Tile: Everything there is to know about tile.
A comprehensive tile flooring resource: ceramic, marble, stone, travertine, bathroom, kitchen, and beyond. Is there a company or product you’d like to see featured? Email atileguide@yahoo.comImport Genius
We’ve been playing around with a service called Import Genius (www.importgenius.com) lately. Import Genius is a terrific tool for anyone involved in the tile industry. Their search engine allows you to search every ocean container that has been brought into the United States. If you search for “tile” you get a list of tile, along with who they went to and what manufacturer produced them. This is an excellent way to find new providers, as well as to find out who other tile importers around the country are buying from. I’ve attached a screen shot of a basic search I ran for “travertine tile”. Of course, there is a lot more you can do with the tool. For example, I noticed that tile imports really spiked during certain months of the year, and crashed in others. Areas hit hardest by the real estate crash have the most noticeable decline in tile import activity. I also used Import Genius to find a supplier of a new style of noche dark travertine that has become increasingly popular in Florida.
Import Genius Screenshot
Heated Tile Floors
Heated Tile Floors, One of the Top 10 Most-Wanted Home Products
An increasing trend in the tile industry is the inclusion of electric floor heating systems in kitchen or bathroom remodeling projects. Radiant floor heating is often mentioned as one of the top 10 products for your home (according to both “Residential Design Build” and “Builder” magazine). Also often featured on HGTV and other popular TV shows, electric floor heating has quickly gained in popularity with homeowners looking to add an extra touch of comfort to their bathrooms or kitchens. In the bathroom, everyone loves to step out of the shower on a nice heated tile floor. In the kitchen, it is hard to resist the pleasure of walking around barefoot on a toasty floor while enjoying breakfast. Starting your morning routine with nice warm feet is a nice treat.
So how do you go about adding a heated tile floor to your home? First, get a quote online from manufacturers such as WarmlyYours (www.WarmlyYours.com) or Delta-Therm (www.Delta-Therm.com). Then, check with your tile contractor and electrician to get their installation quotes. Today, most contractors already have some experience installing heated tile floor systems and should be able to quickly give you a good price estimate. Typically, tile contractors will charge you an additional $1-$3 per square foot for installing the electric floor heating system, and the electrician about $100-$250 for final system hook up. Overall, a typical bathroom floor heating system will cost about $800 to $1,200 installed.
Want to know more about the installation? Only 1/8” thick, these systems install conveniently on top of your sub floor and turn any cold tile floor luxuriously warm. The heated tile floor system is embedded right in the thinset cement used to lay down your tiles. Lead wires run from the heated mat to a thermostat usually located in a gang box next to the light switch. An electric floor heating system is typically connected to a 15-amp dedicated circuit although this depends on the system’s total amperage. Larger family rooms or basements may require up to 30 amps. Most bathrooms require only 2-7 Amps. Overall, the installation of a heated tile floor is relatively easy and can be tackled by a skilled do-it-yourselfer. If you already know how to install a tile or stone floor, chances are you will have no difficultly installing your heated tile floor system at the same time. However, a licensed electrician is always recommended for final hook-up.
Tile Backsplash
Kitchen Tile Backsplash
Bathroom Tile Backsplash
Tile Backsplash and Stone Rangehood
Kitchen Tile Backsplash
Tile Style Choices
Huge Tile Living Room
Travertine Tile Hallway
Outdoor Tile Patio
These photographs are a great example of the powerful effect of staggering the size and shape of the tile. While these builders could have easily used nothing but square 24″ x 24″ tiles to fill this space, instead they used a variety of rectangle and square tiles. Although it is quite a bit more difficult to cut, measure, and install each tile, installing tile in this manner creates a more spacious and contemporary feel.
Architectural Surfaces of Idaho
Architectural Surfaces of Idaho is a Boise based distributor of ceramic tile, glass block, glass tiles, natural stone, plastic laminate, and more.
Founded in 1980, they provide material for professional builders and advice for do-it-your-selfers.
Here are some impressive uses of the materials they provide:
Architectural Ceramics
Contact them at:
Asi, Inc
5090 Sawyer
Boise, ID 83714
208-376-6691
Tile Art by Alicia Tapp Designs
Alica Tapp Designs makes a variety of custom tile products.
Some of their choices include:
- Porcelain kiln filred tiles, which are the only tiles that will last a lifetime outdoors or in a pool. Kiln fired tiles are created at 1800 degrees fahrenheit.
- Laser etched marble.
- Vintage labels (wine labels, liquor labors, fruit crate, cigar art, and others) on tile.
The site also offers ideas for tile mural installations, tips on framing the tiles and using field tiles to coordinate with the mural and recomends considering the use of found vintage labels and a great way to showcase retro art.
Here is a picture of some of her work:
Tile Art
Contact her at:
Steam Showers & Steam Rooms
Building a steam shower presents a variety of choices beyond the tile and glass necessary to enclose the room. You will have to decide between steam generator brands (110V, 220V, # of KWs), the size of the room, what type of showerhead / faucet you will use, how to configure the steam generator overflow, whether to add shower jets, how to create a venting system, and more. Our sister site, mysteamroom.com, recommends a prefabricated steam shower manufactured by Wasauna. Unlike typical prefabricated steam showers, this shower sits directly on your pretiled floor. This means that you will have the benefits of a custom-built tile steam shower (ultra sturdy floor with your own tile), along with the benefits of a prefabricated shower (the entire steam room/massage jet system is pre-built, saving the hassle an cost of recreating the effect). The featured system includes a chlorine/vitamin-c water filter and a neat feature that lets you preset the temperature of the water. The shower heats up the water and does not start spraying water until the water has reached the exact temperature you specified (which the shower remembers). You won’t feel or see a drop of water until the water is perfectly situated for your experience. Now that is a cool feature! Here is a picture of the shower (notice how it sits right on your pre-existing tile – all you need to install this is a drain built into your tile):
Steam Shower
Tiles by Perfection
Tiles by Perfection is a Boston, Massachusetts based tile showroom.
They specialize in exotics stones, granite, marble, and various types of tile. With their own artist specializing in hand painted tile, they can create a variety of gorgeous tile. In addition to selling tile, they offer installation and removal
If you live in the Boston Metropolitan area, stop by their showroom at:
190 Willard Street
Quincy, Massachusetts 02169
View some of their work below:
Bathroom Tile
Kitchen Tile Backsplash
Kitchen Tile Mosaics
Tile Magic
Tile Magic uses ceramic tile as a beautiful canvas to create fine art and photographic imagery.
Our favorite works by tile magic are these, which is on display at the Scottsdale Westin Jacuzzi / Steam Room:
Steam Room Tile
Steam Shower Tile
Contact them at:
Sierra Custom Design
2316 Loch Lomond Dr..
Bishop Ca. 93514
760 872 3667
