Browse Forums Kitchen Corner 1 Oct 11, 2010 10:51 am Sorry this is probably a very basic question but we are finally getting our new kitchen installed next week and have decided on a plain white tile, the tiler came around the other day and wants to know if I want to use aluminium or plastic finishing strip - Im not sure what the difference would be and what each version looks like - can anyone give me any tips? Re: tile finishing strip - aluminium or plastic 2Oct 11, 2010 11:13 am I guess it depends where the finishing strip is baydudette. When choosing tiles for my bathroom I was told my builder only offered plastic strips as standard; I thought they looked really cheap and nasty so went with the aluminium one instead (for an extra price of course ). In my case they are situated on the edge of the bath hob and around the edge of the tiled niche so I didn't mind making a bit of a feature of them but if you wanted them to blend in maybe plastic is better (as you can color match)? Here's a pic: http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af135/grom40/George020.jpg Re: tile finishing strip - aluminium or plastic 3Oct 11, 2010 1:00 pm I'd definately recommend ali over plastic. Plastic will scratch over time and the aluminium looks nicer. it comes in silver or gold or bronze. You just need to choose which colour you'd prefer (silver is most popular coz it'll match appliances such as dishwasher/fridge etc). Good luck Suzy Re: tile finishing strip - aluminium or plastic 4Oct 11, 2010 1:44 pm another one for the aluminium. I think it looks a lot classier than the plastic strip, even if it is colour matched. I remember going back to the tile shop with the plastic strips my builder was going to use and swapping them for aluminium ones, they charged me an extra $30 or so for two bathrooms, so not a lot. mitred tile edges would be even better, but I think only very experienced tilers are able to do this and you'd probably have to pay extra again. "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." — Elizabeth Gilbert Living in our new house. Currently scaping the land. Re: tile finishing strip - aluminium or plastic 5Oct 11, 2010 5:00 pm baydudette Sorry this is probably a very basic question but we are finally getting our new kitchen installed next week and have decided on a plain white tile, the tiler came around the other day and wants to know if I want to use aluminium or plastic finishing strip - Im not sure what the difference would be and what each version looks like - can anyone give me any tips? Alum Re: tile finishing strip - aluminium or plastic 6Oct 11, 2010 9:07 pm Another one here for aluminium.... def a nicer finish - esp in the kitchen where you will see it all the time.... Building on the Sunshine Coast - Land settled 22nd July 2009 Building contract finally signed (after much deliberation on our part) 11th November 2009 Building commences 25th January 2010 - small local builder End of June - almost completed fit out 26th July - MOVE IN DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Re: tile finishing strip - aluminium or plastic 7Oct 11, 2010 11:05 pm you can see my aluminium strip in the far right edge of this photo. http://s797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... 11_069.jpg I think on edges metal is alwasy a better bet than plastic! Recently moved to a 60's home in need of some improvement! http://s797.photobucket.com/user/leenii ... ch%20House Old house: http://s797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... loo/House/ Re: tile finishing strip - aluminium or plastic 8Oct 12, 2010 8:49 am Thanks everyone for your vote for aluminium... Im still a bit confused so Im going to post some pics when I get home tonight of the area where the strips will need to be used and then ask for your opinions again.. I feel very inexperienced and I just want to make sure we get it right... Re: tile finishing strip - aluminium or plastic 9Oct 12, 2010 8:50 am donuts another one for the aluminium. I think it looks a lot classier than the plastic strip, even if it is colour matched. I remember going back to the tile shop with the plastic strips my builder was going to use and swapping them for aluminium ones, they charged me an extra $30 or so for two bathrooms, so not a lot. mitred tile edges would be even better, but I think only very experienced tilers are able to do this and you'd probably have to pay extra again. Yes I would prefer mitred tile edges but the tiler who came around told me they dont make tiles like this anymore... is that a fib? Re: tile finishing strip - aluminium or plastic 10Oct 12, 2010 9:01 am baydudette Yes I would prefer mitred tile edges but the tiler who came around told me they dont make tiles like this anymore... is that a fib? I really don't know. I thought it was a way they cut and laid the tiles so that they would meet nicely, rather than a feature of the tiles themselves, but I could be wrong. "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." — Elizabeth Gilbert Living in our new house. Currently scaping the land. Re: tile finishing strip - aluminium or plastic 11Oct 12, 2010 5:36 pm I had aluminium strips around all my tiles in my first house. Finished it off nicely, you don't get that grime that sometimes builds up on the edge of tiles. It finished off the tiles very nicely and I always got comments on it. Cheers, Carolyn Carolyn Re: tile finishing strip - aluminium or plastic 12Oct 13, 2010 10:52 am baydudette Thanks everyone for your vote for aluminium... Im still a bit confused so Im going to post some pics when I get home tonight of the area where the strips will need to be used and then ask for your opinions again.. I feel very inexperienced and I just want to make sure we get it right... Im having trouble getting an image up on this thread as it says the 'board attachment quota has been reached... Im off to a tile store today to show them the images and see what they recommend.. will keep you posted and thanks for all the feedback so far Re: tile finishing strip - aluminium or plastic 14Oct 13, 2010 2:07 pm Quote: Yes I would prefer mitred tile edges but the tiler who came around told me they dont make tiles like this anymore... is that a fib? In WA they certainly do, in fact, I'm not sure I've seen many tile finishing strips. Some builders charge more for mitred tiles, ours included it my new build thread- Ben Trager https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=89826 my switch build thread (2011) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=36569 Re: tile finishing strip - aluminium or plastic 15Oct 14, 2010 1:37 am For a mitred finish, they cut the edges of the tiles so they sit almost flush with a incy bit of grout in between. We were charged an extra $350 for mitred finishes in both bathrooms. Oceanic with Nautilus upgrades. Handover 8 September 2010 Re: tile finishing strip - aluminium or plastic 16Oct 14, 2010 1:32 pm Yes I agree with the mitre-ing. I have it done to all my bathrooms now. Onto my 9th built home and my tiler only charges an extra $2 per tile (or less if there's heaps to do). Any good tiler can do this quite quickly & easily with their wet saw or angle grinder. It leaves a perfect finish where the two tiles meet-much nicer finish than the alternative. Suzy Re: tile finishing strip - aluminium or plastic 18Oct 19, 2010 1:35 am is the mitred edges only for corners, or also just where the tiles end (eg the top of the 'skirting' tile / or the edge of a splashback? Thanks Recently moved to a 60's home in need of some improvement! http://s797.photobucket.com/user/leenii ... ch%20House Old house: http://s797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... loo/House/ Re: tile finishing strip - aluminium or plastic 19Oct 19, 2010 11:35 am Mitred edges are for corners. For skirting tiles or edge of splashback, I would got for straight cut. This way everything has square edges. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: tile finishing strip - aluminium or plastic 20Oct 25, 2010 12:51 pm Hi everyone - thanks for your comments I insisted on the mitred edges on the corner and what do you know, when someone else (read a man) asked the tiler all of a sudden he can do it! So now Im happy I will get the tiling I wanted - we went with aluminium tiling strips and what has been completed so far looks great. What Im not so happy about is the original quote from the tiler increasing by 150% !!! and he did not finish on Friday so wont be back till Wed... the installer also could not finish his job due to some of the end panels being missing and a damaged door and now does not know when he can make it back...... however I will post before and after pics of the whole kitchen and the tiling in this thread when its all finished Building Standards; Getting It Right! Don't think they are designed for double brick. WA has a particular way of building and unfortunately that's the way a large amount of sills are finished. 3 6986 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair At a bit of a loss on this one - we're thinking the original owners never removed the protective laminate covers from their kitchen cabinets after installation and in the… 0 6317 |