problem with british ceramic tiles

[thompsonbrown]

Installing a bathroom and the customer has choosen 600x300 Dorchester-Carrara tiles made by British ceramic Tiles.
Finding that some of the tiles are up to 2mm different in size and other tiles have blemishes or crack lines in the glaze.
Is this just a bad batch or are British tiles inferior to Spanish or Italian tiles.
Most of the tiles I fit are Porcelanosa so I may have been spoilt with quality.

 

[Stef]

Installing a bathroom and the customer has choosen 600x300 Dorchester-Carrara tiles made by British ceramic Tiles.
Finding that some of the tiles are up to 2mm different in size and other tiles have blemishes or crack lines in the glaze.
Is this just a bad batch or are British tiles inferior to Spanish or Italian tiles.
Most of the tiles I fit are Porcelanosa so I may have been spoilt with quality.

You see a lot more of it these days, some of British Ceramics & some of johnsons tiles are really bad.
God knows how some of them get through quality control.

 

[thompsonbrown]

Seems a shame that the tiles I have a problem with are British.

 

[Colour Republic]

BCT do seem to have gone down hill. There was a particular white matt tile 4 or 5 years ago I used to spec a lot, which was good quality and cheap! but don't anymore as it's just a terrible tile now with sizes all over the place and not even square

 

[thompsonbrown]

BCT do seem to have gone down hill. There was a particular white matt tile 4 or 5 years ago I used to spec a lot, which was good quality and cheap! but don't anymore as it's just a terrible tile now with sizes all over the place and not even square

I know what you mean. How can they produce a tile over 2mm different with all the tiles having the same batch number.
Also the pattern in the marbling only seems to have about 3 different designs.

 

[John Benton]

Yep did a shower enclosure before xmas, similar thing, mis-sizes and also curved on a 250x330. Shocking really, used to go out with a girl and her chest was flatter than the tiles from BCT

 

[White Room]

Fixing British ceramics in a bathroom at the moment and 2mm difference in sizes, don't make the job any easier....

 

[One Day]

I used some inkjet ones from TG a few times now and sizes have been ok but there have been blemishes in the glaze and quite often the print is missing along an edge.
Are these actually made in Britain or just boxed here?
If made here then it's certainly nothing to be proud about!
The best ceramics I've used aside from Porcelanosa have all been Chinese.

 

[Stef]

I used some inkjet ones from TG a few times now and sizes have been ok but there have been blemishes in the glaze and quite often the print is missing along an edge.
Are these actually made in Britain or just boxed here?
If made here then it's certainly nothing to be proud about!
The best ceramics I've used aside from Porcelanosa have all been Chinese.

The last Porcelanosa I fixed weren't very smart & not very flat, wasn't impressed at all.
Fitted Chinese ones & they are very good tiles, can't remember the make but made in GuangDong province.

Kito, I think??

 

[area tiling]

BCT are rubbish , wrong sizes , not square , cracking in the glaze etc etc..... how they get away with it is beyond me! Wonder what standards tile manufacturers have to adhere to !??

 

[Time's Ran Out]

There is a saying that a poor workman blames his tools!

However when it comes to British Tiles this often has to be the case as we get the blame for these poor quality ceramics if fixed.

But this is far from a new problem IMHO as English tiles has always been of a lower quality control in the 40+ years I've been in tilling !

 

[WetSaw]

It's the same with some Spanish tiles. Just laid 450 x 450 floor tiles, 2 - 3mm difference in size and more belly than a Tellytubby

 

[charlie1]

This is the tile I'm laying just now, I haven't had any problems with it although I am using a 3 mm joint.

 

[Sean SML Tiling]

It's the same with some Spanish tiles. Just laid 450 x 450 floor tiles, 2 - 3mm difference in size and more belly than a Tellytubby

I also just done a floor with same size tile and used 5mm spacer but these were johnsons. shocking tiles!

 

[afright]

Johnson was a good make in the 70s & 80s but must agree they have gone down hill a bit there wall & floor tile range are rubbish.

 

[Ian]

I've done a couple of bathrooms with their new 'HD' range, I thought they might be really nice with such a fancy name but, no, same old out of square, sizey rubbish. It reflects on the overall finish when tiles are so poor, the only way of disguising the variations in joint size, is to use a grout as close to the tile colour as possible, a contrasting grout draws your eye to any discrepancies.

 

[WetSaw]

That was the problem with these, cream tiles with grey grout.

 

[thompsonbrown]

Here some pics of the BCT tiles I wrote this post about.


Thanks to all for your feedback.

 

[Paul Bleasdale]

Installing a bathroom and the customer has choosen 600x300 Dorchester-Carrara tiles made by British ceramic Tiles.
Finding that some of the tiles are up to 2mm different in size and other tiles have blemishes or crack lines in the glaze.
Is this just a bad batch or are British tiles inferior to Spanish or Italian tiles.
Most of the tiles I fit are Porcelanosa so I may have been spoilt with quality.

The problem with tiles made of wall standard clay being called wall and floor tiles is now a if problem in our industry. I wish manufactures would by now have realised that they are not suitable for wooden floors or ufh. It is up to Tilers to refuse to fix them . Problem is clients usually have bought them and can be reluctant to change them

 

[Joseph Kover]

Installing a bathroom and the customer has choosen 600x300 Dorchester-Carrara tiles made by British ceramic Tiles.
Finding that some of the tiles are up to 2mm different in size and other tiles have blemishes or crack lines in the glaze.
Is this just a bad batch or are British tiles inferior to Spanish or Italian tiles.
Most of the tiles I fit are Porcelanosa so I may have been spoilt with quality.

Yep, I have just told the same few days ago in other thread. Rubbish.

 

[Joseph Kover]

The last Porcelanosa I fixed weren't very smart & not very flat, wasn't impressed at all.
Fitted Chinese ones & they are very good tiles, can't remember the make but made in GuangDong province.

Kito, I think??

Did fit Chinese ones half year ago, they were better than most others

 

[gazmcd72]

Best tiles I've used for sizing are porcelanosa and keope I know a lot of the Johnstone stuff are not made in the UK anymore but the eu

 

[jenjen]

BCT do seem to have gone down hill. There was a particular white matt tile 4 or 5 years ago I used to spec a lot, which was good quality and cheap! but don't anymore as it's just a terrible tile now with sizes all over the place and not even square

Hi there, I am currently in a dispute with the liquidators of BCT regarding some pallets of matt white tiles that were sent that the sizing was all over the place. I have to get expert opinion on the tiles, but cannot due to lockdown. Would you be able to provide me an expert opinion . . .. assuming you are a "suitably" qualified person. Regards Jenny
[automerge]1588846027[/automerge]

Here some pics of the BCT tiles I wrote this post about.
View attachment 57304 View attachment 57303 View attachment 57305

Thanks to all for your feedback.

Hi there, I am currently in a dispute with the liquidators of BCT regarding some pallets of matt white tiles that were sent that the sizing was all over the place. I have to get expert opinion on the tiles, but cannot due to lockdown. Would you be able to provide me an expert opinion . . .. assuming you are a "suitably" qualified person. Regards Jenny