While buying tiles isn’t necessarily rocket science, we can all agree that it’s not as straightforward as we initially thought. Choosing the right tiles for your home requires you to think about the practical as well as the design aspects because if you choose the wrong ones, they could break easily and need constant replacing, or they could just look out of place and detract from the style of your home.
So, choosing and buying tiles is not a process that should be rushed, or you may regret it. To help you make the best decision, we’ll look at some common mistakes that homeowners make when choosing tiles so that you can avoid them.
Neglecting to shop around
When buying tiles, you’ve got to shop around, otherwise, you’ll make one of the biggest mistakes. By shopping around, you’re providing yourself with options. Yes, you might find an amazing tile that would be ideal for the design you’re going for at the first shop you go to.
But, who knows, you might find some cheaper tiles that have the same design but come in at a more affordable price.
Check out a few stores and compare prices and the quality of tiles on offer as this is a good way to set yourself up to find the best tile and price possible for your tiling project. When you’re looking for top-quality tiles at affordable prices, you can find them at Cheap Tiles Online!
Not getting a sample first
You might find some tiles that look amazing when you’re shopping arounf, but you actually don’t know what they’ll be like when they’re actually inside your house. Do yourself a favour and get a tile sample before committing to a particular tile.
Why? Well, say you find a tile that you really like, so you take a sample, but then you find it’s a little too slippery when it gets wet –thanks to having that sample tile you’ve avoided wasting your money and avoided creating a slippery zone in your home.
Having tile samples will help you avoid choosing a tile that doesn’t suit your aesthetic and will also be the most practical fit for your home.
Ordering too little
We’ve often seen homeowners tackle DIY tiling projects, and when they’re almost done, they run out of tiles. While this isn’t always a massive issue if the supplier has more stock of the same tile, what happens if they don’t? You’ll have to wait until more stock comes in.
To avoid this, triple-check your measurements or have a professional do it for you. Having to stop to purchase more tiles can be inconvenient and postpone completing your project.
Choosing price over quality
Tiles have become pretty affordable in recent years, but like most things, they range in quality and price. Often, the cheaper the product is, the lower its quality.
However, this isn’t always the case. Some tiles in the middle price range have a similar quality to premium tiles. In the end, you don’t want to sacrifice quality for affordability.
Cheaper tiles could be prone to cracking and breaking, whereas better quality tiles might have a higher strength and durability rating.
Rather pay for quality so that you have tiles that’ll last than have to replace tiles in the next few months.
Not consulting a professional
Tiling isn’t the most complicated task, and you can do it very well at home, but if you’ve never done it before, getting an expert involved is advisable. If you’re choosing tiles all by yourself, there’s a good chance you may choose the wrong type of tile for the specific job.
Having a professional you can consult means that you’ll have someone who will know exactly what type, style and size of tile would suit what you’re going for.
Choosing the wrong grout colour
Choosing the right tiles is only one part of the process. You also need to choose the right grout to match the tiles you’ve bought. For instance, a red, clay-coloured grout would be quite the contrast if you were using it with white tiles, wouldn’t it?
While these kinds of things are subjective to people’s preferences, some people get caught up by choosing the wrong grout colour when they just grab any grout off the shelf without checking it first.
Not sealing your tiles
Certain tiles, like porcelain or granite tiles, are fairly waterproof, meaning that they wouldn’t necessarily need to be sealed. The grout, on the other hand, might have small air pockets that would need sealing, so you’d need to seal them anyway.
Forgetting to seal your tiles could cause moisture to build up, which could cause them to weaken or develop mould. A simple tile sealing spray would be ideal.
Final Thoughts
The easiest way to find the right tiles is to get advice from an expert, as they’ll be able to help you consider everything from style to sizing and function and help you avoid those common mistakes that most people make when attempting to DIY their tiling project – but that’s not to say you can’t do it by yourself either.
If you do want to do everything yourself, remember to avoid the mistakes that so many others have made. Happy tiling!
