Guide to Pricing and Costs of Tile and Stone Floor Manufacturers

Understanding the factors that impact tile flooring costs

By Virginia Franco, Freelance Writer

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Decide on the material you'd like for your tile flooring order

Natural stone like that seen in limestone flooring, marble flooring, granite flooring or even a slate stone floor tends to fall into higher price ranges, and can cost anywhere from $7-$20 per square foot (some as much as $200 per square foot). Tile and stone floor manufacturers tend to charge less for synthetic materials like ceramic tiles, which run from $5-$15 per square foot, or even vinyl at $1-$4 per square foot.

I recommend: FloorBiz is a self-described "flooring portal" that lists manufacturers, contractors and even distributors of various floor tile products. CornerstoneWholesale provides the names of synthetic and natural tile manufacturers.

Consider buying tile flooring in bulk to save money

Many manufacturers take advantage of factory direct prices and are able to pass along the savings to you when ordering in bulk -- sometimes as much as 25-50%. These sites are ideal for design professionals, contractors and multi-home builders.

I recommend: StoneLocator takes minimum order quantities of 5,000 square feet for 12", 16", 18" or 24" tile. They advertise stone for as low as 99 cents per square foot. The Tile Stone Outlet has discount arrangements with a handful of stone and tile manufacturers for the specific purpose of allowing buyers to order in bulk.

Factor in the cost of a custom design or special order when choosing tile flooring

Costs will increase when custom designs or special orders come into play. Custom designs are often hand crafted or hand cut, in which case the labor costs are reflected in the higher per-tile price. Custom tiles can run as much as $15-$30 per tile.

I recommend: Tiles with Style specializes in creating custom ceramic tile floors and ceramic floor tiles. Gustin Ceramics offers a variety of custom made ceramic tiles that can be cut into several shapes and sizes and can be custom glazed in a range of colors. They even have sample kits for designers and architects.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Save on floor tile materials by purchasing directly from the factory, effectively eliminating the middle man and reducing your costs. Factories have also been known to have overstock sales -- where builders and contractors can take advantage on purchasing flooring tiles at steep discounts.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Compare products from top tile and stone flooring manufacturers

Take a look at the jobs you have done in the past and notice the tile and flooring trends based on what your clients currently have on their floors and what they've ordered to replace it. This could include granite flooring, marble flooring, limestone flooring, tile flooring, ceramic or coral stone flooring. Decide which of these you wish to offer to your clients, then find a manufacturer who carries the types you've chosen to offer.

I recommend: A leader in tile and stone flooring manufacing, Dal-Tile Corporation offers flooring dealers two of the top brand names for flooring options -- daltile and American Olean. Browse the online catalog of ceramic tile options at Monterey Ceramic Tile & Marble, Inc.

Buy both directly from the stone and tile manufacturers or from buying clubs

You can supply your clients with stone and tile flooring from either the manufacturer or from buying clubs that offer a wide variety of flooring manufacturer products through one supplier.

I recommend: StoneLocator.com serves builders and flooring companies with fine quality stone products for floors as well as other products for other areas of the house. They also ship from a large number of distribution centers and specialize in full pallet orders. DirectBuy offers a free visitor pass to allow clients to preview membership options for buying a wide range of tile floors from a variety of manufacturers at wholesale prices.

Consider offering your clients options for faux tile and stone flooring

Some clients may not be able to afford authentic tile or stone flooring, but still want the rich look of these products. Offering clients vinyl floors is a great compromise.

I recommend: Gerbert Limited offers Polyflor Expona Stone, a vinyl collection with the sophisticated look of stone, wood and tile. Order samples from long-established flooring manufacturer Armstrong to show your clients the quality of their vinyl product that looks like stone flooring. Consider the ease-of-use of Freestyle Flooring, offering commercial contracts for easy interlocking flooring with a stone look.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Keeping all your business with one manufacturer will save you time and money, but it may not be possible if your chosen supplier doesn't offer all your choices of tile and stone flooring.
• •  Be kind to the environment by buying flooring from flooring manufacturers offering 'green' flooring options in the form of recycled floor covering product.

Guide to Tile and Stone Floor Manufacturers Basics

Understand tile flooring basics to simplify the buying process

By Virginia Franco, Freelance Writer

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Select which material you would like for your tile flooring

The material you select to tile your floor will depend on the look you want and the nature of the room. Ceramic tile is a good choice for a kitchen, for instance, because it is easy to clean and does not absorb smells. Be sure to verify a material's Porcelain Enamel Institute (PEI) rating, which tells you how much wear a tile is designed to withstand as well as other tile strength and durability tests.

I recommend: Floors Transformed includes an explanation of each of the five PEI ratings. The Tile Doctor provides high level overviews of various tests that tiles undergo prior to sale, including chemical resistance and breaking strength.

Measure your space to determine how much tile flooring the project requires

To determine a rough estimate of how much tile flooring your project will require, measure the length and width of the room and multiply the two numbers to calculate your square footage. For a more exact figure that eliminates potential wasted square footage, break the room up into squares, multiplying the length and width of each square and adding the numbers together.

I recommend: RFMS offers flooring estimation software to help with large-scale ordering for commercial and multi-home contractors as well as design professionals. Myhomeideas includes flooring calculators, from which estimates can be made for vinyl and ceramic tile floors.

Compare tile and stone floor manufacturers to see who can provide you with the best value

When comparing the inventory of various tile and stone manufacturers, it is important to know that prices vary based on the tile material. Natural stone tiles like marble or granite tend to cost more than those made from synthetic materials like vinyl. Costs will increase when custom designs or special orders come into play.

I recommend: FloorFacts has an extensive list of worldwide porcelain and ceramic tile manufacturers and includes links to each manufacturer's site. The Tile Shop has a large inventory of natural stone and tile floor options.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you have a small floor to tile, contact tile and stone floor manufacturers and ask for remnants. These remnants are generally left over from larger orders and are not enough for anything but smaller jobs. It is not uncommon for vendors to have extra tiles on hand that they are willing to sell to you at a steep discount.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Slurry (slip)

A slurry is a mixture of water and any finely divided insoluble material like clay or portland cement in suspension.

I recommend: The World Floor Covering Association explains how slurry fits into the tile-making process.

Portland cement

A calcium silicate hydraulic cement produced by pulverizing clinker (solid material that's formed into lumps or nodules during the cement kiln stage) and usually containing calcium sulfate and other compounds. It's commonly used as the base for grout for tile work.

I recommend: Learn about the history of Portland cement from the Portland Cement Association.

Terrazzo tile

Terrazzo refers to flooring made with Portland cement and sand body. The terrazzo flooring surface is made from small chips of marble that are set on a Portland cement and sand body and then polished or ground smooth.

I recommend: The Aldon Corporation offers an online cleaning, problem-solving, protection and care guide for terrazzo tile.

Salt glaze

A salt glaze is a gloss finish produced by the thermo-chemical reaction between the ceramic body surface and salt fumes produced in the kiln at elevated temperatures.

I recommend: Learn more about how salt glazes and other types of glazes are used on flooring tiles at FlooringKnowledge.com.

Vitrified (vitreous)

Vitrified refers to the degree of vitrification evidenced by low water absorption. Vitrification is the progressive reduction in a ceramic composition's porosity due to heat treatment or other process. It is a characteristic that helps define a tile's quality. Vitrification is measured by the degree to which the tile elements absorb water, and less absorption equals increased vitrification. Vitrified tile characteristics include higher resistance and greater quality.

I recommend: Read more about the benefits of vitrified tile at Machine Design.

Lippage

Lippage refers to a condition where one edge of a tile is higher than an adjacent tile, resulting in an uneven appearance on the finished surface.

I recommend: Learn more about lippage at Wood Pro.