Why is it something that seems so simple proves to be so difficult? I do know that our local tile houses will sell to the "general public." However that price is enormously ridiculous. You go in there pick out what you want, have them write up the amounts of the various tiles and leave it under your GC name. Then he just goes in and gets his reduced price. Which should be significant. Thats just how we did it. Good luck. Demo going on now at my house. Yea

That's ridiculous. With things the way they are right now, you'd think they'd be FIGHTING for your business!! As for the local Dal, you CAN go in and make your choices, get a contractor recommendation from them, and have that contractor buy the tile for you. I've done that several times, even with people who ended up DIYing the tile.

What a pain in the patooty for you! It boggles the mind how these places do business this way.

I did want to mention one more option based on my recent experience. I wanted a color of subway tile that my local discount guys didn't have in stock. i didn't want to drive all over town so I called Daltile and asked them "where can I go to buy this stuff?" They told me to call a place called ProSource which I already knew was a trade-only place. I said, but they can't sell to me either, right? I'm a DIYer. And the Daltile guy said that they can sell to me ONLY if I tell them that Daltile gave me the name & number.

If you go this route, know the prices from the other places you went so you can negotiate. She quoted a me a price which was very high and I told her I'd seen it for less, so she wrote me up at the price I'd seen at my local discount shop.

It is worth a try - maybe you'll come out as lucky. They had everything in stock, knew exactly what all the pieces were about, took my order over the phone, and then sent me to Daltile to pick up my product less than 8 hours later.

good luck!

Anita

Matter of fact, If you have a hard time getting a contractor to buy the tile for you, email me, and I'll help you get it with MY account. But please try and get someone local first.

Just curious: What does it take to get certified as "trade" and have an account/access to these places? Show a business card? Give them a business name ("Weedy Acres Tiling Co.")? Provide 3 references that vouch that you're a pro?

I had similar issues, although not quite as severe. I decided on Daltile's Anzhu series and then found out they don't sell to the public. I have a friend who is a contractor so he told me he could use his license # to purchase it. He also told me about a local contractor-only supply shop that was cheaper than buying directly from Daltile. Their quote was about 20% less than Daltile's contractor pricing, but I ended up buying online from Quality Flooring 4 Less. I filled out the request form and a local rep called me back. She was very helpful! Their quote was almost 40% under Daltile's direct price, and when the order was ready, I went and picked it up at the local Daltile warehouse. I saved a ton of money!

Joe

Just curious: What does it take to get certified as "trade" and have an account/access to these places? Show a business card? Give them a business name ("Weedy Acres Tiling Co.")? Provide 3 references that vouch that you're a pro

That's a good question. Both when I started my account, and when I have my stepson start his, they already knew us, so they just handed us the paperwork.

As a follow-up to my original message ~ the contractor arrived this morning to start removal of the old 3" deep mortar bed and original (bad shape) old hex floor. (For those old house restoration folks, we'll be replacing with a very similar new hex floor as it couldn't be saved due to the cracked bed.) He will go to Daltile today with my order list to purchase the tiles. The thing thats a bit upsetting is the unknown price. The cost of the field tiles was quoted to me at 31% over the cost at HD. Since he's never purchased there before, my guess is he will not get the big discount. But, at this point I just want the tile, and it is a small bathroom.

Todays project is plumbing fixtures for the shower. Contractor needs this for tomorrow. Fortunately, the lady at the recommended plumbing store is a wonderful expert in all things plumbing and very, very helpful. She has suggested the Moen set in the attached link that I emailed to DH. We will go there early in the morning before work select and purchase the shower pieces using contractor's discount/account.

Its going to be amazing to have a fully functional bathroom again that doesn't look like it came from the set of 'Green Acres'!!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Moen Shower

I suppose its a little too late for the OP, but in my area, every floor store carries tile. We are literally spoiled for choice.

My point: if you don't find what you love, keep looking. The floor stores are lightyears ahead of the big boxes in terms of selection, and not far off in price. Plus, the salespeople generally really know their stuff, work on commission, and are desperate to please.

Oh, wanted to mention that the only 'pro only' store in my area is very nice to work with. All they require is that the contractor call with their license when you place an order, though actually they ordered/sold me 10 ft. [I can't decide on a whole room based on a piece or two] without getting my contractor's number, and they didn't even know him, just asked who my builder was...

Hi one last follow-up on the tile. My contractor friend went over on Friday to buy the tile at Daltile, and they also refused him! He's been in the business for 30 years but did not have an existing account with them. They stated it would take two weeks to open an account.

He went over to Century Tile and placed the order with his business discount. It will take 5 days to receive the tile which he will pick-up from that same Daltile location.

Then, I went over the Century Tile today and picked out the grout ~ Laticrete Sterling Silver for the wall tile and Smoke Grey for the hex floor.

Fingers crossed that all goes well with the installation over the next couple of weeks!

Its really weird for a diy person like me to step back and turn it all over to someone else. But with diy progress stalled for a couple of years it was time to face reality and hire a good pro.