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susanlynn2012

Help miscalculated & Only have 6.32% extra tiles & not 10% extra!

susanlynn2012
12 years ago

Help, I miscalculated the discontinued tiles and bought the rest they had for the rectified 18 " X 18" tiles thinking I had more than 10% extra but if I round the numbers when doing the calculations to the nearest one (8.53 = 9" and not 8.53"), then I only have 6.32% extra. They have no more tiles in this size and only have 3 square feet bull-nose pieces left. Will I have a problem. My installer did not know as much as I thought by his comment his morning about the thin-set and grout that he felt the store should help me with since he hasn't done too many tile jobs. He is a contractor and he had told me when he was here to do closet doors that he also does tile. I will be interviewing for a new tile guy right away but should I buy the bull-nose pieces or get a similar tile for behind the refrigerator or will I have enough since the numbers are rounded up if I get a good installer. I fell in love with the tile at a neighbors house and they only had 130.77 square feet left but on the phone I thought they said 137 square feet. I did not check when I bought the tile until tonight when I was figuring out if I had enough left over to do the utility room and then I realized I may be short!

Comments (10)

  • brickeyee
    12 years ago

    You are going to have to be VERY careful to not waste or damage any tile.

    Depending on how you calculated the number required you may be anything from fine to having a real problem.

    I would g back and do a VERY precise layout based on multiple room measurements to see if you have enough tile before actually starting to lay them.

    You need to account for everything, like walls slightly out of square.

    If you counted originally by the area AND the perimeter you might be fine.

  • barbcollins
    12 years ago

    If after you double check your measurements, if you don't have enough, can you find a coordinating tile to mix in or use a a border.

    I would definitely consider doing something different behind or under the fridge and stove where they can't be seen.

  • susanlynn2012
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thank you so much brickeye and barbcollins for your replies. I just got home from a seminar that was all day and I am so tired from not sleeping well worrying about the tile. I remeasured and I did measure by the perimeter without deducting for areas where there are no tile. Hence, When I deducted those areas it looks like I will be fine. What a relief. But I am going to place the tiles on the floor to be sure I have enough since their is 3 square feet of a smaller tile at the store left if I need it for behind the refrigerator. I found an installer I called at lunch who can come by tonight to remeasure and give me an estimate but you both helped me a lot. The worse case scenario is I place different tile under the refrigerator since that is approximately the square footage I thought I was short or I add in other tiles to the mix. The better case scenario is I have enough tiles due to not deducting the area where there will be no tiles so maybe I am fine. I wish I bought all the tiles 2 weeks ago when I found out they were discontinued and there was a lot more and use any leftover ones for my laundry room and utility room but the time I stopped into the store to buy the tile they only had so much left over and I bought them all. I feel a lot better despite being so tired. I really love the tile and the fact it is rectified so I can have skinnier lines in the kitchen for an easier time keeping the grout clean. I will update after the installer leaves.

  • Laurie
    12 years ago

    I hope everything works out. Keep us posted when you choose a tile installer.

  • susanlynn2012
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thank you Laurie for caring. I sure wish I had a handy husband! You are so blessed. Both of you are blessed to have each other.

  • susanlynn2012
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    The found more boxes so I bought two more since two of the installers that came her to do an estimate told me I needed at least 2 more boxes. I will keep all of you updated. I am still getting quotes and amazed at how much installing the tiles cost.

  • Laurie
    12 years ago

    Yeah!! That's great you found two more boxes!!
    Yes, please keep us posted : )

  • susanlynn2012
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thank you Laurie for being there for me and sharing in my excitement! I love fixing up my home but wish I had a huge budget to start out with to do it all at once. I am getting excited about getting rid of my old floor that needs to be ripped out since it is unraveling on the sides, had a torn area, had deep cuts in it and is discolored. It is not glued down well so it has to come up which is part of the cost of labor.

  • brickeyee
    12 years ago

    Running short can be a real problem.

    Unless the material is very expensive I use the area to be tiled divided by the tile size in each direction rounded up to the next whole tile.
    To this add the each side divided by the tile size and rounded up.

    Do each wall separately, not just the whole perimeter divided by the tile size.

    A few extra tiles is far less painful then running short.

    For expansive (or large) tiles I do an exact layout on paper.
    The room must be measured in multiple places to make sure the walls are straight and perpendicular.
    5% extra might be all that is required on a larger job.

    More on a smaller job (the 5% may not produce enough spares for breakage or rejects).

  • susanlynn2012
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thank you brickeyee for your input. Yes, my problem was I did not round the numbers upward and forgot to measure under the range! The store found more boxes of the discontinued tile so since two installers that were here to give me an estimate without telling me their calculations told me to buy two more boxes so I did. I panicked since I ran out of wood when doing my Brazilian Cherry Floors which held my installation job up by 3 weeks and prevented me from getting much work done since I have a home office.