Buying Tile in Salt Lake

With our huge home remodel, I have willingly and excitedly learned as much as possible about tile.  Tile is a great flooring option for these reasons: you can install it yourself, saving money; there are a variety of price points--from $1 to $500 per square foot; it is durable; and you can easily customize the look of your floor (get out your geometry math skills).

Goforth Gill Architects

I started by visiting every tile store along 300 W in Salt Lake, telling the salesperson that I wanted to see their clearance area.  Here is how I felt about each store:

Bedrosians: you might need a decor/builder's license to buy here, great displays, organized, huge clearance selection, they sell expensive tile and this might be a great way to get nice stuff at clearance prices--for a small room or for accent tiles (like 10'x10')

Contempo: not a lot of clearance tile at all, great selection in general of tile, a neighbor used their hand-made Italian hexagon tile in her bathroom and loves it

Daltile: they have boxes of closeout tile in the back (outside), their displays are nice, you work with a sales person as soon as you walk in the door

Arizona Tile: great displays, cheerful staff, far away from 300 W, no clearance that I know of

Home Depot/Lowe's: great for the typical tiles that everyone else is buying, you can return your excess, no bargain basement prices, but great budget stuff

European Marble and Granite: piles of in-stock gorgeous high-end tile at clearance prices, no super cheap ceramic or porcelain tile like Tile for Less

Tile for Less: pile of in-stock bargain tile, tile that looks like wood, Michelle is amazing at helping you with designs and purchasing, avoid the other salesmen--they are goobers

Tile for Less on 2100 S and 350 W

EVERYONE IS DOING THE SMALL BLACK AND WHITE HEXAGON TILES.  Good or bad for you to copy?  It WILL date your house.

homebuildingaddition.com

Tile on the diagonal will be the test of a patient, loving husband.  Diagonal designs are easier to install if you put them inside a border. 

Newman and Wolen Design, LLC

This is where we are spoiled with new technology: tile that looks like wood.  No need to wring your hands over a washing machine/kitchen sink/fridge/toilet that leaked!

homeinteriorszone.com: wood-look-alike tile floor

EVERYONE IS ALSO DOING THE TUMBLED TRAVERTINE TILES.  It is porous and you have to seal it.

pacerconstruction.com

Tile stairs are slippery.

You can put tile right on top of concrete (basements).

You need backer board to support tile if you are installing over sub-floor (upper levels).

Don't let your husband choose the grout color.  Think about the grout color carefully.

Don't use white grout on a bathroom floor--too hard to clean.  There is supposed to be a product that is more like plastic if you must have white in between tiles.

villalagoontile.com

Good luck!