topps tile gear

[kent tiler]

just starting my mums new kitchen and went out and got a nice deal on on tile addy and grout well i thort it was lol.

two bags of wide joint addy gray 25kg
one bag of white wall addy 25kg
2 bags of bal gray grout small bags ??????
one bag of white wall grout small bag ????????
bag of 4mm spacers they forgot too give me my 3mm ones not happy.
ts60 plus
he gave me a rubi tiling sponge and a bal mixing bucket as thay lost the 6mm cutting head of the rubi!!!!!!!!
= £336.00p there abouts.

the ts60 plus was bang on £200 with vat then i see the bridge saw for £175 and started crying i want one now ill get one soon i really want one can you tell!!!!!!!!!!!!!

is the topps own gear any good???
im planng on tiling over the tiles that are down on the floor now.
as for the walls ill be tiling over fresh plaster after its dyed lol

when i went back in there on saterday the guy is now saying i need to prime the floor first (old tiles) (SBR)
do i need a primer or will it still work over the tiles that are down????

REALLY NEED YOUR HELP

 

[DHTiling]

I never keep all my eggs in one basket... 🙂

 

[kent tiler]

shop about youll get a better price then the shop you just come from lol trade point near me will price mach any one i use

 

[AliGage]

just found the paper work:

topfix rapidset flexible gray +3 @ £24.00p = £72.00p
topfix rapidset flexible white +1 @ £25.00p = £25.00p
BAL superflex W/J charcoal grout 10kg +1 @ £25.99p = £25.99p
BAL microflex wall grout white 3.5kg +1 @ 16.99p =£16.99p
tile mate 4mm tile spacers (250) +1 @ £2.99p =£2.99p

total payed =£142.97p

rubi TS 60 PLUSS +1 @ £166.66p plus 20% VAT =£199.99p
TOTAL payed =£342.96p all in

First of all i will say that there is nothing wrong with toppfix adhesive. For a budget adhesive it's pretty good. But i am afraid to say you've been seen a mile off fella. I pay between £8-£10 for toppfix addy. That's with standard trade terms with my local topps.
You mention in another post that there is a CTD near you? If i were you i would return the products to topps and go and open a cash account at CTD. You will then get around 40% off the adhesives in there. So for the same money you are paying at topps you can get BAL adhesives from CTD. No brainer really.
The only thing i will say is if you picked up the TS60-plus (was it?) for 200 sheets inclusive of VAT you've done pretty well. A shop around might find that marginally cheaper but not enough to waste your time looking for the deal.

there B&Q slate affect floor tile £12 per m2
the tiles down now are terracotta porcelain tiles.
will i need to prime it (SBR) or just tile over it if needs be ill get them hacked off

From the sounds of it is it safe to assume your starting up on your own? Business wise i mean?
It maybe your mum's kitchen floor but there's no doubt in my mind you will eventually get a customer that will want you to tile over tiles. In a lot of cases there's nothing wrong with doing this if your methods of installation are correct and the exsisting floor is sound like you say. But are you sure?
Start as you mean to go on fella, and where better to start than your mum's place and not a customer that's going to spread bad words if and when a floor fails. Your work is your advertising, people talk, start as you mean to go on. Do it right first time everytime and you can't go far wrong.
If a customer of mine was insistant on tiling on tiles due to, money, mess or whatever reason i would do one of three things:

1) If i think it's money, i will try and bite the bullet myself and grace them with a proper installation for the same money. Certainly if it's only 3 or 4 metres.
2) Agree to tile over the tiles for an affordable price. But i would make a point of telling them i CANNOT offer a guarantee. If they want this (which they usually do) they'll have to pay for the job to be done correctly. It's funny how they find the extra cash when there's no guarantee!
3) "Walk away Renee" - It only takes one customer, insisting you cut the corners to then shot his mouth off and say YOU did a bad job.

People sing when they are elated over there new installation, but they sing even louder if it's a "bad" job. Gossip spreads like wild fire. It only takes one bad comment to put a chink in your reputation. I can guarantee as he/she is saying to their friends that the floor is lifting, failling or whatever they are not saying in the next breath "he did say this might happen"

 

[prceramics]

your cutter was cheap thats where it ends good luck 🙂

 

[Martyn Leeds]

When you were at the tops counter did you ask about prices?? Trade/retail, what they will give you, what discounts they won't give you??

Did you visit any other stores to check & compare everything ??

Do you do any homework on any products, local prices, local availability for everything you need & are going to need??

Sounds to me that you didn't.

So I'd say you've got a good deal. You went to a shop, and they sold you what you needed.

However, i know what prices i pay for those items at my local topps & I would encourage you to do a bit more planning next time - especially if you want to make money out of your work.

I stick to 2-3 outlets for my materials, prices vary & i use them all for different things (grout from 1, addy from another, trim etc from another...)

 

[AliGage]

There's nothing wrong with being a bit naive. We were all wet behind the ears once:

Toppfix Rapidset Floor Tile Adhesive | Topps Tiles

That link is from topps retail website. As far as topps are concerned you've paid them too much mate. Have a scan around the site and check your prices fella. But, if they quoted you trade prices you've not got them. Like i say i think i pay £8.99ish for a bag of this.

 

[prceramics]

as for the addy its not bad stuff it is palace adhesive in a topps bag

 

[moomarine]

as for the addy its not bad stuff it is palace adhesive in a topps bag

I was told it was a bal adhesive in a topps bag? Just what the guy said in topps tiles once.

 

[Ian]

I was told it was a bal adhesive in a topps bag? Just what the guy said in topps tiles once.

Definitely Palace that make the Topps own brand.

 

[moomarine]

Definitely Palace that make the Topps own brand.

Thought the topps tiles guy was wrong with that! Lol