It's places like wickes and BBQ that are making the smaller family run businesses struggle. I honestly do not no of any trades person who would recommend anything reform these places....they are aimed at the novice DIY er. 99% of the time you can get a better product for cheaper at your family run/smaller businesses.
again this is my own opinion but I guarantee a lot of other tradesmen will agree with me.
if you have a tiler in mind ask where he recommends....he might be able to sort you out a overall supply and fit price at a decent price
Most tile shops will have discontinued/end of line for £10-15 per metre so worth asking. No point supporting B&Q when tile shops are going to the wall all over the country.
As all the above have said, my local supplier have discontinued lines and over-ordering left over from bigger jobs. They generally want to get rid as they are taking up space. They generally start about £10-12 for ceramics. Make sure you get a few more metres than you need as well, for cuts and waste, and also keep a box back cos chances are if you go to buy some if you damage one then they'll be gone.
I got my brother 7m of full bodied Italian polished porcelain for his kitchen. They were £75 per m and I got them for £27 per m. They were just left over from a big job at a hotel.
My most recent customer got 13x10 white ceramics from Wickes and they were spot on, nice edges, good sizing and flat as a pancake and only £8 per meter, but got to add to this they looked at some others there and asked for my opinion and I had to tell them to leave them as they never passed the face to face test - middles together and 5mm gaps at top and bottom.
I recently did a 20m2 bathroom with 600 x 300 tiles from Wickes, and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised at the quality, no size variation or bowing. As for B and Q, I'd run a mile if someone asked me to fit their tiles.
Of all the sheds, Wickes tiles are the better quality. I've fitted a fair amount of their tiles and have to say, I don't mind them. My one piece of advice is, steer clear of homebase, shocking quality at over inflated prices.
I agree - I expect the worst when fitting tiles from Wickes but like Doug and Bri, always been pleasantly surprised.
B+Q has always been a lottery, sometimes they are fine and sometimes absolutely awful.
Just remember a good tiler can make a bathroom look a million dollars with cheap and nasty tiles and a bad tiler can ruin a bathroom using the best tiles in the world.
Something to bare in mind when choosing your tiler.