We always receive questions about how to make “clean” cuts to glass tiles which is why we often talk about that subject on our Blog. Making cuts to various types of glass tiles requires the use of different types of tools and one should know when to use one tool or another when installing their glass tiles. Read on and we will explain the difference in tool choices when planning one’s tile project.

Making cuts to glass subway tiles and glass mosaic tiles requires the use of different tools for a successful tile job. Making cuts to glass mosaic tiles is easier done by using glass tile nippers made for glass tiles to achieve a clean and smooth cut on the glass mosaic pieces. If one were to try to cut these glass tiles on a tile saw, the water from the tile saw often is not kind to the mesh on glass mosaic tiles and second, it is difficult to have the mosaic tiles remain in place on a tile wet saw so a clean and accurate cut can be made.

For glass subway tiles, we strongly recommend the use of a glass tile blade on a tile wet saw designed specifically for making cuts to glass tiles. A glass tile blade contains finer diamonds than what is found on a blade made for porcelain or ceramic tiles. A glass tile blade will cut glass subway tiles “like butter” and will result in clean, smooth cuts that are necessary for a problem free installation.

We supply glass tile blades in both a 7” and a 10” size and each size is in stock and ready for shipment to your door. If you have any questions on making cuts to glass tiles with any of our glass tile blades feel free to give us a call and we will offer our assistance in any way we can.

We have had a few questions about our new Cottage Lane subway tiles and specifically, whether we make a bullnose piece to match in size with our 2” x 4” tiles. That is a good question and the answer is no, however, we do have a solution for those wishing to install our 2” x 4” tiles and use bullnose pieces as the trim piece.

We make a 3” x 6” bullnose piece to go with our Cottage Lane subway tiles and we recommend that customers can simply cut an inch off of the 6-inch (length) side of this piece thus creating a 2” wide piece of bullnose. Very simple to do and it only adds one small step to the installation process.

Hopefully this answers at least one of the Cottage Lane product questions which we have been getting. If you have any other questions that we have not answered either on our website or on our Blog, please either send us an email or just give us a call and we would be happy to help.

As always, we appreciate your business and your support.

Last week we debuted our new Cottage Lane Subway tiles on our website and we are very pleased that the tiles are finally here. We have been working on these tiles for some time now and we have made countless product modifications through the design process to arrive at the final product which you see on our website.

Our Cottage Lane Subway tiles are available in two sizes in a 3” x 6” and a 2” x 4” tile size and each size is available with a standard Flat edge or a Beveled edge. There are also three colors available which are Snowflake White, Summer Beige, and Almond. We hope to one day introduce new colors as the collection grows and we receive feedback from our clients on what colors are most desirable..

For those potential customers looking for Subway tiles we ask you to order samples of our Cottage Lane subway tile series and compare our tiles with any subway tile on the market. Unlike the wafer thin subway tiles that are common elsewhere, our tiles come on a thick double-fired ceramic body which is glazed using some of the finest equipment in the tile industry. These attributes together produce what we feel is one of the finest quality subway tiles on the market, all at very affordable pricing for most any project budget.

Call or email us anytime for answers to any questions you may have about our products. We look forward to working with our clients looking to add the beautiful look of subway tiles to their homes.

We wanted to share these pictures from a project that was recently completed by one of our customers and who was kind enough to send over photos for us to share. The client used our Solana 3 x 6 Beveled Glass Subway tile in the color Cappuccino after considering several options for her remodeled kitchen.

In the end, she went with the Cappuccino color since this color matched her paint color best and blended well with the cabinets and fixtures. We hear that the beveled look of the glass really does add a unique dimension to our client’s kitchen project and the tile has been the source of “many wonderful compliments” from friends and family who have visited the home.

We urge any potential customers to give consideration to our beveled glass subway tile when considering subway tile or glass tile for your kitchen and / or bathroom tile project. You will be quite pleased with the results.

With the holiday rush coming the calls have started and this question is at the top of the list. I know we have run this subject in our posts before but it doesn’t hurt to repeat the fact that anytime you use Beveled tiles you must use a quarter round trim to finish off any exposed edges. Nuff said!

This is the time of year when we always receive frantic calls from clients wanting to order and have their tile shipped immediately for the contractor who is practically on his way to the client’s house. With the holidays around the corner most folks are trying to get their tile in, installed and completed before the Turkey hits the dining room table.

We always answer the same this time of year when we receive the “can you rush my tile calls” and say that the time to order is now because for in-stock orders we like to have 24 – 48 hours to process and ship an item before sending it on it’s way. For items that are not in stock the deadline has already passed to take delivery prior to Thanksgiving however there is still time to have the tile before Christmas if your order is placed right away.

Here are the Top 3 customer problems we encounter when a customer is rushing to complete their tile project:

1.) Not enough tiles ordered: in the haste to get the order in and shipped, inevitably there was a mis-measurement of the project area or even an area forgotten and the amount of tile ordered is not enough

2.) Trim pieces when required are not ordered (forgot) or the amount ordered is short of what is actually needed. Be sure to measure the surface area and the edge areas properly so you have enough trim on site to complete the job

3.) Placing the order without receiving the measurements from the contractor and then finding out later that a trim piece or a decorative piece is needed to complete a job. Get together with your contractor now and discuss all of the items needed to properly complete your job. This will save having to place a second order and even incurring shipping costs on orders below our Free Shipping threshold of $299

We look forward to working with everyone who will be sprucing up their Home for the Holidays. Call us anytime for questions or assistance on placing your order and we would be happy to help.

As always, we appreciate your business and your support!

We spoke to a client recently about installing paper-faced tiles and she brought up a point that we don’t talk enough about so I wanted to cover it in our Blog today. This applies mostly to the DIY’ers out there who will be installing their own material.

When installing paper-faced mounted tiles such as our Kawaii glass mosaic tiles, care needs to be taken during the installation process when setting the tile in to the adhesive. Since the tiles are paper-faced mounted, the paper should be removed from the face of the tile when the adhesive is cured enough to hold the tiles in place in the mortar, yet not too cured so no adjustments to the tiles can be made as the installation progresses.

When to remove the paper from the face of the tile depends on a number of factors including the weather and how hot or cold it is at the location where the tiles are being installed, what type of mortar adhesive is being used and how long the mortar takes to “set up”. Trial and error is the name of the game and installing paper-faced mounted tiles has been and can be installed by DIY’ers and Tile pro’s alike.

Paper-faced mosaic tiles have been around for years and they serve their purpose for some mosaic tiles vs. others. Feel free to give us a call anytime if you have questions about installing your Kawaii glass mosaic tiles.

We are probably biased but we believe our Elements decorative ceramic tiles offer one of the most beautiful opportunities to add unique design and color to any area of the home. Our patterns such as the Tubac and Clifton tiles when placed together show a beautiful continuous pattern that immediately will bring attention and a focus to any area where the tiles are installed.

The Elements decorative ceramic tiles work well as wainscoting in a kitchen or bathroom area. And one of the more popular uses of these tiles has been as an accent wall in a home or commercial location. Our customers tell us that they are delighted with how well the Elements tiles transform an area and how eye-catching the designs are when installed over a large area.

For those considering any of our Elements tiles please contact us before ordering. We would love to have more photos of any completed Elements projects and we would be willing to discount any larger Elements tile orders in exchange for nice photos of the completed project.

We wanted to share a photo of a recent tile installation from one of our customers who used our Solana Glass Mosaic tiles in 1 inch by 1 inch for their kitchen project. We thought the kitchen came out wonderful and the colors of the Meadow blend really do coordinate well with the customer’s kitchen environment.

We thought that the colors in the Meadow glass mosaic tile blend really bring out the colors in the kitchen. You say, what are you talking about since the counters are charcoal/black and the cabinets are white. Precisely our point. If one tries to coordinate colors exactly either with the cabinets or the counters you will never be able to have a good color match simply because each component in the area comes from a different manufacturer and every manufacturer has their own color charts.

Choosing a different but a complimentary color to ones cabinets and counters can often bring out the colors in a kitchen or bath because all of the different components coordinate and work well together. Keep these points in mind when choosing colors in your kitchen or bath and you will be happy that you did.

Given that summer is just around the corner and pool season is coming fast we know that a lot of our customers have been working feverishly to complete their pool and other outdoor projects in order to be ready for the summer swim season. For this reason we want to remind those of you who might be working with a contractor or pool company, make sure that when installing tiles as a water line decoration in your swimming pool your contractor does the following:

* uses an anti-fracture membrane to prep the surface before installing any tiles

* installs the tiles using expansion joints to allow for settling and any “flex” in the concrete. Installing expansion joints is very important especially when installing glass tiles in a pool area

Following proper installation procedures will ensure your tiles last for many years without any problems to speak of.