Subway Tiles - What Brand?
Hi, Among other things, I am renovating a bathroom. I am going to install subway tiles on the wall. What is a good brand? I have read through the forums and found some complaints about the subway tiles from Daltiles. I thought they were good, no? Can someone recommend a great brand?
Hi,
Among other things, I am renovating a bathroom. I am going to install subway tiles on the wall. What is a good brand? I have read through the forums and found some complaints about the subway tiles from Daltiles. I thought they were good, no? Can someone recommend a great brand?
I got beveled tiles from classic tile…love that place and also got the ones from Lowes…which are better than ones at Home Depot by far. The Lowes ones were not beveled and I grouted them with a lot darker grey grout and they looked alot more authentic than beveled ones with lighter grout. If you notice the ones in the subway are very dark grouted…probobly dirty…but that look is what I was used too and liked it better.
There are various kinds of subway tile. The cheapest brand is typically US Ceramic which is carried by the major chains and most tile specialty stores. On our renovation, we did different variations in our 4 bathrooms. For our apartment and washroom, the US Ceramic seems fine to me. The higher end products ($5-6 a sq ft) seem a little better – thicker, can’t tell if they warrant the additional cost. We bought some large 6″x12″ field tiles that were made in South America that look very good. I have heard that the cheaper tile may not last as long – susceptible to crazing – but don’t know if this is true.
My only suggestion is that if you do use different size subway tile in one bathroom, be sure that you use the same brand and same color – there are multiple shades of white. We got ourselves in trouble when we bought tile at the place on 9th Street in Park Slope and realized that they sold us two different brands – the larger tile in the bath/shower area has a yellowish cast and the rest is “ice” white. We are stuck because A&K Tile went out of business and can’t return the wrong tiles.
Vin
yes, subwaytile.com if you want the authentic minimal grout look. I would use these even for new construction–less grout means less grout to clean.
subwaytile.com if you want authentic tiles, i.e., no bevel.
We always buy our tile at Classic Tile in Bay Ridge (86th Street). Great service and prices. We were just there this weekend buying subway tile–wish I could remember the brand name for you. American something something.
It’s their basic tile–the guys there will steer you in the right direction.
We also do an accent of glass tile with the subway, to break the monotony and give it some spark.
Good luck.
I used American Olean (?) from Home Depot or Lowes.
K
Metropolitan Transit Authority
I bought my bathroom subway tiles from Classic Tiles they may have been from Thailand and they were fine. I’ve since seen just as good at Lowes. Unless you want colors or bevels or a shinier finish they are simply subway tiles. I wouldn’t over think this one.