#buy tile

[shadesofstones]

3 Questions You Must Ask While Buying Landscape Rock

Planning to remodel your yard or garden and create landscaping? Well, there are so many options available in the market, and you might feel baffled with the available options.

What to choose and where to buy are two most common confusions roaming across our mind all the time.

To make an informed buying decision and to buy landscape rock for your need without any confusion or distraction, consider asking these 3 questions and find an answer to –

How much am I willing to invest?

This is the first question to ask.

Say, you want to invest a thousand dollar on landscape renovation. Make it 25% flexible, so you do let any stone slip out of your hand just because it is a little expensive.

Have this budget clear in your mind while finding rocks for your garden.

Should I buy online or offline?

I would say “Online”.

But a large number of people buy from local suppliers and distributors. That is because they want to see and feel the stone in their home and ensure that stone is of good quality.

Many online stone shops and suppliers offer to send free sample stones/tiles to your doorstep to help you check the stone’s color, patterns, authenticity, and quality.

If you like the sample rock, you can buy landscape rocks for your exact requirement.

But if you are in a hurry, you can visit and buy rocks from a local supplier as well.

Is the supplier trustworthy?

Finding an answer to this question could be a little tricky. If you are buying from a local stone or supplier, inquire about them with your friends and peers. You could check local directories too.

If you are choosing to buy landscape rock from an online stone store, then you can try performing a research online. Search for their name on Google and you will see many links apart from their website mentioning the quality of their products and services.

Visit their social networks too to see what their existing customers have to say about their products.

This blog has been brought to you by ShadesOfStone.com, one of the trusted stone stores in US.

[shadesofstones]

Tiling Outdoor Walls? Here’s What You Should Know!

The conditions for indoor walls and outdoor walls are way different. While the walls outside your home do not have face sunlight, rain, heat, and frost, the walls inside your home have to look good and shine and be able to stay away from stains and scratch.

That said, the tiles you use for your indoor and outdoor walls should be able to do their jobs perfectly, meeting your expectations in terms of performance and aesthetics.

As evident, outdoor wall tiles have more responsibility to address. In addition, the way you install outdoor tiles has an important role to play in their performance. You have to carry out outdoor wall tile installation very carefully to avoid design blunders and get walls that are durable and beautiful, both at the same time.

Here are a few important things you should take care of while tiling your outdoor walls –

Prepare the walls well.

The tiles in outdoors should be installed on a rock-solid, well-built wall. If the wall is old and there are cracks or loose mortar layering, it is advisable to rebuild the wall and allow it to dry and harden before applying tiles on it.

Plan your tiling layout and method.

Once the wall is ready to be tiled, decide on how you would place tiles on wall. Will it be brick lay, straight lay, herringbone laying, or vertical stack bond?

Determine which tile layout you want for your outdoor wall.

Don’t forget to watch a good number how-to videos related to the layout you are considering on YouTube. This will be a great help during installation.

Tile top to bottom.

Most DIYers start installation from bottom. That’s when they take the first to mess up their outdoor wall design.

In addition to these, seal stone tiles on your outdoor walls. And if you have porcelain tiles on your exterior walls, then apply sealant on the grout after finishing the installation.

This blog has been brought to you by ShadesOfStone.com, one of the trusted tile stores in US.

[shadesofstones]

Tile Installation Hacks for Small Home

Owing to the rise of material and cost of installation, a large number of homeowners now show interest in products that are awesome and save cost.

With that said, small homes have also become a big thing these days. Building a tiny home demands careful attention to details. That’s mainly because everything is easily visible in small spaces.

If you live in a small home and want to enhance the views around you, you can do it with designer and decorative tiles. Here are a few hacks to uplift the décor of your small home with tiles –

Go with lighter-shade tiles. They help create an illusion of more space in small homes.

Small spaces warm up easily. Light color tiles can be a great help here. Physics says that light color do not absorb heat, as a result they aid in maintaining a cool and comfortable environment in small homes.

Suffocation is also a major issue in small homes. You can consider using a central ventilation system in your home to deal with this suffocation and maintain the supply of fresh air in your home. You can hide the duct and surrounding areas of ventilation system with tiles.

Highlight different areas with tiles on different pattern. Elsewise, you can use tiles of same color or pattern throughout the home and separate different zones with border or designer subway tiles.

Use bacteria resistant, odor resistant, stain resistant, and easy maintenance tiles, such as ceramic tiles, porcelain tiles, and polished natural stone tiles.

Looking to buy tiles for your small home? Visit ShadesOfStone.com, one of the trusted tile stores in US.

[mosaicandtile]

Selecting Perfect Floor Tile for Every Room

Floor tile selection might seem an easy task. But when you have some expectation from your floor and interior design, choosing “the” floor tile can be a daunting job.

What if the tile floor looks out the place? What if the tiles get cracked? What if my floor feels dull and boring post installation? These are some of the most common questions roaming across the mid of homeowners while buying flooring material for their project.

This blog gives you some of the tried-and-true tricks to buy the perfect floor tile for your every room in your home –

Check the hardness:

Read the industry rating or grading given on the tile. You could also check out the reviews given to a material before buying it.

Porosity:

If you are buying natural stone, you would be surprised to know that each natural stone tile has thousands of tiny pores. They are like natural property of the stone. However, in some projects, these pores can be an irk or concern for homeowners. So, do check the porosity rating of the material and make sure that it is suitable for your project.

Slip Resistance:

Slippery floors are a major concern of homeowners. Such floors often cause injuries and accidents. When you are looking to buy floor tiles for your home, ascertain that they are non-slippery. This rule should be strictly followed when you are buying tiles for bathroom or kitchen floors.

One tile material that demonstrates all these characteristics is porcelain tile. It is hard, has zero porosity, and can be designed to have slip resistant properties.

If you are looking for floor tiles for every room in your home, you can consider porcelain tiles in varying colors, patterns, textures, and effects.

Buy porcelain tiles at lowest rates at MosaicsAndTile.com, one of the leading porcelain tile suppliers in US.

[shadesofstones]

How Many Types of Ceramic Tiles are Available in the Market?

Ceramic tiles are made from clay. The exact process of ceramic tile production goes like this – fine clay dough, cutting with mold, and firing at extreme temperature.

All the ceramic tiles present in the market are manufactured through the same process. And that goes true for stone look ceramic tile, wood look ceramic tile, and terracotta look ceramic tile and every other variety of this clay-made tile.

The Material –

Ceramic tile is an ideal flooring material. You can use it for the flooring of almost any area of your home – including your bathroom, kitchen, laundry room, bedroom, and living room. Some varieties of ceramic tiles can be used outdoors as well.

We will talk a lot about ceramic tiles under the following sections -

Porcelain Tiles –

Porcelain tiles are also a type of ceramic tiles, however they are made from finer-quality clay, and taken to extreme temperature more than once to achieve superior strength and deliver longer performance. But they are a ceramic tile, and that’s what matters!

Types of Ceramic Tiles –

There are different types of ceramic tiles based on the way they are used. These include –

Backsplash Tile – These ceramic tiles are typically used for creating backsplashes in bathroom, kitchens, and laundry rooms.

Border Tile – As the name might suggest, they are used on edges and corners as border designs.

Slip-resistant Tile – These tiles are recommended for bathroom and kitchen floors and outdoor floors. They come with specially-designed surface finish that does not create slippery even when they are wet. For outdoors, they are called paver tile or pavement tile.

Types of Finishes –

Ceramic tiles can also be classified on the basis of their surface finish, such as –

Glazed Tile

Honed Tile

Polished Tile

Cushion-edged or Beveled-edged Tile

Apart from these, ceramic tiles are available in mosaics and blends to add a designer feel to your indoor spaces.

Looking to buy ceramic tile? Visit ShadesOfStone.com, one of the trusted tile suppliers in US.

[mosaicandtile]

How To Use Ceramic Tile Backer Board

Ceramic tile backer board is a panel material used beneath/behind ceramic tiles on your floor/wall. It is made from cement and is available in sheet like form.

Why It Is Used?

Technically, you install it over wood framing. However, it is way different from a drywall. Cement backer board is a lot better than dry wall. It does not break, even when water seeps through tiles and joints. But drywall can receive potential damage when that happens.

Although a sheet, there is no paper in cement backer board and there are fewer chances of mold growth. In fact, the board helps avoid mold problems in wet residential and commercial environments.

That’s the reason why it is widely used back panel, tile foundation, or substrate for walls and floors in bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry room.

How To Install Ceramic Tile Backer Board –

First thing you should understand is process or the steps to install cement backer board. These steps are: cutting, fastening, and tapping. If you are installing ceramic tile backer board over wooden subfloor (for flooring), you will need to apply thin set mortar or adhesive over the subfloor.

You can cut ceramic tile backer board with the help of a utility knife. There is a specially designed tool for that tool – and that is - carbide-tipped cement board scoring tool.

You should fasten the board/sheets with corrosion-resistant screws. This helps make sure that the board stays firm and remains protected from corrosion.

Once the boards are installed, tape it well to avoid air and maintain optimum water-resistance.

Let the board, thin set/adhesive cure before tile application.

This article has been brought to you by MosaicsAndTile.com, one of the leading tile suppliers in US.

[wallandfloortile]

Are Wall Tiles and Floor Tiles Same?

From a commoner or first-time buyer’s point of view, wall tiles and floor tiles are same. Generally speaking, you can use floor tiles for walling and wall tiles for flooring. But there are several technical differences between wall tiles and floor tiles.

So you should them for the purpose they are engineered for only. Otherwise, there will be performance issues and tiles may not deliver durability and meet your expectations.

In this blog, we talk about some of the major technical differences between wall tiles and floor tiles –

COF Rating –

COF expands to Coefficient of Friction, and it is a rating system that tells how slippery an item is. The tiles you should use for flooring should be non-slippery or anti-slip, while the tiles for wall can be smooth and slippery at the same time.

Each tile available in the market comes with COF rating. You will need to make sure that floor tiles you are buying have minimum level of slippery. It will ensure your and your loved ones’ safety and wellbeing.

PEI Rating –

PEI stands for Porcelain Enamel Institute. It is a standardization system that rates tiles based on their hardness (to be specific, the hardness of their surface finish).

There are 5 ratings given to tiles, each pronouncing their suitable for various applications starting from Class 1, Class 2, to Class 5.

Class 1 tiles are suitable for areas with no foot traffic at all, while Class 5 tiles can be used in even heavy traffic industrial projects.

Another rating given to tiles is – water absorption rating. It defines tiles and other materials based on their porosity and water absorption level.

Now you have an idea about tiles that are suitable for walls and floors. We will cover this topic further in our upcoming blogs.

This blog has been brought to you by WallAndTile.com, one of the largest tile shops in US.

[shadesofstones]

3 Types of Tiles You can Use in Your Bathroom

Homeowners nowadays rely on tiles to build surfaces in their bathroom. First, tiles are easy to install. Second, they are easy to maintain. Third, they are waterproof or water resistant and are able to protect the structure from water damage and moisture problems. Fourth, tiles are durable. And fifth, they turn a boring bathroom design into a beautiful abode.

There are countless advantages of using tiles in bathroom. But the real confusion arrives when you visit a showroom or online tile store to find a suitable tile. There are loads of options available to baffle you up.

In this blog, we give you different types of tiles (materials) that you can consider for your bathroom –

Porcelain & Ceramic Tiles –

Porcelain and ceramic tiles are available in endless color and texture options. Additionally, they are light in weight, but are extremely hard and durable. They are waterproof too. That means, they are a perfect tile material for your bathroom.

Natural Stone Tiles –

Natural stone tiles are cut from rocks and mountains. They are natural and naturally hard, durable, and beautiful. There are tiny pores on stone tiles, which you can block with natural stone polish and sealant. When natural stones are sealed properly, they become water-resistant and suitable for bathroom.

Glass Tile –

Glass tiles add a shine and reflect in your bathroom design. Moreover, they are smooth and waterproof. But, they become highly slippery when wet. Therefore, they are a great choice for bathroom walls only – not for flooring.

Apart from that, you can also use vinyl tiles for floor and walls, metal tiles for walls, and quarry tiles for floor and wall in your bathroom.

Looking to buy stones or tiles for your bathroom? Visit ShadesOfStone.com, one of the trusted stone tile stores in US.