Trying to find replacement tile


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Old 10-09-14, 10:04 AM
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Question Trying to find replacement tile

We have missing tile in our dining room due to ground movement and a hallway addition. Our home has 5000sqf of this stuff and I cannot find it anywhere. Colors are always drastically off. All I know is that our tile is Italian from 1988 11.5 x 11.5. They had no overages around the house! The color is grey and pinkish. Tried the local tile stores and sadly nothing.

So we have 29 tiles missing in our dinning room which has been turned into a family room. Looks horrid. We thought about replacing the whole floor, but that is 5000sqf of flooring to match.

Nothing is on the tile to truly identify it. We thought about taking tile from a closet. however they have cemented the tile down and it breaks when trying to take it off. So I need tile replacement. We have lived with this for the past 2 years. We want to finish our home and possibly sell it. Any ideas?

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Old 10-09-14, 10:10 AM
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Welcome to the forums. I moved your question into its own thread to increase visibility.

Personally, I would be looking at different tiles that you could put down to create a complimentary look.
 
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Old 10-09-14, 10:20 AM
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And to add...

You may have to remove MORE tile and fill that with the replacement stuff. For instance, if the missing tiles are between 2 areas, you may have to remove around the perimeter of each area and add something complimentary there. If it's right in the middle of a room, possibly you could remove more and make an X pattern.

If none of those are a possibility, then you may have to remove all in the immediate area and replace. It can be done.

A designer might be able to suggest some other options.

You will never, ever find an exact match.
 
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Old 10-09-14, 10:44 AM
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Thank you for your suggestions. Because of the odd placing of missing tile in the family room, I cannot do a design. I'm thinking that the floor will need to be replaced. Sadly all tile would need to be replaced because it just wouldn't match well. We have thought about wood flooring but with 5000sqf of flooring, that would be $$$$. We have tried to do colors which are just a little off down the hallway and you can notice badly. So thought I would give this one last shot at trying to find this stuff.
 
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Old 10-09-14, 10:53 AM
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Maybe a bad idea but,
If you're selling your house, you could leave it up to buyer. You could go through a lot of expense to fix a floor that buyer may not even like. Some people would love a house full of tile, others would have it ripped out immediately.
 
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Old 10-09-14, 11:18 AM
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What I have noticed about buyers in this price range, is that they want it completely done. Thank you for your suggestion though.
 
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Old 10-09-14, 11:45 AM
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We have thought about wood flooring but with 5000sqf of flooring, that would be $$$$.
5000 Sf is going to be pricey no mater what you go with. And if you decide to sell, you will be reducing your price by $10000 or even more if you don't do something. That's if you get any valid offers. I'm sure most people would lowball you drastically below market. Esp when they asked why the problem happened in the first place.

Some people may say "Oh, they didn't bother to fix this? What else didn't get fixed? Lets go look elsewhere." And how many people have an extra $10G or so to spend right after purchase? Or want to spend the time and effort finding a contractor, getting bids, deciding on material, etc?

Unless the place is absolutely fantastic elsewhere and the price is low, I just don't see it making sense not to fix it somehow. I'll bet any realtor would say the same.

There are many many homes with tile/stone in some areas and wood floors in others, even in adjacent spaces. Wood can be a warmer more natural surface than tile, seems like it would be appropriate for a family room?

Some good pictures and a floor plan would probably give a designer all they would need to make some basic recommendations. Some would probably do it for free or a minor consult fee if they didn't have to actually visit the home.

Personally, I would be turned off by all tile in a home. But I'm a stained wood trim and softer textures kinda guy I guess. I know most all the newer homes we were shown when we moved here were all tile and to me it was just too cold and hard for my tastes.
 

Last edited by Gunguy45; 10-09-14 at 02:22 PM.
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Old 10-11-14, 01:35 PM
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Smile

Thank you for the reply. I was having problems connecting through my facebook login. Kept taking me to a blank page.

I think maybe we will do the family room, kitchen and a hallway in the same area that connects to 2 bedrooms. I'll put wood in those area's. I don't like having all tile throughout the house, although this tile is durable and easy to clean. Winter it is very cold.

We had a pool leak at one stage. The pool was in the center of our home. We have since taken it out due to having little ones. The tile was bowing so I thought the leak might be there. It wasn't our builder said it was normal movement and they did not seal the tile down good on the joint. Not understanding that replacement tiles would be impossible to find, I had torn a large portion out. Learned my lesson.

We have many projects to do around the house until we sell. Which will take about a year. But the flooring is a huge item that needs to be fixed. This forum is going to be my new home glad to see places like this. Helps home owners like myself learn and get ideas.
 
 

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