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dirtydog · 01-09-2006, 06:16 PM

Ceramic Tiles in Thailand, first off let's start with the products available, Tiles come in 3 grades, "A", "B", and "C", "C" grade is the worst, the absolute pits, the best thing you can do with "C" grade tiles is to smash them up and make a Mosaic out of them, the color variation and size variation is so great that you really wouldn't want them on your floor or wall unless you was doing some weird modern art type of design where straight lines don't really matter, these are the junk of ceramic tile manufacturers and amazingly they sell quite well here in Thailand.

"B" Grade tiles are slightly better but hell is it really worth the saving of 50 pence per meter? why not go for the "A" Grade stuff?

Since the Recession in Thailand all grade "A" tiles are exported and now grade "B" tiles are labelled as Grade "A" for the Thai market, these aint so bad and I have seen a lot worse in some of the Aussie home improvements magazines, yep even in their full page advertisements, got to admit I was quite shocked and will scan the picture and post it.

Onto the real Grade "A" tiles before the reccession, now this room was tiled about 8 years ago, yes I know the grout looks shite but tomorrow I shall get my girlfriends toothbrush and bleach and show you how to clean your grout, anyway as you can see there are still size variations in the tiles, obviously with all tiles you will get slight color variations but this is minimal on Grade "A" tiles, So what should builders do with the oversized tiles, ie the one that is 4mm bigger than 6 other tiles? dump and absorb them in their cost? Get the customer to buy a few more boxes and listen to him whinge about the price? or just lay them? Don't forget this is worldwide not just Thailand.

3 Pictures of the same tile.

tiling

Thetyim · 01-09-2006, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirtydog

So what should builders do with the oversized tiles,

Take them back and change them.

I went back to the tile shop four times.
In the end I refused to take any tiles that did not come out of an unopened box. They were fobbing me off with other peoples rejects.
Got what I wanted in the end.

dirtydog · 01-09-2006, 06:48 PM

All the tiles I buy are from unopened boxes, it's bought as seen and each box states to expect variations in size and color.

dirtydog · 02-09-2006, 06:48 PM

Onto Grouting in Thailand, your tiles will generally need grouting, the best grout you can use to make the job look good has to be nearly the same color as your tiles, if you use a differant color it will highlight all the size variations, grouting tools in Thailand consist of the back end of an old flip flop chopped off of the main flip flop, by saying flip flops I mean the Thai National footwear, I might regrout my bathroom on Monday so that should make some good pictures.

Nice straight line on the tiles here.

To clean your tiles any bleach over 10 percent acid strength will do, a toothbrush is the best but my galfriend is here so I used the bog brush.

Yesterdays tile today.

As you can see it comes up pretty clean.

man with no head · 02-09-2006, 06:53 PM

Isn't it a bad idea to use smooth glossy tile for the floor? Seems like trouble if water get on them in terms of someone falling.

Looks nice but I think I would have rougher tiles in my home (if I end up tiling the floor...haven't decided yet what I'm going to use).

dirtydog · 02-09-2006, 06:57 PM

There is no water in this room so it wont get wet, although if it did get wet it would be like an ice skating rink

man with no head · 02-09-2006, 07:05 PM

Yeah, there were a few times I nearly broke my neck in my wife's family's house when the floor was somewhat damp after been cleaned following a large meal

Thetyim · 02-09-2006, 07:15 PM

Good timing DD

I have got to re-grout the downstairs bog this week.

Keep going, I'm listening.

man with no head · 02-09-2006, 07:58 PM

Are there many foreigners in Thailand catering to or supervising home building?

dirtydog · 02-09-2006, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by surasak

Are there many foreigners in Thailand catering to or supervising home building?

About 50 in Pattaya at least, no idea about other areas of Thailand though.

man with no head · 02-09-2006, 08:08 PM

So, not many? Is it a profession in high demand?

dirtydog · 02-09-2006, 08:17 PM

Difficult question that one, yes they are in demand but for what reason I don't know, they still need to use Thai staff and basic Thai materials, also a lot of the trades here have faded out in the UK and other first world countries and at that stage the staff know more than you, I think it generally comes down to trust, ie the farang builders don't live in wooden shacks and most wont do a runner with the first 200,000baht deposit they get on a job.

Marmite the Dog · 03-09-2006, 01:37 AM

I hope Farang builders are ok, oherwise I might have to have a rethink...

dirtydog · 03-09-2006, 05:15 PM

What to do with crappy grade "C" tiles? Here is a nice couple of pictures.

DrAndy · 03-09-2006, 06:51 PM

we often use the workers that are recommended by the tile sellers

we have had three lots, including granite and hand-made, and all have been well laid, almost perfect

RDN · 03-09-2006, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirtydog

..

OMG! You just gave me a headache. I hope that's the neighbour's floor.

Spin · 03-09-2006, 07:28 PM

Hey DD, whilst not quite on topic about tiling.....can you tell us more about a finishing that i am seeing more and more of.

It's like small chunks of broken up stone that is sprinkled onto cement.
The small chips are then troweled flat into the cement.
A kind of non slip rough like finish that is very safe and is normally used for step edges and step risers.
I never saw the material for sale anywhere.

Do you have any more info??

dirtydog · 03-09-2006, 07:32 PM

Would this be it OC?

Spin · 03-09-2006, 07:41 PM

^ yeah, thats the stuff.

Is it risky to use on large areas like that though?

Expensive m2?

dirtydog · 03-09-2006, 07:57 PM

This probably deserves a differant thread as it has it's good points and bad points, we try to get it between 10 and 15mm thick, any less than that and it aint gonna stick to good, this means using a lot of stone and lot's of iron oxide(colorant), reckon on 700baht per square meter.

01-09-2006, 06:16 PM	#1 (permalink)
dirtydog The Dog Last Online: Today 12:19 PM Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Pattaya Jomtien Posts: 44,952	Tiles and Tileing in Thailand Ceramic Tiles in Thailand, first off let's start with the products available, Tiles come in 3 grades, "A", "B", and "C", "C" grade is the worst, the absolute pits, the best thing you can do with "C" grade tiles is to smash them up and make a Mosaic out of them, the color variation and size variation is so great that you really wouldn't want them on your floor or wall unless you was doing some weird modern art type of design where straight lines don't really matter, these are the junk of ceramic tile manufacturers and amazingly they sell quite well here in Thailand. "B" Grade tiles are slightly better but hell is it really worth the saving of 50 pence per meter? why not go for the "A" Grade stuff? Since the Recession in Thailand all grade "A" tiles are exported and now grade "B" tiles are labelled as Grade "A" for the Thai market, these aint so bad and I have seen a lot worse in some of the Aussie home improvements magazines, yep even in their full page advertisements, got to admit I was quite shocked and will scan the picture and post it. Onto the real Grade "A" tiles before the reccession, now this room was tiled about 8 years ago, yes I know the grout looks shite but tomorrow I shall get my girlfriends toothbrush and bleach and show you how to clean your grout, anyway as you can see there are still size variations in the tiles, obviously with all tiles you will get slight color variations but this is minimal on Grade "A" tiles, So what should builders do with the oversized tiles, ie the one that is 4mm bigger than 6 other tiles? dump and absorb them in their cost? Get the customer to buy a few more boxes and listen to him whinge about the price? or just lay them? Don't forget this is worldwide not just Thailand. 3 Pictures of the same tile. tiling __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

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01-09-2006, 06:48 PM	#3 (permalink)
dirtydog The Dog Last Online: Today 12:19 PM Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Pattaya Jomtien Posts: 44,952	All the tiles I buy are from unopened boxes, it's bought as seen and each box states to expect variations in size and color.

02-09-2006, 06:48 PM	#4 (permalink)
dirtydog The Dog Last Online: Today 12:19 PM Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Pattaya Jomtien Posts: 44,952	Onto Grouting in Thailand, your tiles will generally need grouting, the best grout you can use to make the job look good has to be nearly the same color as your tiles, if you use a differant color it will highlight all the size variations, grouting tools in Thailand consist of the back end of an old flip flop chopped off of the main flip flop, by saying flip flops I mean the Thai National footwear, I might regrout my bathroom on Monday so that should make some good pictures. Nice straight line on the tiles here. To clean your tiles any bleach over 10 percent acid strength will do, a toothbrush is the best but my galfriend is here so I used the bog brush. Yesterdays tile today. As you can see it comes up pretty clean.

02-09-2006, 06:53 PM	#5 (permalink)
man with no head Somewhere Travelling Last Online: 11-08-2007 06:39 PM Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 5,162	Isn't it a bad idea to use smooth glossy tile for the floor? Seems like trouble if water get on them in terms of someone falling. Looks nice but I think I would have rougher tiles in my home (if I end up tiling the floor...haven't decided yet what I'm going to use).

02-09-2006, 06:57 PM	#6 (permalink)
dirtydog The Dog Last Online: Today 12:19 PM Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Pattaya Jomtien Posts: 44,952	There is no water in this room so it wont get wet, although if it did get wet it would be like an ice skating rink

02-09-2006, 07:05 PM	#7 (permalink)
man with no head Somewhere Travelling Last Online: 11-08-2007 06:39 PM Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 5,162	Yeah, there were a few times I nearly broke my neck in my wife's family's house when the floor was somewhat damp after been cleaned following a large meal

02-09-2006, 07:15 PM	#8 (permalink)
Thetyim ssshhhhh Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Mousehole Posts: 15,496	Good timing DD I have got to re-grout the downstairs bog this week. Keep going, I'm listening.

02-09-2006, 07:58 PM	#9 (permalink)
man with no head Somewhere Travelling Last Online: 11-08-2007 06:39 PM Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 5,162	Are there many foreigners in Thailand catering to or supervising home building?

02-09-2006, 08:08 PM	#11 (permalink)
man with no head Somewhere Travelling Last Online: 11-08-2007 06:39 PM Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 5,162	So, not many? Is it a profession in high demand?

02-09-2006, 08:17 PM	#12 (permalink)
dirtydog The Dog Last Online: Today 12:19 PM Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Pattaya Jomtien Posts: 44,952	Difficult question that one, yes they are in demand but for what reason I don't know, they still need to use Thai staff and basic Thai materials, also a lot of the trades here have faded out in the UK and other first world countries and at that stage the staff know more than you, I think it generally comes down to trust, ie the farang builders don't live in wooden shacks and most wont do a runner with the first 200,000baht deposit they get on a job.

03-09-2006, 01:37 AM	#13 (permalink)
Marmite the Dog ผู้เชี่ยวชาญเปล่า Last Online: Today 09:08 AM Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Simian Islands Posts: 31,874	I hope Farang builders are ok, oherwise I might have to have a rethink...

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03-09-2006, 05:15 PM	#14 (permalink)
dirtydog The Dog Last Online: Today 12:19 PM Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Pattaya Jomtien Posts: 44,952	What to do with crappy grade "C" tiles? Here is a nice couple of pictures.

03-09-2006, 06:51 PM	#15 (permalink)
DrAndy Oh Fuk Last Online: Today 10:35 AM Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: yes Posts: 13,461	we often use the workers that are recommended by the tile sellers we have had three lots, including granite and hand-made, and all have been well laid, almost perfect

03-09-2006, 07:28 PM	#17 (permalink)
Spin likes big jugs...... Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 10,963	Hey DD, whilst not quite on topic about tiling.....can you tell us more about a finishing that i am seeing more and more of. It's like small chunks of broken up stone that is sprinkled onto cement. The small chips are then troweled flat into the cement. A kind of non slip rough like finish that is very safe and is normally used for step edges and step risers. I never saw the material for sale anywhere. Do you have any more info??

03-09-2006, 07:32 PM	#18 (permalink)
dirtydog The Dog Last Online: Today 12:19 PM Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Pattaya Jomtien Posts: 44,952	Would this be it OC?

03-09-2006, 07:41 PM	#19 (permalink)
Spin likes big jugs...... Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 10,963	^ yeah, thats the stuff. Is it risky to use on large areas like that though? Expensive m2?

03-09-2006, 07:57 PM	#20 (permalink)
dirtydog The Dog Last Online: Today 12:19 PM Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Pattaya Jomtien Posts: 44,952	This probably deserves a differant thread as it has it's good points and bad points, we try to get it between 10 and 15mm thick, any less than that and it aint gonna stick to good, this means using a lot of stone and lot's of iron oxide(colorant), reckon on 700baht per square meter.