Anyone had Homogeneous tiles for Living Room?

[terrapin]

Hi Sharon,

Personally, I don't think there are any differences any more. There are some china homogeneous tiles that are of very good quality, while there are some tiles from italy or spain that are not so good...

My advice is that to select the tiles that you like, and not get italian tiles just because they are from italy. In fact, the tiles manufacturer in China has been using the technology from Europe for a long time already, and they can do it cheaper.

 

[khoosm]

Is there homogeneous tiles from Taiwan? My ID quote me $4.50 for a piece.

 

[afcai]

Hi bertbert,
never heard abt that tiles are fr taiwan but only heard those fr italy, spain or china only. but yr is quite expensive.

Hi sharon,
maybe u go around other shop which sell tiles(eg Harbour front) and ask around.

 

[terrapin]

Hi bertbert,

How big are the pieces? Is it for the living room? Would think that it's quite cheap if they are at least 500 x 500 mm. It's expensive if they are only 300 x 300 mm.

 

[sharon__joseph]

Thanks afcai & terrapin! i went to my contractor's showroom and when i take off my shoes i feel that the edges of homogenous tiles has some 'cutting' feeling... i m not sure if i m too sensitive but my contractor told me that is not avoidable because of the nature of the tiles & the butt joints... like to check with you guys who did homogenous tiles in living room, how extreme (cutting effect) are yours? thanks!

 

[terrapin]

Hi Sharon,

I think it is the characteristics of homogeneous tiles to have this "cutting" feeling. However, it may be made worst at the contractor's showroom as they don't usually cement the tiles at showrooms. Hence, the tiles would be uneven, and may even move when you step on them.

How bad the "cutting" feeling is will depend on the skills of the tiler. My tiler was able put my homogeneous tiles very close together, so much so that you can't really see the gap from a few meters away. The tiler also mentioned that he will fill the gap with some silicone material up to the same level of the top surface of the tiles. All this is still in progress, hence I can only tell you the results after a few weeks.

 

[sharon__joseph]

Thanks Terrapin... i think i will state very specific in my contract with the renovator that i do not accept any 'cutting' feeling & if there is unevenness in the tiles, they have to remedy it until my satisfaction if not they have to redo until no cutting feeling... its really dangerous to walk on u know! ...

 

[afcai]

Hi Sharon,

Yup, what terrapin said is correct - the tiles at the showrm is not cement together, that's why you got that "cutting" feeling. It's depend on the workmanship of the contractor.

for mine, the tiles are quite ok done, I don't have the 'cuting' feeling when I walked between the tiles. but the 'cutting' feeling will be seen at the corner, for eg, the edge. I just used the sand paper to 'mo pin'(smoothen it) and then they would not be that sharp.

NB: for info, the flooring for my whole house is done with homo tiles.

 

[tngkcw]

Hi anybody know what to use to mop and maintain the shine of homogenous tiles in living room?

 

[afcai]

acc to my contractor, he said just do regular mopping the floor with water(soem detergent will 'eat' into the tile) only will make yr homo shine.

 

[p2me1a]

hey galz,

do u know if after the tiles are laid, do the contractor polish the tiles???

ours lay already, then think they polish - but never polish properly - can see lines of 'polished well' and 'not polished well'... so I told my ID to get them to re-polish...

but the response is that "It's like that one... you mop a few times then will shiny lioaz..."

I want to know if you guys had that problem too? Cos I thought when they just lay and polish - the homo tiles would look very shiny - not with strips of shiny and not shiny... (also dunno how to explain... will try to take picture tonight and post it up... )

dunno if ID is trying to 'escape' doing rectification works...

pst

 

[misswho]

I have homo tiles too...and they have not acid wash the place. According to ID, he said he will clean the place up too....

 

[afcai]

Hi pst,
Yes, after the titles have been lay, the cotnractors will acid wash the tiles. same here, mine still got those clody effect when they finish the flooring. according to them, they said, it is a layer of wax on the tile, after sometimes, it will wear off.

so it proves to be right, it's been a few months since my reno has completed, my tiles do not contain those cloudy effect.

you are right, they will tell u that ' u step a few time, it will wear off".

yr problem is the same as mine.

Hi misswho,
better ask the ID when he wanted to acid wash before yr fridge and washing machine arrived.the acid wash is FOC.

 

[p2me1a]

hi afcai,

wah after a few months then go off ah???

but I wouldn't describe mine as 'cloudy' leh - it has like stripes - like you have those brushes with some parts no 'teeth' like that...

anywayz, I make noise, so they yesterday went to polish again and it's much better now... at least only the portions nearer the shoe cabinet not polished well... wld try mopping that side to see if it really goes off after a few mops...

hey when they say Acid Wash entire apartment - they wash EVERYTHING including the windows and walls etc??? coz my ID claims that acid wash is actually ONLY for the floor...

pst

 

[afcai]

Hi pst,
Acid Wash applied to flooring only lah NO everything.

yup, see how yr flooring goes as day passed by, the 'stripes' will fade off eventually after stepping or mopping regularly.

 

[p2me1a]

hi afcai,

wow! if what you say is true for my case as well - then this is one of the rare times that my ID actually telling me the truth!? the thing is, our relationship already quite strained coz they kept giving us a whole load of BS - until we dun trust them at all...

hiaz... sad that this has to happen lah but... *rolls*eyes*... ah well...

pst

 

[misswho]

oh yah afcai, thks for reminding! (never tot of that)

my appliances will only come end of Feb, and he promised to finish my hse by end of Jan. That I think its impossible!

 

[afcai]

Hi pst,
that's what my case is lah. at least, I dun seem to believe it also. but now, my homo tiles quite shiny as compare before.

what do you mean by yr ID give u a load of BS? what does BS mean?

Hi misswho,
u are welcome.

 

[guy]

heeee afcai

I think BS means...... BULLSH** ??

Unless I am wrong here...

 

[p2me1a]

hahahaha yes RT is correct...

pst

 

[bookworm]

yo pst

how have u been?
Anyway i got paint stain on my black tiles in the toilet , u think i shld use thinner?

 

[p2me1a]

yo bookworm!!!

long time no see!

check your IM!

pst

 

[afcai]

Hi RT(guy),
thks for explaining. Bingo, u guess correctly.

Hi pst,
sometimes, ID/contractor will talk till like real, keep empty promises.

 

[p2me1a]

yeah lor - am so tired of dealing with the ID... am so glad it's almost over...

pst

 

[nelle]

was wondering is there such thing/term call unpolished homo tiles? i would like the matt look.

 

[miloice]

Hi nelle,

there are tiles with matt surfaces. There are also the wood like tiles in the market. You may want to check them out. However, matt surfaces tend to get dirty easily.

 

[afcai]

it takes time to get rid the powdery feeling on the floor for almost half a year.one has to keep mopping. this also applied to my homo tiles.

 

[roxyz]

no wonder my tiles always feel like they are not clean .....and powdery...thanks!!

 

[ahmei]

hi anyone knows how to rid stains from homogeneous tiles?
do u find that the tiles "eat" stains easily?
pls help! Thanks

 

[hakida]

hey me and my SIL have homogeneous tiles.We will just talking ealier on about our tiles.She mentions that her house also have these staining problems which she can't get rib off.
Luckyily for me,my tiles don't seem to have these problems.
I think homo tiles come with diff brand brand and quality,therefore each tiles varies.

 

[afcai]

u are right, homogeneous tiles consists of italy, china etc brand. therefore, prices are also varies depending on quality. normally, ppls will do normal type of homogeneous tiles which come fr china.

 

[poisson]

Hi, i have notice a layer of matt surface on those new homo tiles that i have not laid for my living room. Was wondering how can we remove that surface and make it gloss cos my id told me homo tiles cannot be polished only acid wash. As i got to lay additional homo tiles to my living room, I am afraid there might be contrast to those that are laid as they were very glossy.

 

[ws820l]

heard that the matt layer is actually a layer of wax to protect the tiles before laying. Usually the tiles will need to go through chemical was to remove the was layer. Thereafter, it will turns glossy. Unless you order matt homo tiles. Then, may be different case.

mostly heard about stain problem on homo tiles. any idea to remove stuborn stains on homo tiles ?

 

[vince]

Try not to use chemical wash pls... the wax can be easily removed with turpentine. Acid wash can tarnish the tiles.

Actually its really difficult to stain homo/porcelain tiles unless they have been neglected. When buying homo/porcelain tiles, the better quality ones will be harder to stain. This can be checked by asking for test reports or manufacturer's specs. The water absorption rate should be less than 0.5% to qualify.

 

[jozy]

Try using magic sponge. I managed to get stains out from my tiles.

 

[raistlin]

Anyone has problems with the grouting (spaces between tiles) of homogeneous tiles? Mine has gone rather greyish due to dirt even though I clean regularly. It seems that the grouts traps dirt easily.

 

[hello88]

Hi ras

dun worry. Go get the stain remover from Home-fix or any hardware shop. It works terrific for the grout.

 

[raistlin]

Hi sunnyday,
Do you know what is the brand of the stain remover? I tried one grout cleaner before but it doesn't work. Do I have to scrub very hard to remove the stain?

 

[hello88]

Hi ras,

Its a red solution. Brand is Sunshine. Nope, u just need to apply it over the stain, leave for a few minutes and use a toothbrush to brush then wipe it clean.

 

[raistlin]

Hi sunnyday,
Thanks a lot!!! I'll look out for it.

 

[sjen]

Hi all,

I wanted to hacked away the current ceramic tiles (resale flat) to change into homo tiles. Was rather surprise when the contractor advised that the china made tiles might cause some problems in future. She actually advised me to retain the existing tiles. According to her, the china made ones are cheaper cos they are porcelain based. This however made them water absorbing and susceptible to stains. Also they are relative new to the market and the long term effect of the tiles has not been verified. According to her tile supplier, it is highly possible that warping problems might occur after 5 years, especially if the gaps between the tiles are v narrow when laying them. To minimize the risk would be to lay them with a bigger gap.

I wonder of this is true. Anyone?

 

[raistlin]

sjen,
My contractor also mentioned that the tiles may warp, especially the larger tiles. The gap between my tiles are also wider. That is probably why the grout (gaps between tiles) gets dirty easier and it is really obvious since my tiles are beige colour. Now I am trying to clean the grout because it gives my visitors the impression that my floor is very dirty even though I mop regularly.

 

[vince]

Hi Sjen,

It is totally nonsense that porcelain tiles are cheap or susceptible to staining due to a high water absorption rate. It is important to note that the proper name for Homogenous tile is in actual fact Porcelain tile. Homogenous is just a local term to refer to tiles with a full porcelain body (meaning the pattern on the surface of the tile runs thru from the front to back of the tile). China tiles are cheaper as their labour and manufacturing cost are lower than those of Europe.

To Qualify as a porcelain/homogenous tile, the water absortion rate must be less than 0.5%. Ceramics tend to range between 2-13%. Also Porcelain tiles are alot stronger than ceramics. Ceramics tend to chip very easily as they are brittle compared to a porcelain tile which is suitable for a high traffic area like the living room. Ceramics are better suited in the bathroom where there is less human traffic.

It is unlikely for warping to occur after 5 years. Tiles are manufactured by a firing process in the oven hence no tile is 100% straight and will have some degree of warpage. The longer the tile, the tendancy to warp will be higher. However there are tolerance levels that can be applied to determine if the tile is overly warpped..

The tile will not warp if the tile are placed too closely. The recommended joint is between 1.5mm to 2mm. This is to prevent tiles from cracking due to structural movement that is not noticable.

 

[jgal]

From what i heard,it easier to lay the tiles if the gaps are bigger. the chances of the tiles being not leveled is smaller. So i am not sure if your ID is just giving some excuse .

 

[vince]

Concur with Jgal. Wider gaps do help to 'level' out the tiles. Just be sure that they are not too wide...(subjective). My other recommendation is not to use colour grout.. the cement itself or cement coloured grout is good enough. This will make stain marks alot less obvious. If you must use coloured grout, make sure u use some grout sealant to prevent the grout from being stained easily.

 

[afcai]

do request to ask yr contractor to give u some grout so that in the event if there is hole or gap then one can amend it oneself.

 

[sjen]

Hi Vince,

It reassuring to hear that. Anyway i just chose my tiles over the weekends. True enough, the spacer that the supplier recommended is about 2mm. He also explained that reason he mentioned that is bcos some owners insist to lay the homo tiles w/o any gap at all, and that is just asking for trouble.

 

[key_word07]

paisey to interupt...may i know how to mend the hole with the grout tat the contractor give? he gave us some..but i dunno how to do it?hehe

 

[afcai]

Hi *Twinkle Star*,
Try to mix a little bit of water with the grout. Then uee yr finger to patch up the gap/hole. Wait for a few mins, use a dry cloth to wipe off the excess ard the hole. Let it dry totally. it should help.

 

[piggy08]

Hi ras,

My homo tiles are in beige colour too. For the grout, what colour did u use?