Where to get cheap floor tiles?

keystone

I wouldn't dream of recommending Bargain and Quick 30 x 30 porc. They are just rubbish frankly. At least you aren't looking at their large format ones. :eek:

CB is correct - you need a proper wet saw for that size tile and preferably a proper bridge saw rather than the £25 cheapy ones that B&Q do.

What substrate are they going on?

Hav you ever laid tiles on the floor before?

Cheers

drummer_666

keystone wrote: »

I wouldn't dream of recommending Bargain and Quick 30 x 30 porc. They are just rubbish frankly. At least you aren't looking at their large format ones. :eek:

CB is correct - you need a proper wet saw for that size tile and preferably a proper bridge saw rather than the £25 cheapy ones that B&Q do.

What substrate are they going on?

Hav you ever laid tiles on the floor before?

Cheers

lol some ppl slag off certain brands of tiles, but others that have laid them didn't have any issues laying them or after there were laid

nope I haven't tiled before, but then again I hadn't done much DIY before this refurb. Parents have laid them b4 so they will start me off

Thinking about buying a diamond blade wet tile cutter, got one in selco on offer at the mo

Going on newly laid concrete floor

cyclonebri1

drummer_666 wrote: »

lol some ppl slag off certain brands of tiles, but others that have laid them didn't have any issues laying them or after there were laid

nope I haven't tiled before, but then again I hadn't done much DIY before this refurb. Parents have laid them b4 so they will start me off

Thinking about buying a diamond blade wet tile cutter, got one in selco on offer at the mo

Going on newly laid concrete floor

Good man, it will pay for itself on the 1st job, but,

Please ensure that if you get porcelain tiles, then you buy an additional blade suited to cutting them, whatever you buy will not come with a porcelain cutting blade as standard.

Pm me if you need a link when you have bought 1.

Look back at what I said about the prep and fitting materials costing equal to the materials.

And I do have to disagree with Keystone here.

Been and Que'd do sell some crap, I should know as the good lady works for them, but they sell some good stuff to, and fortunately some executive decision comes down to off load all existing stocks to make way for a new range, madness but very :money::money::money::money::money::money::money:

keystone

drummer_666 wrote: »

lol some ppl slag off certain brands of tiles, but others that have laid them didn't have any issues laying them or after there were laid.

All I said was that B&Q aporcelain tiles are poor quality which in my opinion they are. I said nothing about other people having trouble laying them or afterwards. Not sure where you are going with that TBH.

nope I haven't tiled before, but then again I hadn't done much DIY before this refurb. Parents have laid them b4 so they will start me off

Fine then you need to make sure that your substrate is flat - it doesn't matter if its not exactly level but it must be flat. Otherwise your final result will be carp.

Thinking about buying a diamond blade wet tile cutter, got one in selco on offer at the mo

Thats a minimum for straight cuts. Any complex cutting and a bridge saw would be a better bet but don't buy one hire it.

Going on newly laid concrete floor

See above re flatness of surface. How long since it was laid? Curing time needs to be considered plus you'll need to seal it if tiling straight on it. More about that when you can say how long its been down.

Cheers

keystone

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

And I do have to disagree with Keystone here.

Been and Que'd do sell some crap, I should know as the good lady works for them, but they sell some good stuff to, and fortunately some executive decision comes down to off load all existing stocks to make way for a new range, madness but very :money::money::money::money::money::money::money:

So I'm not sure you actually are disagreeing and if so with what. B&Q porc tiles are very poor quality so fall neatly in the carp category.

Cheers.

southcoastrgi

just bought a new diamond blade for mine £58

drummer_666

keystone - how does it matter if they are 'poor quality' if they go down well, wear well and look good?

the new concrete isn't down yet, having floor dug up at the mo, damp proof membrane going in, concrete, screed, levelling compound etc

prob be about a week after that's done that i plan to lay the tiles

pretty sure I only need to do straight cuts?

my dad has a tile cutter and a grinder.

Also, one of their tiles I'm considering is porcelain, the other is ceramic

cyclonebri1 i'm a girl, lady whatever lol i thought the diamond blade was for porcelain?

what do you mean in terms of prep materials? do i need more than tile adhesive and grout? worked out that should be just over £2/sqm. do i need other stuff too?

keystone

drummer_666 wrote: »

keystone - how does it matter if they are 'poor quality' if they go down well, wear well and look good?

Well yes it does particularly when ............ well OK, whatever, never mind.

the new concrete isn't down yet, having floor dug up at the mo, damp proof membrane going in, concrete, screed, levelling compound etc. That'll be prob be about a week after that's done that i plan to lay the tiles

You need to let it cure and whilst it may appear cured after 48 - 72 hours it will still continue to work and not be finished curing for some time. Typical period is 28 days. Sorry.

pretty sure I only need to do straight cuts?

Then you should be OK with a basic wet cutter. But don't forget porc is very hard and don't force the cut - let the blade do the work.

my dad has a tile cutter and a grinder.

A standard mechanical tile cutter won't cut porc (well the super dooper pro ones will but do you have £400 to spend on one?) and will struggle with thicker floor tiles anyway. Grinders are for finishing and polishing not for cutting - you can't/won't get a straight edge particularly if you area novice at it. For cutting you must use a wet cutter.

Also, one of their tiles I'm considering is porcelain, the other is ceramic

Porcelain is a type of ceramic but its the same material all the way through rather than a biscuit with a surface.

what do you mean in terms of prep materials? do i need more than tile adhesive and grout? worked out that should be just over £2/sqm. do i need other stuff too?

You need to prime the concrete before laying the tiles using an acrylic primer such as BAL APD or Mapei Primer G. Don't let anyone tell you or convince you to use PVA to prime. Its not at all compatible with modern polymer modifed adhesives. Use a bagged adhesive although for straight onto concrete - it doesn't need to be flexible for concrete. Also bagged grout. Do not used tubbed carp at all for floor tiles. Then you'll need to seal your tiles using a good quality (oh dear there I go again - sorry) impregnator sealer before grouting and then seal tiles and grout again afterwards for porc. You won't need to seal for bog standard ceramic. What were you planning to buy for only £ 2 a metre?

Cheers

PS Don't even think about dot and dabbing either like you would a paving slab. You need a proper bed of adhesive laid with a notched trowel and providing 95% contact with the tile.

southcoastrgi

I think keystone is being very genious with his time scales, we have always worked on a drying time of 1" = 1 month so if you have 65mm of screed thats 2 1/2 months before laying tiles, the rest of the above post is spot on, you won't cut porcelain tiles with a score & snap cutter & you will have trouble with some normal floor tiles too, they need to be wet cut.

ok i'll be the one to say it then.(cause i know it's what you are all thinking).

you are having all this work done & you are going to spoil it by trying to lay floor tiles when you really don't know what you are doing, by all means choose the tiles (with the recommendation of someone who knows) but get a tiler to lay them, it might seem to you to be an easy job but it is all too easy to muck it up & once floor tiles are down they are not very easy to remove & change if they are all over the place.

drummer_666

southcoastrgi wrote: »

you are having all this work done & you are going to spoil it by trying to lay floor tiles when you really don't know what you are doing, by all means choose the tiles (with the recommendation of someone who knows) but get a tiler to lay them, it might seem to you to be an easy job but it is all too easy to muck it up & once floor tiles are down they are not very easy to remove & change if they are all over the place.

mate as I said above, my parents have laid tiles before.

also, you got to start somewhere. there's lots of other things I've not done before this project, i.e. bits of plastering that I have now been taught and done to a good standard.

ok i'll ask builder timescale n wait to lay tiles, that's not a prob will still get my kitchen in - can't wait for a kitchen sink lol