is unglazed tile crazy??
i am thinking of laying unglazed hexagon tile on our bathroom floor–i like the quiet, un-shiny look. but: what kind of maintenance does this require? will it need to be continually resealed? will i be sorry? thank you.
i am thinking of laying unglazed hexagon tile on our bathroom floor–i like the quiet, un-shiny look.
but: what kind of maintenance does this require? will it need to be continually resealed? will i be sorry?
thank you.
My matte hex tile mosaic was just put down. See post here. I wanted unglazed for the patina, but hubby vetoed (perhaps correctly, only time will tell) and here is our matte floor just installed….
http://www.diywithadd.com/2010/03/13/bw-master-bathroom/
ok, i think i’m going to try it. thanks to all for your comments!
We did a kitchen floor in unglazed hex, a pretty large expanse… Due to intense August heat, the setting materials did not take… Even though they looked great (off-white), we knew we were asking for trouble and went with the glazed when we did the second tiling.
The off-white tile you’re looking for (as well as other colors in the historical palette) can be found here: http://restorationtile.com/
I bought unglazed tile from Nemo in Manhattan and designed a pattern modeled after my local bakery. It’s in the kitchen and looks great. It’s been in the bakery for nearly 100 years and still looks fantastic. It’s the glazed tile that can wear poorly with heavy traffic. I say “patina” too.
I haven’t had them that long so I can’t really say for sure but:
Unglazed hex aren’t really white to start off with. They are a little dingy right off the bat. So they never get dirty like white ones would. I like the look.
If you really hate the thought, you could get all black.
We did the same thing in a bathroom, unglazed white hexagons. They really hugged the dirt and scuff markes, so I had to scrub those floors frequently. I also used to seal them at least once a year to try and mitigate the problem. It wasn’t terrible, but I wouldn’t do it again.
I installed unglazed tile and it was a big mistake. Starting with the fact that I could never clean the grout stains off of the tile.
Not crazy. I install tile in shower stalls, bathrooms and kitchens and I restore interiors of all kinds. Many elegant old places have unglazed porcelain tile, restaurants and hotels, not just apartment bathrooms. It is vitrified, so clay particles are fused together during high-temperature firing. It is not porous, but you can stain it, like with a magic marker, or with certain pigments in colored grout. Unlike marble or even granite, it will not absorb much penetrating sealer if any, but sealing the grout will help keep it looking new. Avoid coating it with products that stick to the surface – they make any tile look dingy.