Lesson 101 Getting Tiles – How, where, what?

Tiles plays quiet an important role for the house as it’s what you almost step on every day.

There are a few basic common sense when it comes to picking tiles:

1. Toilet floor tiles are best to be slightly rough for anti-slip purpose
2. Bathing part of the toilet it’s best to choose darker tiles if you’re lazy to clean up the dirt 24/7
3. Living hall tiles are usually reflective as in glossy to create the sense of space. Some people do use wood style too, but that depends completely on your design.
4. Outdoor tiles are usually very rough for anti slip purpose as well. But modern homes don’t usually tile their outdoor anymore and they use cement.
5. Kitchen tiles should be those that are easy to clean and usually kitchen and bathroom is the place that you tile the whole space. And yes, the part you have cabinets should be tiled.
6. Best to choose less fancy tiles for indoor so that they’re easy to clean. Unless you have maid la.

Bad experience with Super Ceramic Bukit Puchong

I’ve posted this sometime back on the Facebook complaining about their tiles. The tiles came broken and we paid for better grade tiles but the tiles are all in bad shape.

I don’t advice you to go to this place and their customer service is terrible too.

Recap:

The sales person did not calculate the tiles properly as per sq ft given and few boxes of the tiles are broken either on the side or so (refer to photo). And they only replace half of the tiles after that we made a complaint.

Some of the tiles even have minor defects. We didn’t opt for low grade tiles which is prone to defects and colour issues, this is middle grade tiles which is supposed to be decent quality.

Speaking about the grade of the tiles, do you know that there’s different grade for tiles? Of course the more you pay then the better grade tiles you get in terms of the colour and also the quality.

Different grade for tiles

• Grade I: The weakest grade, these tiles are used only for interior wall applications.
• Grade II: Grade II tiles can withstand light traffic and are ideal for spaces like bathrooms and laundry rooms.
• Grade III: Grade III tiles are suitable for general residential applications and light-traffic commercial spaces and counter tops.
• Grade IV: Rated for commercial use, Grade IV tiles are durable and can handle a great deal of traffic, from hotel lobbies to stores. They can also be used in homes.
• Grade V: Manufactured for industrial use, Grade V tiles are the toughest and longest lasting tiles and can be used anywhere
• Credits: http://www.guocera.com.my/classic-tiles-malaysia/faq

What’s ceramic and what’s porcelain tiles?

Ceramic tiles are made from clay, sand, and other natural minerals. They’re extremely durable and are usually moisture, stain and wear resistant and very easy to clean and maintain.

Porcelain is actually a type of ceramic and made from finely grained porcelain clay and minerals. They are shaped and fired at temperatures higher than ceramics making them extremely solid and moisture resistant, more so than non-porcelain ceramic tiles. Porcelain has a water absorption rate below 0.5%.

Credits: http://www.guocera.com.my/classic-tiles-malaysia/faq

Where did we shop for our tiles

Niro granite factory outlet, Shah Alam.

Address: Lot 2, Persiaran Sultan, Section 15, 40200 Shah Alam, Selangor

You can find some cheap factory outlet tiles or items with minor defects here if you want to save some money. But the ones in the show room ain’t cheap at all.

Sing Mee Ko (Section 51A)

18, Jalan Penchala, Seksyen 51, 46050 Petaling Jaya

The type of tiles according to the design we picked

Usually if you purchase above certain amount, the shipping should be free. And don’t expect immediate delivery as some of them do not keep stocks in their shop. You will need to wait up to 1-2 weeks for them to bring over the tiles from the factory. Do plan ahead with this.

Budget

Our house is about 1300sqft in total and you can have a reference for the breakdown of the tiles as below. We did not use any tiles for the porch area which is about 400sqft.

Qty	Paid
Living & Dining tiles	1083
Toilet tiles	1989.6
Room tiles	2115
Kitchen tiles	1561
Extra tiles – Super Ceramic	633
Extra tiles – sin mee co	419.50
Total	7801.10

Till then, I shall figure out what should I write next about house renovation 🙂 and thanks for reading the guide.