Does anyone know of any company that specializes in out dated or out of manufacture floor tile? It never fails, one tile goes bad and the whole floor has to be replaced because there are no longer replacement tiles. There must be some companies that either store and sell older tiles, or actually re-manufacture them. I did some looking on the web and did not find anything.
Only source I know of are the restoration/renovation places and the outfits that specialize in closeouts, discontinued merchandise, etc.
In general, if there were no extras saved and it's not something generic enough to match, your choice is as close a match as you can find or a deliberately contrasting replacement so it looks like accent.
I suppose if it were valuable enough, one could approach one of the custom tile artisans, but would be unlikely they could/would want to do that type of work rather than their normal.
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ceramic or vinyl?
doesn't exist to my knowledge. tiles are made in batches and the batches usually vary anyway. this is true with vinyl tile too but to a lesser extent
i worked at a tile store for a very short period and we were hit up with this problem a lot. tiles are heavy and take up a lot of inventory space. nobody is going to keep an outdated tile on hand for when one of your tile breaks or tears unless you pick a very generic tile.
thats why you buy extra and leave them in the shed
Isn't that the point of "if it were valuable _ENOUGH_" ???? :(
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that would cost so much you may as well do the whole floor over.
i just couldn't see it. sorry :( could you imagine the setup cost? for one tile? not really very realistic.
do you have experience with this approach? i worked at color tile and i have never heard of such a thing.
Well, yes, I do...I happen to have a cousin who did custom tile for quite a while as an artistic sideline (along w/ the stained glass, etc.). The time is in color matching, etc., they've already got the setup for making tiles, so it depends on what they're trying to match. It certainly is order of magnitude over individual piecework tile, but could still be less than the whole floor. Then, of course, there's the convenience factor besides simply the cost. You're not likely to do it for 29-cent/ea box-store tile; no.
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where do you buy 29 cent floor tile?
That was a metaphor for inexpensive... :(
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plonk...
kind of like: find a guy who specializes in making one custom tile cheaply? is that one of your metaphors too?
probably a good idea
If you can find a good local tile store (versus a big box store that happens to sell a limited range of tiles) they will likely help you find something that's a pretty decent match.
A small Ma and Pop operation with an emphasis on service is what you need ;-)
They know where to look and have quick/easy access to all of the wholesalers, distributors etc.
And this time, buy an extra box of tile so this never happens again!
Three alternatives come to mind:
Tile stores won't even guarantee color if you re-order 1 month later. Tile batches vary.
Again - that's why you buy a few extra tiles.
Bob
if you have a large order you are supposed to mix the tiles up to blend in the difference in lots.
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