Rajesh Sundaram – Floor tiles, Kitchen Tiles, Bathroom Tiles …

Based on my little knowledge let me tell you these :-

1. There are so many brands out there, but a few have proper websites. So if you are a office junkie who often relies on reviews and websites before you buy, you must get up and move down the market street and explore the options.

2. Brands - Some of the well-known brands are Johnson, Kajaria, Somany, Asean Granito, Bell, Ultra. There are few more dozens of Tier-2 manufacturers and Tier 3 manufacturers who flood the market with their products.

3. Sizes - Starting from simple 15x15cms tiles, the size goes upto 100cmx100cm tiles. Additionally you will find skirting tiles or border tiles that comes in non-standard sizes.

4. Types - you get Porcelain and standard minerals. While the vitrified are mostly used for flooring, small sized vitrifieds find places in kitchens and bathrooms too. Vitrified has a flat surface compared to the regular tiles which are slightly embossed at the edges.

5. In olden days the cement+sand mix is spread out evenly and the tiles are fixed with cement-solution pasted behind them. Nowadays, there are tile-adhesives available which does the job easier and reduces the cost to some extent.

6. instead of using normal white-cement to fill the gaps in laid-out tiles, use a powder they call as "serafill" or "ceraphil". I do not have solid info for the name, but a builder told me this tip. It works better than white cement and easily washable.

7. Always decide on the color of the wall and then the go for matching tile. if you are not sure of colors, consult a good architect or Interior decorator or search Google. after all, it is your home.

8. what looked good in the showroom may not look good in your home. because showrooms often display the tile in a brightly lit area. So keep this in mind before you check the tile design.

9. Bargain. if the seller is a hard-seller and doesnot agrees to reduce the price, ask for free transportation and handling. even one rupee discount per square foot is a good offer. For a 700 sq.ft carpet area, you get Rs.700 discount which you can adjust towards transportation.

10. Rule of thumb - check the prices with not more than 3 or 4 sellers. anything more than that is a waste of time.

11. Tier 1 or Tier 2 or Tier 3? - In most cases Tier 2 and Tier 3 may not be helpful in case of faulty tiles because you may not get a refund or replacement. One of the major issues with unknown or less-known brands are - if their tiles crack after fixing (even though the tile cracked because of hair-line cracks inside the tiles) the manufacturer will reject your claim saying "poor fixing". So go with well-known brands. Atleast you can get some basic support or you can sue them.

12. Make sure you buy the anti-skid tiles for bathrooms. Glossy tiles for bathroom floors are a big no-no. And go for Anti-stain floor tiles, if you budget permits.

13. Tiles actually add more weight. So do not overload your building structure by pasting tiles all over the walls or un-necessarily in places.

Finally here are the price ranges (as on Aug 2010)1. Standard 600x600mm Vitrified tiles - Rs.48.50 per sq.ft onwards 2. Premimum 600x600mm Vitrified tiles - Rs.70.00 to 78.00 per sq.ft.3. 600x300mm bathroom tiles - Rs.25 onwards4. 300x300mm floor / bathroom tiles - Rs.25 onwards5. 450mmx300mm tiles - Rs.40 onwards6. Skirting or Border tiles - Rs.50 onwards

Rajesh Sundaram - Floor tiles, Kitchen Tiles, Bathroom Tiles ...

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Tagged with: area • border tiles • home • market • Tier • tile adhesives

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