How do I choose ceramic tiles for floors and bathrooms?

[FrederikKitten]

Today I was in 2 Global houses, ThaiWatsadu, Homepro...like they have a lot of ceramic tiles. But how do I pick the right ones, the pattern, color? I need some tiles for floors in entire house and especially for 2 bathrooms - which is even more difficult, because bathrooms consists of multiple different tiles put in patterns, lines, stripes... . I'm no designer. I have absolutely no clue what to buy. If they at least had some sample bathroom walls that I could pick from, that would be simpler, but all they have is single tiles in shelves. What am I suppose to do with that?

[Bill97]

Let your lady choose.

[talahtnut]

Ceramic tiles are not good on floors, use travertine or marble.

[sometimewoodworker]

28 minutes ago, FrederikKitten said:

I'm no designer. I have absolutely no clue what to buy. If they at least had some sample bathroom walls that I could pick from, that would be simpler

1) Pay a designer to choose for you.

2) go to one of the many tile design apps and make your choice.

3) spend time in hotels and see what you like or hate.

[Dmaxdan]

Bathroom floor tiles should none slip. They will have a slightly rougher finish than the normal, glazed floor tiles.

As for the rest of the house, surely that's just a matter of taste and budget.

 

Just pick the colour or pattern that you like, preferably ones that will match the rest of the house. 

For example, what color are the walls painted, what color curtains do you have?

 

The tiles need to fit in with the colour scheme of your house.

 

Also, you will need to know how big the rooms are in a square meters so that you know how many boxes to order.

 

And don't forget tile cement and grout.

[Richard 2020]

In Pattaya , in every HOMEPRO, downstairs the tiles, and on the first floor at the bathrooms etc. approx. 25 complete bathrooms WITH tiles,as a help ... ????

 

Just go up one floor, or take the escalator...

 

Or just ask the staff ????

[lopburi3]

23 minutes ago, talahtnut said:

Ceramic tiles are not good on floors, use travertine or marble.

Ceramic tiles are fine as long as of the non-slip type made for floors.  But very important to make sure they are.

[OneMoreFarang]

24 minutes ago, Dmaxdan said:

Bathroom floor tiles should none slip.

I agree. Except I enhanced that rule to: any tiles in my apartment should be non-slip. I want to be able to walk bare feet anywhere even if my feet are wet or for whatever reason the tiles are wet.

 

And that, looking only for non-slip tiles, eliminates about 90% of all tiles.

What I did recently is that I looked at websites like this:

https://www.boonthavorn.com/boonthavorn-wall-floor/shop-by-type/floor-tiles

I don't like anything too colorful or with too much pattern. That eliminates a lot.

Then you can look at the size of tiles: Too large tiles are problematic and more difficult to lay, especially for medium skilled construction workers.

After my online pre-selection I visited Boonthavorn. They have probably a couple of thousands of different tiles. But when I looked at only non-slip, not too colorful, not too big tiles the selection was down to maybe 100 different tiles. So I made some pictures, walked maybe two times along the corridors, and then I had a better idea of what I wanted.

And then, because I don't have a car, I ordered a pack of the tiles which I thought might be good. I got them delivered and put them on a floor - any floor. And I asked myself: Do I like them?

And I put them in the bathroom and made them wet and I walked on them. No problem.

And now, soon, I will have them installed.

 

Obviously, you will have your own criteria. And price might be also important. Just do it step by step. Rule out what you don't like.

And also keep in mind: If there are 1000 different tiles you don't have to find the best one. There might be 10 or 20 different tiles which you like. And any of those are probably ok.

Start step by step and you will get there.

 

The beginning of the selection. 4347 different tiles...

[proton]

ThaiWatsadu we went there spent ages looking at 3 types of tiles, got the girl hovering about to put them on the floor. Right we will have 26sq meters of that one- no have she shot back, ok these then the second choice- no have- they cannot get the materials. Right then it will have to be number 3 do you have them? have, got 26sq meters? have, ok those then. Have problem, price not same as on shelf -gone up. I said we would have them at the shelf price or leave, She said no so we left for Homepro.

[talahtnut]

36 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Ceramic tiles are fine as long as of the non-slip type made for floors.  But very important to make sure they are.

Agree with you to some extent, but there are a couple

of advantages with natural stone in that its non-slip and,

if you drop something heavy, like a full bottle, tiles can chip.

[gamb00ler]

Go to a Boonthavorn mall.  I think they have the largest selection of tiles.  I think they are more expensive than Thai Watsadu or Global House.

 

They may also have several tile examples installed on the floor in their tile area.  Seeing a good sized area will help you see what it will look like in your house.  When you see one you like take a picture and then you can go to the cheaper tile places and see if they have something similar at a lower price level.

 

OneMoreFarang's advice is excellent.

[Robin]

You might find that non-slip floor tiles are more expensive that other tiles that are wall tiles.  Thus Thai builder could suggest wall tiles for the floor, since they think they are saving you money.  Also floor tiles are thicker and hence more difficult to cut to size.  Find your self a workman who knows how to lay tiles, and he will advise you.  Avoid wannabe workmen don't know the basics of tiling.  When we had our house built, I was working away and a wannabe laid wall tiles on all the floors.  Lethal when wet, and not even flat.  

Patio recently tiles by local workman who knew his stuff.  He measured for the tiles, and also told how much cement would be needed.  Bought everything from local builders merchant who delivered.

Easiest to know a decent workman as he should have all the tools he needs.  Avoid any who start off by asking you to buy the tools, cutters, floats, etc.

[sometimewoodworker]

8 hours ago, talahtnut said:

Agree with you to some extent, but there are a couple

of advantages with natural stone in that its non-slip

That is incorrect. Natural stone is as slippery or non slippery as the hone or polish (a 4,000 grit diamond finish is glossy, a 500 grit not so much) that has been used on it. It is usual that it is more absorbent than most manufactured tiles.

[steve187]

the normal tiles for whole house floor now is 600 x600 porcelain tiles, but make sure they are fitted with a 3mm gap to allow for expansion and with a suitable porcelain adhesive, not sand and cement. my advice is don't fully tile a kitchen or all walls in wet rooms, as a change of paint can easily change the appearance of a room after a few years, some work i did in the UK-

 

 

[Thailand J]

I've just re fitted my beach condo on the cheap. Replaced almost everything.

Boonthavon sell tiles by the pieces, take them home to compare and decide.

Living room: 60cmx60cm light grey, many shades to choose from.

Balcony: I opted for 60x60 non slip tiles at Thai Watsadu ( KASSA GX-1002).

I used off white grout, Crocodile Moon Stone. Tried one from TOA, it was  too yellow.

Tile gaps on the balcony are much bigger then those indoor, looks better.

 

 

[gamb00ler]

2 hours ago, steve187 said:

some work i did in the UK-

 

 

Very nice design and work.

[Bday Prang]

If you have High limescale content in your water avoid Black tiles, try to find a colour that is not spoiled too much by a bit of limescale staining which will happen , no matter how hard you scrub them , and no matter what cleaning solution you use

[Orinoco]

12 hours ago, Bill97 said:

Let your lady choose.

I did that.

Very stupid move,  that was. 

[Peterw42]

12 hours ago, Richard 2020 said:

In Pattaya , in every HOMEPRO, downstairs the tiles, and on the first floor at the bathrooms etc. approx. 25 complete bathrooms WITH tiles,as a help ... ????

 

Just go up one floor, or take the escalator...

 

Or just ask the staff ????

There are 2 homepro stores in Pattaya, and neither of them have an upstairs, or 25 complete bathrooms. Maybe you are confusing another location.

[Thailand J]

For bathroom walls, you can't go wrong with white tiles.

For the floor you need to make sure the tiles are not slippery.

 

My condo big bathroom: For the floor I used 60x60 KASSA GX1002 tiles from Thaiwatsadu, cut into 30x60 in the shower (see pics). For the wall I made a mistake of using beige 30x60 at the lower wall, should be white the entire wall. Keep it simple. The 30x60 Tubby White WS63P00 from Boonthavoon, glossy and deep reflection, are beautiful.

My small bathroom: Same 30x60 white wall tiles as the big bathroom, wood grain tile for the floor, which is 15x60 Freewood Brown from Boonthavoon.

 

White solid vanity tops are very popular now, but I opted to use granite. India Black is the best.

 

 

 

 

 

[proton]

3 hours ago, steve187 said:

the normal tiles for whole house floor now is 600 x600 porcelain tiles, but make sure they are fitted with a 3mm gap to allow for expansion and with a suitable porcelain adhesive, not sand and cement. my advice is don't fully tile a kitchen or all walls in wet rooms, as a change of paint can easily change the appearance of a room after a few years, some work i did in the UK-

 

 

Porcelain better than ceramic, nice work which you would find very hard to get done in Thailand to this standard. All the tilers we have had ended up doing poor work. Includes kitchen with tiles on wall with running downhill and main room with un even gaps. We did have one good tiler but he fell out when he claimed he had done more sq meters than we had bought. Never seen one use spacers and often not even the correct trowel or adhesives. 

[Bday Prang]

Dont forget "Dynasty" tile shops too

[peterfranks]

2 hours ago, Thailand J said:

I've just re fitted my beach condo on the cheap. Replaced almost everything.

Boonthavon sell tiles by the pieces, take them home to compare and decide.

Living room: 60cmx60cm light grey, many shades to choose from.

Balcony: I opted for 60x60 non slip tiles at Thai Watsadu ( KASSA GX-1002).

I used off white grout, Crocodile Moon Stone. Tried one from TOA, it was  too yellow.

Tile gaps on the balcony are much bigger then those indoor, looks better.

 

 

I may be mistaken, but to me the tiles in those pictures are high gloss, and slippery as hell.

[unheard]

51 minutes ago, proton said:

Never seen one use spacers and often not even the correct trowel or adhesives. 

A very good observation.

It seems very few of them use any kind of proper tiling spacers.

Instead they use small pieces of plastic straps, with various results.

But it doesn't mean it's impossible to find one using proper tools.

Recently I've observed a tiling team working on a friend's high end house.

They have used proper spacers.

[unheard]

@FrederikKitten

Boonthavorn has design teams that will create a 3D design of your bathrooms for free if you buy the tile from the store.

Measure your bathrooms and make a basic sketch of your bathroom floor.

Take it with you to the store and ask the floor sales people for advice.

You said that you're not sure what you want.

As someone has already mentioned, try to keep it simple.

No need for complex lines, patterns and stripes unless it's what you look for.

And yes, non-slip tile is the must for the bathroom floors.

 

[phetphet]

(1) Bear in mind darker tiles can make the room look darker and will hold more heat. Solar gain.

 

(2) Also if you are planning on tiling the whole house, buy a box or two extra to keep for replacing any that get cracked or damaged in the future. Designs do come to an end and go out of stock.

 

(3) If you use ceramic tiles in the bathroom or shower (wet room), check if they have a coating that might get damaged by descaling chemicals that are often used in such places.

 

Found all these out by my own experience.

[KannikaP]

4 hours ago, steve187 said:

the normal tiles for whole house floor now is 600 x600 porcelain tiles, but make sure they are fitted with a 3mm gap to allow for expansion and with a suitable porcelain adhesive, not sand and cement. my advice is don't fully tile a kitchen or all walls in wet rooms, as a change of paint can easily change the appearance of a room after a few years, some work i did in the UK-

 

 

What a mess the first photo is, looks like you used left over tiles.

Do ceramic tiles expand & contract? You suggest a 3mm gap, but that is filled with grout. Is grout comressible?

[Richard 2020]

Tile help...So laid they make the bathroom bigger!!!

 

All tiles 30 x 60

 

In the shower and on the floor non-slip!!!

[unheard]

@FrederikKitten

You might also want to visit websites of the local manufacturers - Duragres and Cotto.

Their tile lines are readily available at every specialized store.

Browse their product lines and check their catalogs.

Some of the products in the prior year catalogs have been discontinued, but the website itself shows their current products.

 

https://www.umipro.com/

https://www.cottolife.com/en/

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, unheard said:

A very good observation.

It seems very few of them use any kind of proper tiling spacers.

Instead they use small pieces of plastic straps, with various results.

But it doesn't mean it's impossible to find one using proper tools.

Recently I've observed a tiling team working on a friend's high end house.

They have used proper spacers.

Agree

I asked my (expensive) contractor. And they confirmed they will use a leveling system on the floors and walls.

 

I mentioned it above already: The "problem" are big and huge tiles. For those tiles it seems to be necessary to use a leveling system to install them properly.

 

For smaller tiles it might help but it is not necessary.

As far as I know 20 years ago nobody used those systems anywhere in the world. And at that time they didn't have huge tiles.

 

 

P.S.: My "knowledge" is theoretical. I never worked with tiles. But I read a lot about it and watched videos from several experts.