In the next several weeks our customers will have the opportunity to choose coordinating glass mosaic tile blends in a 1” x 1” size in colors to match many of our Solana Glass Subway tile colors. We have created a mix of blends colors to match many of our glass subway tiles as well as blends colors, well, which we just happened to like how they looked together.

The blends will be in stock and will be priced at a level that makes their purchase affordable for most remodeling budgets out there. Our customers have been asking us for more glass mosaic tile choices and we think you will be pleased with what you see when the material is ready. Check back with our Blog often at the beginning of the year when we hope to run a few deals on our new glass mosaic tile blends to get the ball rolling with our new products

We often get asked what size grout joints should be used with our Solana Glass Subway Tile. In our opinion most subway tile installations look much cleaner and are more “true to the material” when the grout joints are spaced as tightly as is technically possible with your chosen tile. Glass Subway tile comes in many shapes and sizes so our answer in this case will apply mostly to our brand of Solana Glass Subway tile.

Glass is such a modern and contemporary look most interior designers will tell you that when designing with material that fits in to a modern theme it is best to showcase the primary material as much as is possible and to minimize any distractions to the eye which may take away from the look you are trying to achieve.

We recommend installing our Solana glass subway tiles using a 1/8” grout joint which is about as close as is technically safe to install this type of tile. Choose a grout color that coordinates with the tile and you will have a beautiful installation that will draw loads of compliments from all of your friends. For more ideas on how our tiles may look in a kitchen or bathroom like yours, have a look at the installation photos for this tile under the more photos area from the Solana Glass Subway tile page.

We often hear the question from our customers about what trim piece should be used when installing ceramic beveled subway tile in one’s home. This question is an easy one to answer though not so obvious to those who may be tiling their kitchen or bathroom for the first time.

Our beveled ceramic subway tiles are unique because the edge of the tile slopes down on all four sides of the tile so the edge now is thinner than the center body of the tile. A bullnose trim piece can normally be used with standard ceramic tiles but since there is no beveled slope on a bullnose trim piece the beveled field tile and the bullnose trim tile will not match up together. Therefore, one can and should only use Quarter Round 1” x 6” trim pieces as your edge piece when installing together with a beveled ceramic subway tile.

If you have any additional questions after reading this post feel free to call the AnchorBayTile team and we would be glad to offer assistance, suggestions, and any other advice on your ceramic tile project.

There are so many different grout color choices available that it is hard to choose one from another. So what is one to do? This question has no easy answer nor does it have a right or a wrong answer. Whichever direction you ultimately choose will certainly have an impact on your tile project, but rest assured that with a little thought and proper planning your tile project will come out fabulous.

There generally are two schools of thought in choosing grout colors and either one has its pros and cons. When choosing grout one can either select a grout which BLENDS in with the tile or you can select a grout which contrasts with the tile. Selecting a grout color that blends in with the tile is probably more common and in our opinion does a better job at spotlighting the tile and the beauty in the material which you selected. After all, you probably spent months comparing tile samples from different manufacturers so why not choose a grout color that spotlights the tile rather than the grout. Selecting a grout color that blends in with the tile also allows the eye to see the tiled area as one continuous space rather than a checkerboard of individual tiles.

That being said, there are instances where choosing a contrasting grout color might be a wise choice to bring in a unique look to the tiled area. For example, when working with a black and white retro area in order to match other décor in the room it might be a nice idea to use dark or even black grout together with a white tile. In cases like this is where a contrasting grout color would be a wise choice.

When selecting a grout color, get “grout sticks” from your local tile retailer or home improvement center and bring these to your home to put the grout samples next to your tile right in the area or space to be tiled. Doing so will give you a clear picture of what the grout and tile will look like in the room under the lighting that will be there when the project is done.

[caption id="attachment_397" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Bamboo Tile with Chicklet edge pieces"][/caption]We developed our bamboo trim and decorative tile pieces for our customers to use with our bamboo subway tiles as edge pieces for a kitchen backsplash. One of the bamboo pieces we designed with the top of a backsplash in mind if a project calls for not tiling to the bottom edge of the cabinets.

For a trim piece for the right or left edge of a kitchen backsplash we made what we call a chicklet piece that is a small and narrow decorative piece meant to give a nice edge to ones’s backsplash or any area where the bamboo tiles may be installed.

The tapered bullnose edge cap is a larger piece and more decorative than the chicklet piece due to its tapered shape and the natural colors that appear and because one can see more of the Bamboo in this piece. It is quite a beautiful piece and will surely bring praise and compliments to any one who uses this item in their project.

With times as tough as they are these days we receive feedback from our customers and we are striving every day to make good Design affordable to everybody. Families are staying home more, not going out to eat as much and spending their summer planning weekend “staycation’s” instead of the annual family vacation to some exotic locale. In light of these trends that have emerged, homeowners are taking on weekend projects such as upgrading the kitchen backsplash or even tiling a tub surround or bathroom vanity area as a means of performing upgrades to their home that provide a major improvement to an area for a small investment in time and money.

At Anchor Bay Tile we have worked hard over the past several years to bring our customers affordable glass tile options for those weekend tiling projects. We have a wide selection of modern glass mosaic tiles for any budget and any color palette imaginable.

Try our newest glass mosaic tile line we call the Coastal Blends collection which is a selection of ten contemporary blends colors that match up wonderfully with granite in the kitchen or as a perfect bathroom shower glass mosaic tile selection. For those looking for an inexpensive choice for upgrading the waterline tile in a swimming pool or spa, have a look at the Laguna or Newport colors in our Coastal Blends glass tile collection. Any of the ten colors of the Coastal Blends are in stock and retail for only $8.50 per 1.15 square foot sheet.

We also offer the Milano ¾” x ¾” glass mosaic tile blends and the Kona Blends glass mosaic tiles in a 1” x 2” size. These affordable glass mosaic tile options offer a higher level of design sophistication and both collections are in stock and retail for less than $15.00 per sheet. Our Milano glass tile blends have been a hit with customers with granite colors such as Giallo Veneziano or Blue Galaxy while our Kona Blends 1” x 2” tiles have been popular in showers, tub surrounds and bathroom vanities as a perfect accent strip to add a touch of color with lighter travertine tiles or ceramic tiles.

If you have wanted to upgrade your home with glass tile but weren’t sure it was financially feasible, please give our tiles a second look and call us any time for design questions and suggestions. Were happy to help!

I am referring to Glass Tile Blades for use on a wet saw of course. You knew exactly what I was talking about, didn’t you? You see, we have been getting this question more and more lately about the life span of a tile blade made specifically for cutting glass tiles. We wanted to expand a bit about glass tile blades for the benefit of any readers taking on a glass tile installation project.

Glass Tile Diamond Blades have higher diamond counts and are thinner than a ceramic or porcelain tile blade. The 7” glass tile blade which we sell at AnchorBayTile.com will run on a wet saw at a higher speed than a ceramic or porcelain blade which is necessary to cut through very hard glass tile material. Glass tile blades made specifically for cutting glass tiles will cut glass with no chipping or shredding and are “must haves” when installing glass tile in a large area.

The life span of a glass tile blade is often shorter however than a ceramic or porcelain tile blade. Because the diamonds are much smaller and finer on a blade made for glass tile than on other tile blades the diamonds wear much quicker, especially when cutting thick 8mm glass tile such as our Solana Glass Subway Tile. There is no rule of thumb for how many cuts you will get from one blade but expect that the thicker the glass material, the fewer cuts you can expect. Most blades should be sufficient for the typical kitchen backsplash project though for a sizable bathroom shower you might want to purchase two blades just in case. Keep this in mind when taking on any glass tile installation project that will require any cutting of the material.

We hear often from our customers in these tough times about locating beautiful tile products that offer a good value for homeowners. With our new Coastal Blends glass mosaic tile we believe we have over delivered for our customers by stocking a tile that is very competitively priced and comes in ten beautiful contemporary glass tile blends colors which are suitable for most any interior or exterior project.

We find that our customers are using the Coastal Blends tiles as an affordable glass mosaic tile choice for showers, tub surrounds, kitchen backsplashes, and entire swimming pools. Given the incredible pricing of only $8.50 per sheet this makes upgrading one’s home using decorative glass tile in reach of most anyone considering a home improvement project.

Consider that a standard backsplash varies between 15 and 20 square feet. Using the Coastal Blends tile makes that backsplash materials cost well under $200, falling somewhere between $127.50 and $170.00 depending on actual square feet needed. Throw in one bag of mortar and one small bag of grout and the entire materials cost for a DIY’er installing our Coastal Blends tile is less than $200. Not bad at all.
Go to www.AnchorBayTile.com and click Glass Tile to learn more about how the Coastal Blends collection is a great choice for a contemporary upgrade to any home or commercial location.

It has recently come to my attention that I have been neglecting the grout in my tile floors. Really, I have always assumed that the slight discolorations here and there were character. Not so, a friend has told me. She has her grout professionally cleaned every six months or so.

Unless your grout is white, you don’t want to use chlorine bleach as it will discolor the grout, resulting in a mess that is worse than before.

Before you begin your scrubbing, you will want to vacuum your floor thoroughly. Then get out your scrub brush. Toothbrushes, which are what most of us scrub small areas with, are too soft. Wire brushes are too stiff and can gouge the grout if you are not extremely careful. Use a regular stiff bristled brush for the job.

I researched my options online. Vinegar and water was the first suggestion that I encountered. It proved to be ineffective.

Baking soda was next. I made it into a paste and scrubbed with a scrub brush. It worked well, but I am not sure that it worked any better than soap and water. My grout looks fine. It doesn’t look as good as new, but it looks perfectly fine. I mean you wouldnot come over to my house and and look down at my floor and gasp with horror.

The next thing that I read about was oxygen bleach. I haven’t tried it yet, but think the next time I am in my local flooring store I will pick some up. The grout in my mudroom floor is looking like it has seen better days. It would be a good test of the effectiveness of the product.

The other interesting tidbit that I ran across while researching was that you shouldn’t seal the grout. This goes completely against everything I had always heard or done. Basically the thinking says that if you seal the grout the stains that get through will be even harder to remove because the stain treatment can’t penetrate the sealer. Not sure if I buy that or not.

Finally, it is done. It seemed like a simple pattern. I really was unprepared for how long it took to do the tiling. Or how precise the tiling had to be.

And I was definitely unprepared for making a grave tiling error and having to tear off one wall of tile after it had already been put up. I have laid a lot of floor tile and thought I had skills greater than a beginner, but I guess I don’t. Or at least I didn’t. I feel confident that sould I decide to undertake a project like this now I would measure better and make sure the corner seam was lined up.

The major problem is that I live in an old house, where nothing is square, level or plumb. This requires you to “cheat” in order to make it appear correct. This cheating is a skill that can’t be taught, it is all trial and error.

It is done now and like most home improvement projects, the finished product makes it all worthwhile.