Glass tile: Store brand vs. Name brand

13 years ago

It's been three full years since we renovated our kitchen, and I *finally* have found tile for the backsplash! It's an interlocking linear mosaic glass tile made of a mixture of glossy and frosted pieces of the same color. I found it made by AKDO, but there's a near-identical version sold by Best Tile under its own name. They are different colors, both acceptable, and the BT version is literally one-half the price of the AKDO one. So my first question is, do you get what you pay for? Will the brand name end up being more perfect, more beautiful, etc?

The other thing I'm questioning is whether to have the tile installed horizontally or vertically. Here's a pic of one area that will be backsplashed. Would love to hear your opinions.

TIA! CoolBeans

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

flwrs_n_co
13 years ago
CoolBeans, I'm afraid I have no idea if there is a difference in quality between these two tile. But I just wanted to say I think they're both lovely! I think I'd go with the darker of the two, but since they both change color depending on how my screen is positioned, I'm not sure that's really the best choice. HTH, and I'm so glad you finally found your backsplash!
coolbeansw
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks, Flwrs. The colors on the posting aren't very accurate. I'm willing to go with either color, but will choose the less expensive (darker) one unless others caution me against it.
Related Discussions
Ziploc vs Store Brand
Q
Comments (15)
Come to think of it. I try to keep my generics out of the kitchen. My cousin who does the cooking and such, sometimes finds my bags and I just hate that--;). "Don't put food in my baggies--they're for the plants!". So, he buys those high priced ziplocs for the food, which is a good thing. Dale Martens always suggests putting bamboo skewers in the pots to keep the plastic bags up. Another suggestion is to let the bags dry out just enough that the foliage doesn't rot if it touches the sides. This could be accomplished just by opening them for a short while and also draining out any standing water. For a while, I was cutting off the bottom corner of my bags so that I could water without taking the plants out of the bags. The escess water will run out into the tray and evaporate. That works pretty well. I am always looking for low-tech solutions to things. Another technique that light stand growers use is to enclose the whole stand in plastic. IGS, I think, still sells clear plastic covers for their stands with a opening in the front for access. It has either a zipper or velcro closers. I enclosed one stand with white plastic. It really worked wonders in that I not only increased the humidity but also the light, as the white surfaces reflected back much light that would otherwise be lost to the room. But, I was using cheap table covering type plastic--the stuff that comes in 3' wide rolls. It was amazing to see how fast the plastic rotted from the light. On the front I made a very rinky-dink clear cover, that I would lift up and over the top or roll up and tie, so that I could somewhat see the shelf. But, just having that much of a barrier meant that I sometimes would.....ahem.....ignore those plants a bit. One suggestion which I have always meant to use but haven't is to make a front cover with a window shade roller and clear thick plastic, which is often sold in hardware stores by the foot, for use as covers for things. That way one could raise and lower the cover to get to the plants without much effort. Every once in a while I tackle my sea of ziplock bags to see what's in them. I find all kinds of treasures I forgot I had. Once I gave a program for our local club by bringing in a couple of boxes of unexamined baggies and opening them up one by one to take out and show what was in there. Then I passed out leaves and cuttings with labels to everyone that wanted them. The plants got a pruning and I was able to share. Some of those plants I recently found and put down lots of leaves, for the upcoming July convention. I have the pots of leaves under the domes and the leaves are not rotting but rooting and sending up tiny new shoots. They include nautilocalyx, petrocosmea, chiritas, my only aglamyla, kohlerias, and of course, lots of episcias. So far, I have no idea where I will find room to grow on these props. I'm actually seriously contemplating putting up another 4 level stand and replacing a two level stand with a 4 level one. I much prefer 3 level stands but I need the room and am tall enough at 6-0 to be able to see and work on the top shelf. But, I digress, Jon
...See More
Does anyone know what brand/name of glass tile this is?
Q
Comments (2)
The first one looks like Oceanside Glass tile. You can customize the mosaic by picking the shape and color choices or just go with one of their pre-made combos. The bottom one could be from anyone. You can the same look with Oceanside though. Here is a link that might be useful: manufaturer's website
...See More
Box store vs name brand light bulbs
Q
Comments (2)
The Cree branded CR6 has a 5 year warranty compared to the EcoSmart branded version ECO-575 which has a 3 year warranty. The difference in pricing may be more important in this example. There are many other differences inherent in LED lighting even if various brands use LED chips from the same source such as 1. LED emitter efficiency. 2. Utilization of remote phosphors. 3. Using a mix of different color LED emitters. 4. Power supply components. Sometimes it is difficult to determine if a seller is simply padding the bottom line by just looking at the box.
...See More
Slight cheaper, better specs and unknown brand vs better brand?
Q
Comments (13)
Not sure there that there are many windows that id actually rate below crestline. U value is very important, but so is how they get it. To hit that .27, my guess is that they are using some glass made more for a warm climate, with a very low shgc(also very dark) and an inside coat of low e that will have reduced resistance to condensation. This is not what u want. The simonton and softlite are much better options
...See More
lazy_gardens
13 years ago
Often the major retailer's tiles are made by the expensive name tile's manufacturer, and rebranded.

They couldn't stay in business if all they sold was the $$$$ stuff.
coolbeansw
Original Author
13 years ago
Uh oh, I just ran my hands over the two samples and discovered that the AKDO is totally smooth on both the glossy and frosted pieces, whereas the store brand is smooth on the glossy pieces and rough on the frosted ones. Now I'm worried that the rough ones will be hard to clean.
kerrys
13 years ago
I can't respond to your question about name vs. store brand tile -- I'm having similar concerns with my floor tile!

But I wanted to mention that I had 3 x 6 subway tile with glass tile accents laid vertically in my bathroom makeover. I really like the look and would do it again. I vote for vertical!
cat_mom
13 years ago
The tile looks very similar to our backpsplash tile (Artisitic Tile's Opera Glass Stillato pattern--we used Wolfgang White). I don't know how much quality difference there is, or who actually manufactures the different tile. When we were ordering our bathroom tile, I think the salesperson told us that there are only a few actual tile manufacturers, who then make the tile for the various "names" or companies. Our floor tile is sold as Atlas Concorde tile, but AKDO either makes or distributes the tile for them (or something like that!). Perhaps you could ask at the tile store who actually makes the tile you are considering (esp the one sold under the store name). Maybe they are both manufactured by the same company.

As for vertical vs horizontal, it's really a matter of personal preference. I had it in my head from the start that we should have ours installed vertically, so that's what we did (DH liked it that way, too), but it would have looked just as beautiful hung horizontally. DH especially liked the waterfall effect of the tile coming down from the ceiling behind our hood/chimney, over the range (after I convinced him that we really did need to run the tile all the way up to the ceiling!).

Good luck deciding! :-) Either color will look great in your sleek contemporary kitchen!
coolbeansw
Original Author
13 years ago
Oh, Cat_mom, how did I ever miss your finished kitchen?? I love everything about it, especially the backsplash. You and I have the same model KA refrigerator -- are you happy with yours? The veggie drawers in mine are so warm (40 deg) that I have resorted to storing veggies in my old fridge in the garage . . .
cat_mom
13 years ago
I'm glad you like it! It was completed in Spring 2007 and we're still thrilled with the way it turned out. :-)

It's funny you mention the fridge. I just said to DH at dinner, that while I do like our fridge, I don't like how quickly lemons and limes go bad in it (we store them in the bottom-most crisper drawer). Apples don't seem to keep very long in the crisper either (though not as poorly as lemons and limes). Other than that, it's pretty much fine. We have had the ice maker serviced a few times (in and out of warranty), but we really like the convenience of in-door water and ice dispensing, and we know ice/water dispensers are the Achilles heel for other brands as well.

Glass tile: Store brand vs. Name brand

Comments (8)

flwrs_n_co

coolbeansw
Original Author

Related Discussions

lazy_gardens

coolbeansw
Original Author

kerrys

cat_mom

coolbeansw
Original Author

cat_mom

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Glass tile: Store brand vs. Name brand

Comments (8)

flwrs_n_co

coolbeanswOriginal Author

Related Discussions

lazy_gardens

coolbeanswOriginal Author

kerrys

cat_mom

coolbeanswOriginal Author

cat_mom

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

coolbeansw
Original Author

coolbeansw
Original Author

coolbeansw
Original Author