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February 6, 2007

Best source for tile?

Wondering if anyone has a suggestion on where to get bathroom tiles (subway, marble, unglazed hex, etc.)? Ive been to a couple of tile stores and Im finding the pricing situation and the lack of knowledge on the salespeople part frustrating.

I have a very good idea of what I want. In my past tile shopping expeditions I have been told that what Im looking for "doesn't exist" (and of course it does, is made by multiple manufacterers and the store Im in carries it!); that what I would like to use is "not recommended" (and of course its specifically made for that purpose). Then when I finally get the pricing on those items, Im told that when we are ready to buy that they will give me a "better price" but they can't tell me what it is. Um, how can I be ready to buy without knowing the final price?

This seems like incredible bullshit to me. Just tell me what the price is and be knowledgeable about your own products!

Help!!

Comments

What tile stores did you visit?

Posted by: anon at February 6, 2007 9:24 AM

These are some of the places I have dealt with
during my renovation:

Bergen Tile (Flatbush and Bergen) - These people are really great. Great customer service. Edmond is a person (owned his own shop for years but now works for Bergen) who is a wealth of information and very nice. I have bought lots of ceramic tiles there. Decent prices, good service. They have a lot of mosaic/historic type tiles in addition to a wide variety of in stock ceramic. Almost no stone, marble, etc.

KBS NY Inc. 719 Kent Ave - 718-596-4005
This is a Chinese owned place near the entrance to the BQE on the Bedsty/williamsburg border. They sell countertops, slate, marble. I bought marble tile from them and had them cut tiles marble tiling (1 dollar a cut, very cheap) to make 6 X 6 checkerboard for my lobby. They are inexpensive, honest but slightly flaky (patience is a virtue....) but know their tiles and I am very happy with what they have and what they sold me. They do countertops and made a backsplash for me (after I bought the top from someone else, so they are flexible).

Strip of Stores on 19th Street between 2nd and 3rd in Brooklyn. There are several marble and stone places here. KBJ is better.

Key Tile on 3rd and 16th. These people sell ceramic tiles, slate, countertops. I bought a countertop (their supplier is StoneDepot in Greenpoint) from them. In fact, they get everything from Stone Depot in Greenpoint (so go to StoneDepot for cheaper prices). They gave me lots of confused info and my parting transaction with them (trying to return some tiles still within their return policy) resulted in a yelling match with Mohammed, the owner. Sigh...
Caveat Emptor.

Lowes - I bought some speciality color tiles from them early in the game. The special order people called me within the time frame promised and everything was wonderful. Surprise....

SMC Stone, Greenpoint - Stay away. Lots of choices, double the cost of the smaller Chinese places.

Good luck.

Posted by: donatella at February 6, 2007 9:51 AM

AK Tile on 9th Street in Park Slope was a dream to work with, their selection was large and they seemed very knowledgeable.

Posted by: Anonymous at February 6, 2007 10:05 AM

I just had a very good experience with A&K Tile on 9th Street off Fifth Avenue in Park Slope. I purchsed white penny round, white hex, subway tiles, Toto toilets and an American Standard Americast tub. Found their prices as low or lower than other places (including Nemo) and their service to be excellent. The owners just spoke at the recent Anatoomy of a Brownstone class at City Tech.

Posted by: CB at February 6, 2007 10:08 AM

I like Mondial on 14th Ave and 65th St. They have a good selection..alot of them in stock. Prices are fair.

Bergen carries some hex and subway...in stock. You can always special order, but if you're like me, you're flying around last minute trying to find tiles to pick up immediately.

Posted by: yente at February 6, 2007 10:23 AM

if you just want regular Daltile K-101 subway tiles (and you don't need them right away), go to Home Depot. i know, i know. Home Depot is TERRIBLE. but they will be dramatically cheaper than buying from a tile store. you have to know exactly what you want though and it will take an hour with the special order guy as they know nothing, but they will be cheap.

same with Lowe's for the Hex tiles. they will get them fast and they will be cheaper than a tile store.

Posted by: Anonymous at February 6, 2007 10:48 AM

Try Classic Tiles on 86th Street, Bklyn. They have a website as well...

http://www.classictileny.com/

Good Luck,
Allan

Posted by: allan at February 6, 2007 11:54 AM

I was pleased with Bella Tile in Manhattan at 1st Ave. & 11th Street.

Posted by: anon at February 6, 2007 12:01 PM

Try Nemo Tile in Manhattan. I renovated both my bathrooms with hex floor tile and simple white subway tile on walls. They have it in stock, no waiting!

Posted by: fortgreener at February 6, 2007 2:59 PM

I've had good luck with Mondial and Bella. I particularly like Bella because they will sell fancier tile with no minimum purchase, unlike some shops.

Posted by: tinarina at February 6, 2007 3:14 PM

another shout-out for Mondail

Posted by: OE at February 6, 2007 9:43 PM

Country Floors in Union Square/Flatiron has a gorgeous showroom. They are very expensive on the line of Ann Sachs but their warehouse is in Maspeth, Queens and you may be able to pick up there for a discount.

Posted by: Anonymous at February 8, 2007 6:12 AM

if you are interested in driving to flushing, i found the lowest prices at flushing tile off of college pt blvd. it is about half a mile past roosevelt, main st. there are a bunch of kitchen stores here.

i compared vs. tile depot on ryerson/bqe and it is a lot cheaper, amazingly.

tried to get matte subway tile from tile depot after they quoted me $1.95 psf. then when i got there, matte was more expensive, and the brand i wanted, olympia tile, was the best brand. so they quoted me 5.75 psf. at flushing tile, got it for 2.75 psf. typical bait and switch at tile depot.

Posted by: ltjbukem at February 8, 2007 9:09 AM

I second the recommendation of Classic Tile in Brooklyn. The gorgeous indigo blue glass subway tile we bought there for our kitchen was higher quality and lower priced than even Home Depot - and we got it a lot faster than Home Depot's shipping ETA.

Posted by: laurie at February 10, 2007 2:45 PM

I highly recommend Mondial Tiles. Great service and selection as well as knowledgeable staff. Also, they discount for quantity. Most material is in stock!!!

Posted by: guest at April 1, 2008 3:14 PM