B&Q crappy Porcelain

[TopTrainer]

I feel like another lamb to the slaughter here, like so many others before me I have foolishly bought B & Q porcelain tiles for my kitchen, and also for my conservatory (still in the boxes).

Again I wrongly assumed they would be of a reasonable quality not realising that there are about 8 grades of porcelain quality I understand.

It will come as no surprise to the professionals in here that the tiles in kitchen are black, or at least they purport to be. I have laid the floor myself although as yet it is not finished. Mistake 2 I bought also PlasPlugs Master Tiler which is awful. I also bought PlasPlugs heavy duty dry cutter also broken.

When I opened the boxes there was a paper sheet between the tiles but also the tiles had moisture on them?
I let them dry and laid them but I was not happy with their appearance, without going into the same old same old.

I had already brought some lithofin impregnator and was going to use it but I was concerned that I would sealing in the awaful cloudy appearance they have, I also could see that there was about 4 tiles which were clearly a different colour. I phoned B & Q and spoke to the manager of the tile department, all he asked was did I have the boxes, when I said no he said he could not help. To be honest I formed the opinion that he was well versed in complaints about them and I think there is a company policy.

Anyway the bottom line is I am stuck with them I have tried to get the cloudiness out without much success strangely enough the finish around the edges is a lot better but the centre is awful. I have brought some Abra cleaner and tried it on a couple of tiles and really rubbed it hard but it did not appear to make much different other than make it clean.

I thought the problem was traffic wax but I am now thinking they are just extremely poor quality.

Is an angle grinder OK to cut these tiles with? if so can anyone recommend one to buy I have to finish the kitchen then the conservatory I have been told they are better to cut them with .

Peter

 

[Fred]

Porcelain needs a porcelian blade to cut them with. The cutter you bought can be replaced with on of these from www.tradetiler.co.uk

They sound like they may have been re-sealed at the factory. Wax-off can get this off, many makes of this from a good tile shop. To be honest, as soon as I see a client has got porcelain from DIY shops, I walk!

 

[diamondtiling]

Firstly, you do not need the box, take them back to customer service and demand your money, you will get it,
Secondly, never go into a b and q again, they are for diy people and they sell rubbish,
thankyou
:mad2::mad2::mad2:

 

[doug boardley]

assuming that your tiles are polished porcelain and therefore need sealing, you must make sure that your tiles are completely dry prior to sealing, otherwise you'll seal the moisturer and cloudy haze, into the tile

 

[TopTrainer]

Thanks for your advice, I realised sealing them at this point would be a bad move.

I intend to purchase an angle grinder to finish the job off. The cleaning will be another task completely.

Peter

 

[faithhealer]

I was mooching round B&Q this afternoon, it is so tempting to stick my nose in when you see trolleys with 20 boxes of rubbish tiles and one tub of rubbish addy!

 

[CJ CERAMICS]

I was mooching round B&Q this afternoon, it is so tempting to stick my nose in when you see trolleys with 20 boxes of rubbish tiles and one tub of rubbish addy!

same here mate

 

[tubs]

Looked at a 52m floor today, b+q 400x400 were the customers choice, I soon informed them of the final look and the work invoved in the preperation etc that soon changed there mind, its time b and q let the customer know the real deal with these tiles !!

 

[Time's Ran Out]

What do people expect for £10/metre - a quality product of the same size starts at £55/metre+.
The quarrying of the material/firing to over 1000degrees/polishing the surface/packaging/transportation from China etc something has to suffer -Quality!!

Timeless John.

 

[Floor_Restorer]

I have done 12 jobs off the back of these cheap black B & Q porcelain tiles in the last 10 months. You can buy good through-body porcelain, but as Timeless John says, the more you pay the better the look.

Also dark polished surfaces are the most unforgiving, when it comes to living with it.
- have you ever owned a black car, and noticed how quickly it gets dirty compared to a lighter colour?

1. Degrease / remove carriage wax and grout caught in the grease of the carriage wax
2. Rinse and rinse and rinse with warm water.
3. Suck up using a really good wet vac.
4. Allow to dry thoroughly (at least 24 hours - even when it looks dry, it is not!!!)
5. Use a good impregnating sealant that will polish up, such as LTP MPG.
6. Polish using a buffing machine and the softest pad you can get.

I am not giving away trade secrets here, just basic guidance.

Thanks, Tom