Most of the colors and trims are readily available. They aren't just sitting around a warehouse though. They are made to order when the order is received. You have to actually go to a flooring store, approve the color/shape in person, and pay in advance to order them.

Go to Home Depot or Lowes and ask the person in the tile department about ordering the components that are not on the shelf. They do special orders all the time.

I do not buy tile at HD or Lowes. From what I've seen, the quality is not as good as tile that can be found at a specialty flooring store. Do you have stores like this in your area? If not, there are several on-line resources.

When you buy, ask if the tile is rectified (meaning that each piece will be exactly the same size as the other pieces) and if the tile is color-through.

If you have a Prosource in your area, you can try there. They carry the full line of Daltile and the prices are good.

Thanks for the suggestions. We live 2 hours from an interstate in the middle of nowhere. We really have squat for options.

It'd be worth it for y'all to take a road trip some week-end to buy tile. Considering that it's something you'll have to live with for years, your time would be well spent.

I agree with Jewel - take that road trip, and plan on doing whatever else needs to be accomplished in "the big city" while you're doing it (like plumbing fixtures, or window blinds).

You can also find that kind of tile from Subway Ceramics, but it is more expensive product.

You can also try Wayfair.com which carries some Daltile product in the more popular lines (like Rittenhouse Square). Checking at the store for special orders is also a good idea. I also used the online chat with customer service at Homedepot.com to get information on one of those pesky items that kept showing up as "out of stock."

My experience after going through much the same process was that matching whites across different lines is a nightmare (witness my "50 shades of white" guest bathroom which I have of necessity embraced as a work of art), but black is black. So although being able to buy most of what we need for the next project from Home Depot (Daltile field tile and trim) we are perfectly happy with half-inch black liners off the shelf at Lowes. Likewise black 2 x 6 bullnose was identical at both places, even from the lower-priced or store brand lines (and much cheaper).

American Olean and Daltile is the same company. But, much of the colors are made to order, only after they get an order. It will depend on what color that you want whether you will be able to find it anywhere. If you talk with a flooring store with an account with either, they can talk to the distributor to see if there are any returns or overstock at one of the other branches. You get lucky sometimes that way, but it does require personal interaction. And persistance.

Just for the record, the subway ceramics field tile is 17.95 sf. not for the faint of heart.

As another option if you are not obsessed with perfectly square edged tiles, check out claysquared. They have the trim pieces available.

Side note, I get what the contractor was doing with their wainscot meets the shower tile, but the fact that it is off alignment like that in the last pick makes me want to pull out my hair!

Here is a link that might be useful: ClaySquared

This post was edited by kats737 on Thu, Nov 13, 14 at 13:42

What, exactly, are you looking for? And, generally, where are you located? I can ask my local Daltile distributor about the availability, and they can check nationwide.

Thanks again folks! I decided to stop in at the one tile shop in the area, even though their website didn't list any of the lower end tile companies. I was surprised to find American Olean there, and they can order every piece I want! Yippee!