What to do When You Can’t Find an Exact Tile Replacement
By Mark J. Donovan
|
|
Question: Mark, I have a matching replacement tile problem. My bathroom has ceramic tile flooring and one of the tiles broke. I want to find a replacement tile that looks identical to the original one so that it matches the rest of the tiles on the floor.
However, I have never seen this particular tile’s likeness at any tile store in my area. I was wondering how I would go about finding an exact matching replacement tile for it. |
Answer: C.M. Finding a replacement tile that exactly matches your old tile may be impossible to do. For just your situation I always buy a few extra tiles and store them away in a safe location after completing a tile project.
The first thing I would do is to take the broken tile to a store that focuses on tile and see if they can come up with a close matching replacement tile.
If they do not have a close enough matching replacement tile then I would check on-line for a tile company that makes tiles to order.
| Often they will be able to manufacture a replacement tile that nearly exactly matches the old one. However, having a tile made-to-order can be a bit pricey.
Another alternative is to find a replacement tile that contrasts well with the existing bathroom floor tile. With this approach you would effectively replace the old tile with an accent tile. |
 |
If you want to go one step further, you could consider removing a few more of the bathroom floor tiles, and then replace them all with accent tiles to develop a custom floor tile pattern.
For information on installing a shower pan membrane liner for a ceramic tile shower, see the Shower Pan Membrane Liner Installation Ebook from HomeAdditionPlus.com. The Shower Pan Membrane Liner EBook will quickly teach you the step-by-step process for installing the shower pan membrane liner correctly. It includes instructions on framing the shower stall, pouring the pre-slope and shower base mortar, and installing the shower pan membrane liner.
See HomeAdditionPlus.com’s Ceramic Tile Calculator
See my “How to Tile a Custom Ceramic Tile Shower” Ebook to learn how to tile your own shower: For a detailed set of instructions on tiling a shower floor and walls, including pictures for every step in the process, see my “How to Tile Custom Ceramic Tile Shower Ebook”.
Related Information
- How to Re-grout Bathroom Wall Tile
- How to Apply Grout to Ceramic Tile
- The Advantages of Slate Tile Flooring
Additional Ceramic Tile Resources from Amazon.com
  |
  |
  |
Get Free Bathroom Remodeling Price Quotes with No Obligation!
Fill out our 3-5 minute quick and easy form, and receive a free price quote on a bathroom remodeling project from one of our pre-screened and licensed bathroom remodeling contractors. This process is free and there is no obligation to continue once you receive your bathroom addition price estimate.