Porcelain prices - are we being taken for a ride?

[sw879]

Hi everyone

 

I hope that this is the right section to be asking this. 

 

We've asked Porcelain Tiles (company recommended to us by the person managing our project) for a quote to supply the flooring of our kitchen, 3 bathrooms and the floor for our small entrance way.  The price they're come back with is almost £21,000 plus VAT (excluding delivery).  This includes a 30% trade discount too!

 

For example they have quoted for the entrance "4.5m2 Onyx Sense Bianco Polished 1500 x 3000 x 6mm @ £154.70/m2 +VAT = £696.15 +VAT".  The price per m2 ranges between £118.30/m2 plus VAT to £154.70/m2 plus VAT.

 

Having never done this before I am quite shocked at the pricing.  Is this normal or is this just what porcelain costs? 

 

Our kitchen is due to be delivered in 4 weeks and time is running out to pick the flooring and i'm half thinking that we should just have wood flooring instead.  

 

Does anyone have any experience with this or recommendations?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you

 

S

 

[Conor]

About 2x or 3x what you'd pay for standard porcelain  - we got 900mm tiles at £25m2 and laid for another £15m2. Admittedly the tiles were from an end of stock discount centre - should have been £40m2.

[Russell griffiths]

£25-35 45 m any more than that and I won’t be buying it

 

i think your being bent over. 

 

What you think @nod

 

can you go to smaller sizes 600 x600 used to be large, I’m not sure where all these huge outrageous sizes have come from. 

 

Is it a particularly fancy pad. 

Edited June 8, 2020 by Russell griffiths

[sw879]

Thank you both, I just had no idea what to expect really.   ?

 

@Conor do you remember the name of the company at all?  

 

 

 

[BotusBuild]

They obviously have so much business they don't want yours, or the flooring you are asking for is rarer than hen's teeth.

 

Make a counter offer of £2,000 below what you are willing to pay i.e. start bartering. If they don't/won't play ball, move on.

Edited June 8, 2020 by BotusBuild

[sw879]

9 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

£25-35 45 m any more than that and I won’t be buying it

 

i think your being bent over. 

 

What you think @nod

"Super comment" from my husband who is laughing in the other room haha

[PeterW]

20 minutes ago, sw879 said:

For example they have quoted for the entrance "4.5m2 Onyx Sense Bianco Polished 1500 x 3000 x 6mm @ £154.70/m2 +VAT = £696.15 +VAT".  The price per m2 ranges between £118.30/m2 plus VAT to £154.70/m2 plus VAT.

 

That is extortionate..!!! There are however some huge tiles in the range, the bigger they are the more they cost although you appear to have 150 square metres of tiles..??! Is that correct..?? And is that the fitted price..??

 

Try this as a comparison https://www.porcelainsuperstore.co.uk/

[nod]

28 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

£25-35 45 m any more than that and I won’t be buying it

 

i think your being bent over. 

 

What you think @nod

 

can you go to smaller sizes 600 x600 used to be large, I’m not sure where all these huge outrageous sizes have come from. 

 

Is it a particularly fancy pad. 

Exactly Russ 

the showroom prices are much higher than trade 

On e you get upto 30 you should be looking at laser cut Italian Porcelain 

Tops ask high prices for inferior Turkish Chinese 

[Pete]

4 hours ago, sw879 said:

Hi everyone

 

I hope that this is the right section to be asking this. 

 

We've asked Porcelain Tiles (company recommended to us by the person managing our project) for a quote to supply the flooring of our kitchen, 3 bathrooms and the floor for our small entrance way.  The price they're come back with is almost £21,000 plus VAT (excluding delivery).  This includes a 30% trade discount too!

 

For example they have quoted for the entrance "4.5m2 Onyx Sense Bianco Polished 1500 x 3000 x 6mm @ £154.70/m2 +VAT = £696.15 +VAT".  The price per m2 ranges between £118.30/m2 plus VAT to £154.70/m2 plus VAT.

 

Having never done this before I am quite shocked at the pricing.  Is this normal or is this just what porcelain costs? 

 

Our kitchen is due to be delivered in 4 weeks and time is running out to pick the flooring and i'm half thinking that we should just have wood flooring instead.  

 

Does anyone have any experience with this or recommendations?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you

 

S

 

Once you go into the large size tiles you pay an awful lot for transportation/delivery 

[Pete]

4 hours ago, sw879 said:

Hi everyone

 

I hope that this is the right section to be asking this. 

 

We've asked Porcelain Tiles (company recommended to us by the person managing our project) for a quote to supply the flooring of our kitchen, 3 bathrooms and the floor for our small entrance way.  The price they're come back with is almost £21,000 plus VAT (excluding delivery).  This includes a 30% trade discount too!

 

For example they have quoted for the entrance "4.5m2 Onyx Sense Bianco Polished 1500 x 3000 x 6mm @ £154.70/m2 +VAT = £696.15 +VAT".  The price per m2 ranges between £118.30/m2 plus VAT to £154.70/m2 plus VAT.

 

Having never done this before I am quite shocked at the pricing.  Is this normal or is this just what porcelain costs? 

 

Our kitchen is due to be delivered in 4 weeks and time is running out to pick the flooring and i'm half thinking that we should just have wood flooring instead.  

 

Does anyone have any experience with this or recommendations?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you

 

S

 

The internet is your friend here. We priced a tile locally, 1.2m x 1.2m costing £112 per sq/m, I then did the internet search and it was about £42 per sq/m. When the local tile dealer contacted me to ask what we thought of the quote I told him the price on the internet and he undercut that price!! (Did not give him the business though as it was pure greed!)

[joth]

5 hours ago, sw879 said:

recommended to us by the person managing our project

you're not paying them a % of the total contract value, per chance? Always have to question the incentives in those situations.

 

We're getting wood-effect porcelain from the random shop at the end of our road that imports direct from Spain, £40/m2

 

[nod]

I used these on our 158m2 laser cut 

Imported from Italy 

Including vat and delivery 

29m2 

1200 x 200 Porcelain 

Massive mark up on tiles 

Italian laser cut are the only tiles in this size without any camber 

[AliG]

Standard porcelain tiles tend to be £30-40 a square metre.

 

Here are some similar looking tiles in smaller sizes for example

 

https://alistairmackintosh.co.uk/marble-effect-porcelain-tiles/

 

Those tiles are crazy large, I would be very concerned re wastage. So not only are the tiles expensive but you will need to buy a way larger quantity. They would look awesome, but you are paying for it. Did you specifically pick this size?

 

As someone posted it seems to be for over 150 square metres of tiles, looking through your past posts your kitchen floor looks to be around 15 square metres.

 

Tiles like this I would only expect to see in an ultra high end central London development priced at > £20000 a square metre. Even then this size would be more used for the lobby of an office building. They would be total overkill for a normal house.

 

They were very difficult to find, I found 240x120 advertised at £90 a square metre.

 

https://www.porcel-thin.com/product/onyx-bianco-leviathan-cbp5502cm/

 

I also found this, Chinese version, but the ones you are getting seem to be Italian.

 

https://fshenj.en.made-in-china.com/product/PSWEpHYUVrRb/China-Onyx-Bianco-Marble-Effect-Porcelain-Tile-120-240-Cm.html

[nod]

37 minutes ago, AliG said:

Standard porcelain tiles tend to be £30-40 a square metre.

 

Here are some similar looking tiles in smaller sizes for example

 

https://alistairmackintosh.co.uk/marble-effect-porcelain-tiles/

 

Those tiles are crazy large, I would be very concerned re wastage. So not only are the tiles expensive but you will need to buy a way larger quantity. They would look awesome, but you are paying for it. Did you specifically pick this size?

 

As someone posted it seems to be for over 150 square metres of tiles, looking through your past posts your kitchen floor looks to be around 15 square metres.

 

Tiles like this I would only expect to see in an ultra high end central London development priced at > £20000 a square metre. Even then this size would be more used for the lobby of an office building. They would be total overkill for a normal house.

 

They were very difficult to find, I found 240x120 advertised at £90 a square metre.

 

https://www.porcel-thin.com/product/onyx-bianco-leviathan-cbp5502cm/

 

I also found this, Chinese version, but the ones you are getting seem to be Italian.

 

https://fshenj.en.made-in-china.com/product/PSWEpHYUVrRb/China-Onyx-Bianco-Marble-Effect-Porcelain-Tile-120-240-Cm.html

Chinese are cheap rubbish 

 

Italian 

Spanish 

Portuguese -Some Turkish 

China India Malaysia 

 

In that order 
 

I buy 1000s of m2 per year 

I can tell an Italian tile without looking at the back 
 

[AliG]

I wasn’t suggesting buying the Chinese ones just giving an idea of pricing for large tiles, I did note it was for Chinese not Italian, but I probably could have been clearer.

 

Looking at the specs and pictures the tiles I posted are the same tiles so $30 a metre from the factory turns into £90 a metre at retail.

 

The main question is who puts 1.5x3m tiles in a house. On top of the price of the tiles the fitting will be very high. If you look at the price quoted of £700 for the entrance that is the price of one tile. Presumably that one tile would have to be cut to size and into two door recesses. It would look lovely with no joins but what if they break it. Are you expected to shell out £700 again.
 

 

Edited June 9, 2020 by AliG

[Pete]

9 hours ago, AliG said:

Standard porcelain tiles tend to be £30-40 a square metre.

 

Here are some similar looking tiles in smaller sizes for example

 

https://alistairmackintosh.co.uk/marble-effect-porcelain-tiles/

 

Those tiles are crazy large, I would be very concerned re wastage. So not only are the tiles expensive but you will need to buy a way larger quantity. They would look awesome, but you are paying for it. Did you specifically pick this size?

 

As someone posted it seems to be for over 150 square metres of tiles, looking through your past posts your kitchen floor looks to be around 15 square metres.

 

Tiles like this I would only expect to see in an ultra high end central London development priced at > £20000 a square metre. Even then this size would be more used for the lobby of an office building. They would be total overkill for a normal house.

 

They were very difficult to find, I found 240x120 advertised at £90 a square metre.

 

https://www.porcel-thin.com/product/onyx-bianco-leviathan-cbp5502cm/

 

I also found this, Chinese version, but the ones you are getting seem to be Italian.

 

https://fshenj.en.made-in-china.com/product/PSWEpHYUVrRb/China-Onyx-Bianco-Marble-Effect-Porcelain-Tile-120-240-Cm.html

When we visited the local tile merchant I noticed the large format tiles (2.4m/3m long) had cracks in them were the tile had been cut to make a niche for a shower. The top two corners had cracks running at 45 degrees and made me think that they could be difficult to work with

[joth]

9 hours ago, nod said:

I used these on our 158m2 laser cut 

Imported from Italy 

Including vat and delivery 

29m2 

1200 x 200 Porcelain

Go on then I'll bite

What make are they, and where can I get them that price?

[sw879]

Thank you everyone for your help, lots of really great advice. 
 

I’ve contacted a couple of companies where their m2 prices are between £35 - £50 which is a lot more reasonable!  
 

We were just led to believe that Porcelain Tiles had the best value and offered the biggest trade discount than other suppliers. So much for that.

[joth]

50 minutes ago, sw879 said:

offered the biggest trade discount than other suppliers.

There's probably a truism here: the biggest discounts will be offered by the places with the biggest markups to start with :-) 

 

[bassanclan]

If you are anywhere around the west midlands have a look at Eurocladdings, especially if you are not looking for a specific tile and would consider a 600 x600 tile, they have some end of line stuff from under £10psqm 

[Dan F]

We were recommended Domus; fairly big London based setup that markets to architects and interior designers. Prices are in the £95-100/m2 range for a very good quality 14mm limestone effect tile in 1200x600mm.

 

Bit of googling later and becomes obvious that all Domus do is resell Italian tiles under their own brand for a profit.  Google image search is great for working out who the actual manufacturer of products marketed in the U.K. actually is!

 

Now I know the original brand, I'm able to find other resellers both here and in Europe and find the best price. Not ordered anything yet, but down to closer to £40-50 already, before requesting any discounts.

 

[Russell griffiths]

I still don’t understand the prices over here, I paid $25 a m for polished porcelain 600x600 looked stunning. 

I think there is a massive uplift somewhere because we put up with it. 

[Russell griffiths]

@Dan F can you explain your searching strategy you just mentioned. 

 

I love finding stuff from from suppliers and cutting out the middle man. 

[Dan F]

32 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

@Dan F can you explain your searching strategy you just mentioned. 

 

Sure.  Here is a worked example using the tile we plan to use on all our ground floor.

 

1) Find, or be recommended an expensive product.  Example: https://domusgroup.com/products/limestone.  (around £98+VAT/m2)

2) Find a photo of the product and copy it's URL. Example: https://domusgroup.com/system/inspirations/images/b56/cc9/8f-/large/Limestone_DCLM_01_Honed_(2).jpg?1533201970

3) Go to Google Image Search https://www.google.com/imghp, click on the camera and past in the URL from step 2.

4) Skip over the Domus and pinterest search results and you'll discover the manufactuer is Cotto D'Este.  https://www.cottodeste.com/collection/limestone  (If you don't get any results, try again with other images)

5) Now seach for "Cotto D'Este Limestone" suppliers.

6) If you want to find an italian supplier, change you region settings in google search to give you results from italy (chrome will automatically translate anything, so no need to worry about language)

7) You now have lots of leads

- https://tile.expert/en-gb/tile/cotto-deste/limestone

- https://www.tilelook.com/en-GB/users/cotto-d-este/tiles/limestone-lime-stone-clay-30x60-honed

- https://www.italian-bathrooms.co.uk/

- https://brandedtiles.co.uk/brands/cotto-deste/

- https://shop.orsolini.it/prodotti/pavimento-rivestimento-in-gres-porcellanato-effetto-pietra-limestone-clay_372693

- I even found it at 18 EUR, but i think they might be seconds and not have all finnishes. (https://www.edilsiani.com/negozio/pavimenti-e-rivestimenti/rivestimenti/limestone-clay-cotto-d-este-blazed/)

 

8 ) Find cheapest and negociate based on quantity.

 

I'm on step 7, but a fair price seems to be £45+VAT. ?.  Of course the same method applies for other suppliers/brands..

 

Be interested to know if anyone has used https://tile.expert/en-gb/ ?

 

Edited October 17, 2020 by Dan F

[Bored Shopper]

Goodness, the prices! My largest tiles were Minoli ^(TM)  Agata Azul 75cmx150cm for the feature wall, and those were £80 a piece and I was tearing my hair out as that was extremely expensive. 

Shop around, you'll definitely find much better product at much more pleasing prices without sacrificing your concept.