b & q ramsay black polished tiles ?

[george07]

i have seen some ramsey black polished ceramic tiles 500 x 500mm in b & q that have caught my eye to lay on my kitchen dining room floor of approx 25 sq metres in the form of an l shape..the floor does require some self levell compound in the middle where there is a dip which i will sort out and there is a slight ridge in the concrete flr where a wall has been taken down seperating to rooms..apart from that the floor is pretty much flat.
as i want a hard wearing floor for the long term would black polished tiles be ok ? or maybe prone to scratiching or showing up dirt etc more so than other tiles you pros may reccomend to me..the tiles was £15 per sq metre but are on special offer at present until thursday at £10 per sq metre any opinions on laying this type of tile or its quality before i commit and decide to purchase much appreciated cheers again guys

 

[Richard C]

I can't find them on the B&Q website, have you got a link? Are you sure they aren’t polished porcelain tiles or are you just referring to the appearance & they are high gloss ceramic glazed tiles! What thickness are they?

£15 sq/m is pretty cheap for large format tiles let alone £10; sometimes this is a reflection on the quality but cheap tiles can be OK. You need to watch out for manufacturing tolerance, it may be within guidelines but if there is a large tolerance differential in the tile batch or if the tiles are cupped they are going to be a pig to lay & large format tiles will require a very flat tile base if they are to look good. Don’t even think about having white grout lines in a kitchen.

 

[tpt]

also keep any eye on batch numbers - if they are on sale make sure they are all they same before you leave the shop and buy 3m2 more than you need - you can always take them back, but if your short and they are on sale they may not be obtainable after the sale.

 

[george07]

yeah cheers guys few pointers to consider there...i seen them in store yesterday but havent looked on website as yet for them ...i just read black ramsay polished tiles tbh not exactly sure if ceramic or porcelain js presumed ceramic which are the better quality guys what is the difference cheers..i will try get to b & q again today to get all the details etc + what is the most common floor tile hard wearing that you guys lay cheers again

 

[tpt]

porcelain are harder wearing - if your interested in the boring details....
http://www.tradepricetiles.co.uk/man-made-tile-types

highly polished tiles, depending on what they are made of can be very hardwearing (im talking about porcelain here really) but be aware they can be slippy when wet or if just wearing socks and can be a bugger to keep clean as they show every mark.

 

[george07]

richard yes they are polished porcelain black tiles 10mm i think approx although will need to check this..does the thickness make that much difference...and if they are 10mm is this an adequate thickness cheers
also im sure they will look very smart layed but should the easy scratching surface put you/me off from buying them etc as i plan to live in the house im renovating myself for a few yrs although let it out for the long term after that...once scratched is there a decent cleaning product on the market that removes the grazes scratches etc..& finally what sort of tile adhesive should i use of good quality reasonably priced..cheers again guys

 

[Richard C]

I only asked what thickness to ensure they were suitable for floors; 10mm is fine. Porcelain is very hard wearing & I think you need to be more worried about laying the tiles than scratching them afterwards; it will not scratch easily unless you’re prone to dancing on them in hob nail boots. If they do scratch, the only way your going to remove the scratches is to re-polish them which may not be viable & will be expensive. They will be more difficult to cut than ceramic & I would advise you invest in a diamond wheel wet tile cutter; relying on a manual cutter may give unacceptably high breakages but depends on the tiles. I see the rooom is L shape, what are the room sizes? Is the slab continuious under where the wall was removed or is it laid as two separate slabs with a joint. You may need an expansion joint & possiby an uncoupling membrane if it’s laid as two separate slabs.

Just to reiterate TPT, they will show every mark unless your cleaning technique is perfect. They will be slippery when wet & even dry in stockined feet, not ideal from a safety aspect in a kitchen & they will show every mark unless your cleaning is meticulous.

Use only quality trade cement powder adhesive BAL, Granfix, Ardex, Mapei (but not the stuff in BNQ) etc. you mostly get what you pay for with this stuff so don’t be tempted by cheap own brand & DIY materials, they are mostly crap. If your tiling over an SLC use a flexible addy & grout. It’s important there are no air voids under the tiles so use a large format trowel - 20mm round notches, 13mm deep, at 28mm centres.

Polished porcelain will generally need sealing with a quality impreganator sealer but check with the manufactureer, some tiles are pre-seled. If in doubt, test with a permanent marker pen, leave to dry & wipe off with white spirit, any ghosting from the mark & you should seal.

Tiling isn’t rocket science but choosing ½ metre square tiles for what appears to be your first tiling job is rather a bold step. Large tiles require a very flat tile base to avoid unevenness & excessive lippage which will be magnified by light reflection in the case of polished tiles. There are still many things that can catch you out & I would advise you read the Tiling Sticky & Forum Archive posts before doing any more work or buying materials, it could prevent you making disastrous & potentially expensive mistakes.

 

[inspectorgadget123]

for £10 it must be pretty bad quality.

these are nice http://www.tilehq.co.uk/products/starlight-quartz-black-300-600-special-offer.html

 

[tpt]

hmm - smells a bit on the spammy side that...

so your comparing a £10m2 tile with a £50m2 tile and stating that its better quality???

 

[george07]

inspector they have been £15 for ages ive seen them in store several times and was going to buy them at that price but even more likely to do so now as just want decent enough quality tiles reasonably priced as i plan to let the house when i move to a bigger house..etc

 

[george07]

bought a pack of these black romsey polished tiles from b & Q today & laid them out on the floor to be tiled...they look fine & good enough quality for what i want although as they are polished & very shiny it does concern me as to how they will fair as a long term very hard wearing floor ? as i do plan to let this house out within 3/5 yrs...would the be easily prone to scratching when lets say tables are moved about washing machines fridges for cleaning etc amonst other things..if they are incorrect tile for my project for this reason besides looking good i will have to consider another type of tile..any thoughts opinions guys..cheers again

 

[george07]

or if you would advise against laying these what type of tile would you recomend cheers

 

[Richard C]

I don’t really know what else to add other than reiterate what’s already been said. Porcelain is very hard wearing but how it will fair very much depends on how you use/abuse it. Being black & high gloss, it will show marks more readily & light reflection at certain angles will show up any minor misalignment errors made when they were laid. As for cleaning & moving general household furniture around, this shouldn’t cause problems if the tiles are correctly laid but I would not advise you shove a heavy washing machine or fridge with steel feet across any tiled floor without protecting it.

 

[george07]

yeah ok richard just a ls minute decision to buy them or not as the offer is on until 20th oct...they should be ok cheers

 

[IJWS15]

Was in yesterday, they are 4 for 3 now.