Hi, hope someone can help :-)

We have put down romsey black polished porcelain tiles (500x500) from b&q in our kitchen/dining room. They look great, but noticing some tiles look dull at parts, the way I'd describe it is it looks scuffed, but nothing has scuffed it. It looks light/dull/scuffed. Is there anything we can do rather than change the tiles, we've already changed 2 tiles and then it's happened again.

The tiles didn't have wax on them nor did try need sealed just the cut edges needed sealed. That was box instructions.

I'm really regretting these tiles as I'm thinking are they all gonna start going like this, although they are lovely!

Is there anything we can use to bring the shine back or to stop it happening again? Love my new kitchen etc feel so disheartened about my tiles x

Thanks x

The tiles didn't have wax on them nor did try need sealed just the cut edges needed sealed.

I'm confused - did you seal or not seal? Did you seal the grout?

You only seal the surface.. not edges on polished porcs..

But i have to say that a lot of B&Q porcs have a transit wax on them, and not the first time they have when they have said the have not..

Can you post some pics please.?

Hi,

No we haven't sealed them or the edges. And no haven't sealed grout, do we have to? I'm wondering is their wax on them as every wee mark shows up on them like a scratch. But we are being very careful with them. Our fridge is on wheels and when we wheeled it in its left the marks "/
How would we know if there's wax?

I'll try & post a pic not sure how to "/

Thanks

How do I add a pic? Sorry new to this :-)

And no haven't sealed grout, do we have to?

What grout was used?

Hi, we used unibond grey grout, (not the adhesive and grout one) But this shading dullness happened on a tile before it was grouted and we changed it, now it's happening more. How would we know if there is wax on them? Thanks

Are you noticing the "dull" tiles where there is a downlighter shining on to them? If you drag your finger across the "dull" tiles does the surface finish change? Do the tiles feel greasy or smeary?

If you can answer yes to any of the above, then I would be confident in suggesting that there is a transit wax on the tile surface.

Daz

Hi Daz, yes they feel slightly rough at the dull part, not very rough but not as smooth as the rest of the tiles. you know like if you have a smooth bit of wood and someone sands a wee bit the texture would change ( sorry trying to explain it best I can lol) so if there is wax how do we get it off and what do we use? We're in Northern Ireland and don't have a lot of tile shops that mainland would. Also can you explain what we do to remove and after we've removed the wax. Thanks so much for your reply. :-)

They will be easily cleaned, but I will hold fire with product recommendations until some of our NI tilers have seen this thread, so that they can steer you to "local" suppliers.

Good luck,

Daz

Thanks so much. Was ready for getting the whole floor lifted! Thanks again. :-)

Just an update, been on to b&q and they have said tiles may need resealed. So to clean them all & to reseal them. They say it may be just that the seal wasn't great on them and has worn off! "/

Hi, just an update -

called b&q today and spoke to a manager. Told him about the problem we are having as the tiles seem to have more and more marks on them. He sent a fella (very helpful fella) out tonight to look at them & straight away the fella said it looks like they're not sealed properly. He then asked which adhesive & grout we'd used and we let him see it. He noticed the grout didn't say for porcelain on it! Now this is the grout that the tile fella (very helpful) in b&q advised us to buy after I'd shown him which tiles we'd got, the reason I asked him was more for the colour, but he did advise us to buy the one we did. They can check cameras and they will see him lifting the bag & trying to work out if that would do the amount we needed.

Obviously they are gonna try & blame it on the grout!

BUT... We did explain to te fella that came out and also I did tell manager yesterday (before we'd realised about grout) that this happened before it was grouted, as out tiler had laid the tiles then came back the next day to do the cuts and we noticed then some needed changed, so he removed them and put fresh ones in, and so glad we still had the tiles that were first laid, without being grouted! So we showed the fella this tile & he could clearly see it hadn't been grouted as edges were clear but he could see it had been on floor (adhesive still on back) and that it was marked, so this proves that the problem was happening even before grouting. So glad we kept that tile & it was just by chance it was there!

Waiting to hear what's gonna happen tomorrow, I explained to the fella that came out, I don't want a refund or for the floor lifted & relaid, I just want them
cleaned and resealed if that's what they require. I just want the floor fixed I love the floor, just not the marks on tiles. I'm not doing this to gain anything, & if they offered me a new floor or to have it cleaned, I'd rather it cleaned if that would solve it, the thought of having the floor lifted and redone fills me with dread as we have done so much work in the kitchen/dining room already, don't think I could face anymore!

We have cream natural
stone tiles throughout our livingroom & hall & (touch wood) have never had a problem with them, in saying that they did cost over 5 times what these ones did!

I just hope this gets resolved quick as its stressing me out so much :-(

Here's hoping tomorrow brings good news...

X

B&Q have not got a clue, who ever they sent out wasn't qualified to advise IMO.

It is the the tile and deffo not the grout lol.

Pop to a CTD store and get some Abra clean by lithofin and clean a spare tile with it and then report back here.

Hi, thanks - where will we get what you mention? We are in Northern Ireland so don't have alot of store you have in mainland. I called B&Q this afternoon but 'tile/floor' manager isn't in today - so he will call tomorrow.

You will get some Abra clean from Armatile in northern ireland.

Station Road Industrial Est, Loughgall Road Armagh 02837 527 007

If they are too far to travel then get them to post some out..


good luck..

Just an update.

B&Q took a tile away to try and clean and reseal. They have said that they couldn't get these marks off. So they have now sent it to tile manufacturer. They said its looking like the floor is gonna have to be lifted and redone. (faulty batch) To be honest that's the last thing I wanted, but if there is no other way.

They also said I won't be out of pocket at all as it'll be b&q or the manufacturer who pays for this to be done. I'm really hoping that the manufacturer will be able to remove these marks and just come and clean my floor, as I dread the thoughts of having it all lifted. It's a total last resort for me.

Just thought I should update you all, as you were all so helpful with advice. I will keep you posted.

:-) x

Thanks for the update...

thats a result !!

i noticed in my local b n q (west wales) that there cheapest black porc on show had a dull ,hazzy surface to it ...didnt look to clever

yes judge they are not high quality

optical hazing http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=optical hazing porcelain tiles&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CDMQFjAA&url=http %3A%2F%2Fwww.tileswithstyle.com.au%2Foptical_hazin g.pdf&ei=vh31Tq-KHaPumAWPv8yyAg&usg=AFQjCNERGyBYQCwxHHzv56DITuxaxq HhvQ

1. PDF]
   
   
   Optical haze – a consumer's perspective
   
   

looks like alot of the problems with these tiles are from the older different size tiles, the newer 500 x 500 tiles have a few better reviews, im not sure if i want to chance it. the price is so good though.

Hi have these tiles still got the transit wax on them? and if so is it best to remove all wax before laying or is it ok to do this after? we hav purchased sum just to try out in our en suite, any recommendations wil b greatly appreciated!

I would never buy tiles from b&q

The quality isnt good enough

Just another update, b&q are still waiting on supplier getting back to them. So I called b&q and told them I'm not waiting any longer and as they sold me them they have to fix them. He agreed with me that I'd been patient & I have to go ahead and get a quote from tiler to lift & re-lay new tiles. What should be the cost roughly? Don't want the tiler charging loads because b&q are paying, I don't want to take advantage just want my floor sorted.

So if anyone could give me an idea of what's involved and also how much it would cost to lift 16sq meters of porcelain 500x500 tiles and to make sure the floor was level to re-lay 16sq meters of floor tiles, it won't be the same tiles as my heart isn't in them anymore, afraid incase they go like this again.

Will keep you all updated as to what happens. Getting fed up waiting now as can't get painter in to paint, skirting fitted or blinds fitted till we get floor sorted.

Thanks again for everyone's advice x

Best to advertise for quotes in I'm Looking for a Wall and Floor Tiler

Just another update...

Was at the end of my tether this week as b&q were p'ing about. Eventually got it sorted got money for the tiler to come lift & relay tiles, and also new tiles & everything else we need. So glad that it's sorted and we can decorate and get our blinds fitted.

Question, we picked new cream rectangle tiles as heart isn't in the black ones anymore. Would grey grout be ok with them do you think? Our living room has cream tiles with ivory grout and they are a nightmare to keep clean. The grey grout we have on the dreaded black ones just now is very light anyway, so we thought its not as light as ivory but not dark either. Any opinions?

I have fitted cream polished porcelain lately and grouted with ardex vanilla and it looks good too, very easy kept clean by the looks too as I have used it on bigger jobs too with plenty of dirt in areas already tiled.Mapei's silver grey is a lively light colour too and looks great.It's personal taste really.Nice to hear you have all sorted now too, well done.

With cream tiles I always prefer a cream grout but it is really down to individual preference. I used Ardex Classic Vanilla on this job.
A decent flexible grout will be dirt and moisture resistant so easy to keep clean, IMO.

IMG_0783.jpg

Daz