apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Tile Vault is a great idea but it's not working. When we "Go to All Tile Vault Posts" only three recent ones show up - there are at least four other great ideas that I would LOVE to be able to access again....

Just how much cheaper can they be? By any chance did you inquire as to who made them and what grout did they use. Thanks

Actually these small mosaic tile are considerably more expensive than normal sized ceramic tiles ... particularly to have laid, although they usually come on sheets, the grouting between all those small tiles takes an awful lot longer than the same space filled with larger tiles

I agree they are very nice though

This looks like authentic old tile. Are you suggesting it's newly laid? If so... bravo!

My entire apt floor is covered with these. I think they are fine for the grocery store, maybe even a bathroom, but I can't stand mine. It's very hard to make it look clean, I scrub and bleach and it doesn't even look like I mopped my floor at all. Also the floor has shifted over the years and the tile has some fairly large ridges, so I can't do a quick fix with the adhesive tiles. Any suggestions for covering over it? Is it possible to paint it?

My neighbors have this tile in a larger size in a matte finish in their bathroom and it looks fantastic.

EastVillageAmy, have you tried liquid wax after you clean your floor. My bathroom has very old tile, and after about a year of scrubbing it every weekend, only to have it look like crap a day later, someone told me that very old tile needs to be waxed after it is cleaned. I use Future wax, you just squirt it on & spread it with the mop and it dries in about 30 minutes -- it makes all the difference.

I'm a sucker for hexagonal tiles, esp. in bathrooms. While they're not going to gleam ever, they never *feel* as grungy under the feet and disgusting as vinyl, or carpet, or even bigger tiles.

I'm with East Village Amy (and also in the EV). I will definitely try the Future wax, so thanks for that tip! But if I ever have the say in what to use to tile a floor I will vote against anything that requires an extra step like that.

I'm also with the EastVillageArmy (although nowhere near it), and will definitely be trying the wax. It blows to clean the bejeezus out of your floor and have it still look dirty.

I am looking for tiles for a bathroom which I'm renovating. The apt is in a late art nuvoe/early art deco style. Built in 1929. Does anyone know if this would fit in with that style?

Thanks for the tip. Perhaps the wax will help a bit, but it's not so much that it looks dirty quickly, as it that it just never really looks evenly clean at all. But thank you for the suggestion.

My 1922 bathroom has the original white hex tiles. I've scrubbed with bleach, with peroxide, you name it. They still don't look perfect. Comet cleanser may be next.

I puffy heart hex tiles. My old apartment had them and I loved them!!!

LBhirise -- Don't waste your time on the Comet unless you just like the idea of using it. That won't get the dratted hex tiles clean either.

We had them in the bath of our 1926 apartment in San Francisco and they never looked evenly clean. Don't go overboard on bleach -- it will cause the tiles to deteriorate and they'll look even worse after a while. The genuine vintage tiles are unglazed, which is why they cling to dirt so effectively.

There are rumors that Mr. Clean Magic Eraser will get the tiles white-white, but I don't remember trying it myself.

Kristjana : I renovated my 1926 apt's bathroom floor with a small marble basketweave tile pattern with an indigo center. The walls are white subway tiles with an thin pencil shaped indigo horizontal tile stripe running around the perimeter. I love it and it suites the space. It was not cheap! But my bathroom is tiny so it seemed worth the splurge to have a little jewelbox. Although I did not use this source, here is an example of the pattern-

http://www.mosaicsdirect.com/Basketweave.html

And here are some other great ideas on their main page-

http://www.mosaicsdirect.com/Flooring.html

Kristjana: my building was built in 1930 and had these tiles.

Others with the tiles: yep, covering w/adhesive tiles doesn't always work. I can see a ridge in one of mine, and two others didn't go down quite right so you can see the space...eeek. I just haven't made it a priority (yet) to deal with.

I heart basketweave! I had Yellow and black in one apartment bathroom in my past. Swoon!

These are the exact tiles on the bathroom floor of my old apartment in Berkeley. I still have great love for that apartment.

It's also the same tile in the bathroom of the USS Pompanito, a WWII-era submarine moored at Pier39 in San Francisco.

My fiancee despises this tile.

Thanks guys for your help :)

I found some similar here http://www.luxetile.com/detail.aspx?ID=2823 and ordered a sample. The quality was really nice. I will send photos once it is installed.

we are a chinese factory making marble mosaic and stone mosaic tiles, please visit the website: www.marblemosaic.cn for more information of us or send e-mail to me: sales@marblemosaic.cn.