B&Q Polished Porcelain tiles

[DaveW]

I'm about to have 20sqm of black B&Q polished porcelain tiles (600 x 600) put down. After everything I'd read about these I was bit sceptical but my wife insisted (and I couldn't argue with the price).

It seems that with all the reported problems with these tiles B&Q are trying to cover themselves and are now recommending the tile should be cleaned (to remove the wax coating; using heavy duty tile cleaner) and sealed before fixing. This differs from the instructions on the box which suggests that you should fix, then seal before grouting (but doesn't mention removing the coating; which seems to be the cause of a lot of peoples problems) and then seal again after grouting.

The idea of going through 15 boxes of these and cleaning and sealing them before laying doesn't appeal. Is this really necessary or just B&Q covering their arses? If I lay them with the coating still on and then clean and seal before grouting am I likely to run into any problems?

I'd appreciate any advice from anyone with experience of these tiles.

Thanks

[beanz]

You shouldn't really need to seal before fixing, just work as clean as you can. If they're anything like the 400x400's, make sure you check the colour. The ones we fitted in my mates house were quite clearly brown, not black (he couldn't be bothered to take them back!?!).

Personally, i'd save for a little longer and get some decent tiles. Nothing worse than looking at them forever more and thinking "I wish i'd taken them back, that's not what i wanted".

Good luck with whatever you decide to do though.

[DaveW]

Your right, they are brown. But that isn't a problem, we did want the chocolate coloured ones but they sold out. I'm committed to these now as I've bought them (any there is no way I'm taking them back, they weigh a ton!)

Did any slurry from cutting or misplaced adhesive clean off ok?

Thanks for your help.

[beanz]

Yup they cleaned off fine, but we made a point of being straight on it, didn't let anything sit on em for long.

[robbbin]

As beanz says lay them first........ keep clean addy will come off with a moist sponge clean your joints, Topps do a wax remover its very good for removing wax on polished porcelain you leave it on for 24hrs then wash it all off then seal with impregnator b4 grouting

[batiling]

seal before grouting as a friend of mine had a problem of the grout impregnating the tile on the edges therefore soaking into the tile.He ended up taking it all up as it looked a right mess and swore he would never use b+q s**t again(his exact words) He also said some of the tiles were slightly different sizes so beware

[brian c]

dont like those tiles at all..calibration is another issue with them.

[darren demock]

ive laid 600+600 porcilin black tiles grouted and cleaned with b@q recomended products sealed floor and its all smudgy and streaky wat can i do to get it right as im a fussy get

[Dave]

They just need buffing till streak free.

[Perfect Tiling]

Dave...I recently laid 24 sq mtrs of these tiles in a piano showroom. So long as you work clean and seal prior to grouting they seem fine. I left the sealer on for a day to really soak in and got no staining at all. He used an electric buffer to get a good shine so you can see the underside of the pianos. Beware of tiles that aren't flat though...we had about five that for some reason were high in the middle, so kept them aside for cuts around the edges. Not bad tiles for the price they ask...good luck.

[Fred]

Laid 40 m2 of their beige ones in February. Keep clean, pre-seal, don't leave the sealer on for long, take off with a clean cloth, grout, dito re the sealer. No problems at all.

[scott23]

I had the same problems on the gray 600x600 from B&Q. I ordered some aqua mix off line, after abit of elbow grease they came up like a mirror.