help please star galaxy

[boltman]

Hi newbie here considering doing kitchen in star galaxy granite tiles to match work tops about 35metres has anybody got any opinions please for or against also been quoted £25 a metre to lay im in poole dorset thanks for any help

[grumpygrouter]

Very nice tiles, you'll need a very flat floor to lay them on. I would expect to pay more than that to have natural stone laid to a good standard. Pricing is not something we normally discuss in the public area of the forum.

Oh, welcome to the forums by the way.

[mikethetile]

welcome to the forum boltman

have you considered askng for a local tiler via this forum

[boltman]

Thanks for replies sorry to mention money there is somebody on ebay selling these for £29 metre seems cheap do you think they could be any good at that price

[grumpygrouter]

Thanks for replies sorry to mention money there is somebody on ebay selling these for £29 metre seems cheap do you think they could be any good at that price

you would be buying blind. if you have a proper stone supplier near you, go and see them and see what quality they have to offer and at what price. You will then get an idea of if they are a bargain or not.

[wivers]

What size are the tile?

I know these tiles retail in tile stores at up to £100 per m2?

I laid some last year and the customer paid £77 per m2 for 30 x 30's.

[faithhealer]

Thanks for replies sorry to mention money there is somebody on ebay selling these for £29 metre seems cheap do you think they could be any good at that price

Sounds too cheap doesn't it, not always a good idea to buy blind as Grumps said. Some people get lucky off Ebay BUT.....
Once laid 30 mts of the things in an Indian restaurant, the floor had been 'prepared ' by the owners and it was pure torture because the floor was absolute pants!

[Oli]

Id have them layed by a pro, there expensive tiles to mess up with at that meterage

[garythetiler]

there is a saying in the tiling business that India is the new china, just as the chinese are improving their quality the Indians have come in to the market and are under cutting the chinese and are producing tiles and stone of questionable quality ,try and find out where the tiles are coming from and also try and open up a few boxes before you start laying to check size and colour issues goodluck with the job but i think the price you have been quoted is at least 25% too cheap

[LM Ceramics]

id be wary of the price quoted to you for laying laying stone takes alot more thought and time to lay £25 m2 is too low in my opinion

as for your tiles i agree with others i wouldnt buy blind go to a tile shop and check the prices on granite

[gaz man]

the price u had quoted is far to cheap .also the price of the tile is far to cheap to be of any high standard for this type of tile

[sw tiling]

i do agree with the other guys about pricing but afraid i wont tell you how much id charge, floor needs to be perfectly flat using a solid bed of adhesive underneath, the flatness of floor is because they have very square sharp edges, some with very slight bevelled edges and some without and this can vary from box to box, this tile wont need sealing but will need time and care spent on fixing them properly as lippy tiles will be very obvious. Hopefully tiler does good job for you.

[Colour Republic]

This stone is commonly found in India and is more than likely sourced from India. Now the difference in price for this stone can be huge! A lot of countries charge huge amounts of TAX on un-cut stone where as pre-finished stone is a lot cheaper than buying un-cut and finishing in another country. It encourages the export economy for these countries, (NOTE: I believe it's illegal to export un-cut gems from South Africa).

For these reasons you can buy pre-finished stone of various quality even though the stone its self is the same, hence the difference in price, please bear in mind how much you paid for your worktop and how much a larger area of floor is costing you in comparison. Both prices seem very cheap to me but that said if you paid twice the amount would you be twice as happy? It all comes down to the detail and finish, if you appreciate quality I would advise you to look elsewhere

[chris.tiling]

I am in Poole and can come and look for you. Price quoted seems cheap for stone. Pm me or call 07842 219115 and I can have a look etc
Regards
Chris

[doug boardley]

assuming they're genuine star galaxy granite, the price does seem low, perhaps given by somebody that is maybe inexperienced in fitting natural stone and all the inherent problems incurred. Have you also thought about a black "glitter" grout to match up with your tiles? Good luck

[trevortine]

Just a pointer bout sw,s post, granite tiles must be sealed, many people think no but it is essential especially in kitchen areas. Sealer is applied and left to soak in for up to 12 hours and then removed. It DOES make a big difference in preventing stains.

[grumpygrouter]

Just a pointer bout sw,s post, granite tiles must be sealed, many people think no but it is essential especially in kitchen areas. Sealer is applied and left to soak in for up to 12 hours and then removed. It DOES make a big difference in preventing stains.

Surely that depends on the sealer?

[trevortine]

Hey grumps, i usually use the fila granite impregnator sealer. Takes a long time to soak into granite but really does make a difference. Although it aint really a colour intensifier it does make black granite that wee bit blacker. Have you ever used it, if not what do you prefer?

[grumpygrouter]

Only ever used Lithofin. Can't leave that stuff on too long otherwise it causes problems. Excess needs to be wiped off within about 15 mins otherwise it ends up marked and sticky! Good results though.