'd spend an extra $150, plus shipping if we choose this one. If it's good tile I'll pay the price but since we're not going to be in this house for too many more year maybe it's not worth it?
By the way, the samples I have do not quite match the photos on the internet. For example, the Casa Italia tile is actually a much paler blue, almost periwinkle.
Last edited by Caladium; 12-13-2011 at 03:06 PM..
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Completely agree!
