Ask the Builder: Tiles don’t look like the one in the showroom

DEAR TIM: It’s 3 a.m. and I’m wondering how I’m going to resolve an issue in a few hours with a tile installer. First, the shading and color of all the tiles doesn’t match. In the photo I sent, the one I circled is what the tile at the showroom looked like. Many others have large brown patches of color in them I don’t like. Did the installer bring secondhand tile to the job? The installer also didn’t use plastic spacers when installing the tile. He’s coming to grout in four hours. What should I tell him to do? Sleepless in Laval. – Sandy M., Laval, Quebec

DEAR SANDY:

I’m pretty sad to say that the color issue with the tile is not the fault of the installer. In my opinion, 65 percent of the blame is that of the tile store and the other 35 percent is on your shoulders.

Your complaint is pretty common. One would think that tile store employees, managers and store owners would have heard thousands of these complaints. To solve the problem, when you choose the tile you want, the sales people should bring out a box from the warehouse and show you that the tile will show some variation in shade, pattern and other qualities. With this new information, you can then reconsider your choice if you don’t like the variations in each tile.

You probably should have asked for and paid for a full tile that you loved before you left the tile store. It’s your job to bring that tile home and set it aside. When the installer shows up with the tile, you then should open all the boxes of tile, pull out as many as you wish to check, and see if they match exactly the tile you brought home. If they don’t and you’re unhappy, that’s the time to get replacements – not after they’ve been set in thinset on the floor or wall.

As for your current tile, I must tell you that I don’t feel the tile is defective. Many tiles are made on purpose with the random color veining and pattern shift. My guess is the tile manufacturers are trying to mimic Mother Nature.

Often, floor tile is made to simulate natural stone to a degree. You may find some fine-grained granite where the matrix of small mineral crystals is nearly identical from tile to tile, but I doubt it. There will always be variations.

This being the case, it usually makes for a more interesting floor when each tile has some sort of variation in shading and pattern. When viewed as a whole, the floor tends to look very good. The photo you sent me looks marvelous. Once the tile is grouted, I suspect it’s going to get many a compliment from visitors to your home.

As for the tiny plastic spacers, I used to use them on my jobs, but I stopped when I discovered that they can sometimes cause more trouble than the problem they’re supposed to solve.

Not all floor tiles are the same size. If this is the case with the tile you have, then if a box or two are over- or undersized and you’re butting the tiles up against one another using the spacers, the grout lines will start to become wavy and not be straight.

When I installed floor tile, I always took a few random pieces from different boxes, measured them and laid them out on the floor dry. I would create a square that was perhaps four tiles on a side. I adjusted the spacing between the tiles so the grout lines were the size I wanted, were straight and they looked fantastic.

I would then measure the outer dimensions of the square and then chalk linethe floor, creating these big boxes. The floor would look much like a blank crossword puzzle with all the chalk lines.

When I started to install the tile, I’d put the edge of each tile on the lines I created. The grout lines would be uniform and straight throughout the entire floor. If you choose to do what I did, then exercise caution when spreading the thinset or mastic so you don’t erase or eliminate the chalked lines.

As for what to tell the installer, my advice is to let him proceed with the job. I feel the tile looks wonderful; once it’s grouted, it will look even better. If you’re so upset that you feel you just can’t look at the tile each day without it putting you in a bad mood, then start over and get tile that will make you smile each time you look at it.

If you go this route, be prepared to pay for all the extra costs.

Carter’s columns are archived at www.AsktheBuilder.com.