How to know where my bathroom tile came from?
September 14, 2016 2:29 PM   Subscribe

Damage was done to two tiles and they need to be replaced. But how?

Just moved to this place and the tile was completely brand spankin new. Remodeled by previous owner for selling. Well, due to an incident two of the tiles need replacement already. I've tried contacting the broker that sold the place to see if he can find out from the previous owner, but so far no cigar.

The tiles are Porcelain 2 ft x 2ft so they are very large tiles. Do all companies make tiles this size? Am hoping to narrow down the search a bit. All I know is the tile is made in china cause it says so behind one of the pieces. But that's probably not much help. Any ideas? The tiles are white and have some light greyish marks that give them a sort of marble look.
posted by olivetree to Home & Garden (8 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Can you contact the seller directly? I was contacted by the buyer a year later about a fence issue. I just sent them the info. Easy peasy.
posted by cairnoflore at 2:31 PM on September 14, 2016


If you can't contact the previous owner, I'd just go and look at the big box stores nearby and see if you happen across the match. If they remodeled just for selling it is unlikely they choose some special order stuff.
posted by sulaine at 2:41 PM on September 14, 2016 [3 favorites]


Is it this? Which is to say, if it's a recent remodel, I would also recommend looking at the big box stores, 24x24 inch tile.
posted by purple_bird at 2:53 PM on September 14, 2016


There are dozens if not hundreds of tiles that fit your description, and that's just the styles that are on offer right now. Styles frequently get discontinued; there's a lot of churn. If they're brand new, do you have any record of who did the work? Like, what contractor or tilesetter did the job? If they're really new the work might even still be under warranty (though you might not be covered in this case) so it's in your interests to know who did it. It's going to be pretty hard to figure out otherwise, though you might have luck taking a fragment of a broken tile, plus a photo of the intact tiles, to a tile showroom and asking there. Assuming it's not a Home Depot Special or something like that, they'll be familiar with many of the most common lines.

Keep in mind that even if you do find out what it is, a perfect match may be impossible. Even within the same make, line, and color of tile the dye lots will differ over time and the colors will shift slightly. You may be able to get close, but perfection might be unattainable.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 3:50 PM on September 14, 2016 [3 favorites]


Take a good photo, and contact a tile distribution company or visit a showroom of a distributor. They will have access to many different tile companies' samples and might be able to match it, or at the very least, point you to something very similar.
posted by suedehead at 6:57 PM on September 14, 2016 [3 favorites]


If you haven't already, check around the house to make sure no extra tiles were left behind by the previous owner. When I moved into my current home in 2011, we found extra tile in the basement, and I also have extra tile from a recent bathroom reno that I'll leave for the next owner.
posted by EKStickland at 8:28 PM on September 14, 2016 [6 favorites]


Stickland's suggestion is excellent, and if you haven't done a thorough search yet then you should. It's normal for any tile left over after a job to be given to the homeowner, for them to keep against just such a situation as yours. It gets around the dye lot issue as well, since leftover tile will be from the same batch as the rest of the tile on the floor.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:47 AM on September 15, 2016


Response by poster: Yeah we have two bathrooms and there was some extra tile left... but only from the bathroom that doesn't need replacement of course. Because life sucks that way. :) And we don't know where that other tile is from either. As there's no marking in the back except for something that seems to say ZD 2. But that's a completely different color than the tile in the upstairs bathroom. It's the same large size and material though so might be from the same company.

In both bathrooms the same 24 x 24 porcelain tile is not only on the walls, but also on the floors. Does this make a difference? Do all companies have floor/wall tiles that are 24 x 24 or is that a niche?

@purple bird No that's not it, ours has much more subtle and fewer grey streaks than that. But thank you for the effort.
posted by olivetree at 5:05 PM on September 15, 2016


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