6"x6" porcelain tiles??????

Quickdraw

I orderd $600 worth of porcelain tiles for my 3'x5' shower... 2/3 of the way up is 9x12 tiles, then a 2-1/2" high listello, then 6x6 tiles on the diagonal the top 1/3 of the shower walls... They are Esquire tiles, made by Florim http://esquire-tile.com/collections.php part of the reason I ordered these tiles is because they had the sizes I wanted - 12x12 for the main bath floor 9x12 and 6x6 tiles for the shower walls. When I got he tiles I see that the 6x6 tiles are actually 12x12 tiles cut into quarters!! This means two of the edges are rounded and two are sharp edged. I called the tile company (above) on the assumption that surely the distributor didn't have 6x6 so he cut 12x12 tiles down to size. The company said "no, thats the way we make 6x6 tiles - always have - always will - and I don't know of any tile manufacturer who makes a 6x6 tile any other way"

This can't possibly be right, can it? Has anyone here run into this and used 6x6 tiles like this?? It seems they must look like crap after grouting.

Jim W

I have a stack of 6 x 6 porcalin tiles waiting for me in the downstairs bath - bought them at Home Depot fro arount 79 cents each. All four sides are rounded as they should be. I think most of thier tiles are made by Dal-Tile - San Diego

Scuba_Dave

I've never seen any tile like that

Bud Cline

Quickdraw,

That's what happens when you buy the low budget tiles. They are blowing smoke up your butt. Get your money back and start over.

Quickdraw

Thank you everyone for your replies...

Bud Cline: I didn't think $600 for 110 Sq Ft of walls was "low budget". I will pay whatever it costs for what I want but I am having difficulity finding it. I went to a tile store instead of the big box stores as I thought they would have better quality tiles and bigger selection.

Since you are a professional tile guy perhaps you can tell me who makes good tiles. I wanted light colors, porcelain, textured, and in 12x12, 6x6, and either 8x10 or 9x12. What company makes tiles that fit this description?

Thanks again everyone...

Bud Cline

Just because you pay what you consider big bucks doesn't mean you have a first class tile. Some sellers will do anything to turn a prime dollar. Remember those guys next time and go somewhere else. That price isn't at all out of line - you can easily pay more.

Dal-Tile
Florida Tile
Interceramica...

...are a few old names that should be able to fill the bill. There's a million of them these days.

poppameth

I've seen this with several tile brands before, Marazzi and Florida Tile among them.

Bud Cline

I'm sure they all do it - they want to compete with that market also I suppose.

Quickdraw

poppameth, are you saying you've seen other manufactueres cut their 6"x6" tiles from finished larger ones? With two raw sides and two rounded sides? WTF? Would anyone use a tile like this???

Thank you Bud Cline.. I'll check out those companies you mentioned...

poppameth

Yep that's what I'm saying. I don't like the way it look either and I certainly don't trust them to get every cut so perfect that the sizes match up as good as a formed tile.

Quickdraw

I can't imagine anyone with an ounce of pride in their work using tiles like that with two cut sides and two rounded finished sides. The tiles would REALLY look bad after grouting. The tile store I bought from said Esquire tile didn't use to do this to make 6x6 tiles. He said that was a favorite tile for contractors but he was going to warn them to select another line if they were going to use any 6x6 tiles in their project.

Bud Cline

The ones I have seen have been 12" tiles divided into four six inch tiles by impressing fake grout lines in a cross but cast as a single 12" tile. Then the 12" tiles are bisected down the middle each way to make the four six inch tiles.

SUCKS!

Quickdraw

If they do that with enough precision then all four sides of the 6" tile would be rounded, and that would be fine. Florim Esquire tile Co. takes a regular 12" tile and cuts it into four pieces - two nice rounded edges - two sharp square edges.

HABSFAN2006

I think I've seen this done before also...

Can you not round off the square edge just by hand, and by the time you grout, it will probly not even notice ??

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Quickdraw

No, by the time you rounded off the square edges the glazed porcelain color would be gone. I found a 6x6 tile close enough to match the color & texture at Lowes... thanks everyone for their input...