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Make your own tile?

18 years ago

We have purchased tile for our bathroom floor and a coordinating tile for the tub surround which we are going to tile. The unfortunate thing is that there are not bullnosed tile for our pattern. We have also been looking for a decorative trim tile to possibly use around a window that is in the tub surround area and have not found much that looks nice.

Has anyone very made their own trim "tile" or decorative tile to use in a wet environment?

Comments (4)

  • 18 years ago

    It could be done IF you have the right kind of clay, a kiln, and the necessary expertise to color and form the raw tile. Hopefully you understand that the tile has to be baked at high temperatures. I don't know the exact temp but I believe it is well over 1,000 degrees for several hours. Find a pottery maker in your area and talk to them.

  • 18 years ago

    It's certainly possible, if you've got the resources that Bob mentioned, but I wouldn't plan on making tile to match the commercially-produced tile you've already got. It's not as if tile producers publish their glazing methods and recipes. Also, plan on it being fairly expensive compared to the mass-produced product.

  • 18 years ago

    I had a friend who made a couple of decorative "handprint" tiles of her children at one of those "make your own pottery" studios. They were a charming and fun accent to her kitchen backsplash, but even in plain "white", they were difficult to actually "match" to the field tile she used as the main tile. Look on the Decorating Forum or Kitchen Forum for the thousand and one threads asking about "which white" to pick out or match to see what I mean about how difficult it is to even match such a "simple" color. Making something to match a commercially produced tile instead of taking the home made item and trying to match it would likely be a huge exercise in futility and expense.

  • 18 years ago

    If your tile is a solid body porcelian, or the tile back is very similar to the front, you *may* be able to create bullnose trims with a grinder.

    But there are so many tens of thousands of choices in tile, I'm pretty sure you can find something you like if you keep looking.

    Go to the websites of the major companies like Crossville, Daltile, American Olean, etc., or visit the actual tile sellers in your area, vs. the big boxes.