Carrara Bianco Bardiglio Strip 2″ Hexagon Polished Marble Mosaic

Straight of the boat from Italy and just popped the lid off for this iPhone pic • Carrara Bianco Bardiglio Strip 2″ Hexagon Polished Marble Mosaic Tile $12.95SF • Such a unique look and perfect for shower floors.

Friday 29th of May in our Alpharetta, GA Warehouse.  It has not got really hot yet so still just about okay, though already it is hard to remember how cold winter (actually it is amazing how quickly I forget that cold).  The air conditioning is already running as the temps touch the 80’s.  I do not recall spring.  It was 60F one week then 80F next week, the 70s are perfect for warehouse working/packing and this year we missed out.

But still I love to go through the warehouse as the crates arrive everyday now and cut the strapping (it is two bands of plastic tension strapping) and lift off the wooden lid.  There is a darker plastic film that covers over the top you can just about see through it (and the product beneath it) and as soon you walk up to the crate you can tell it looks good. Even after over ten years opening these it is still an exciting moment.  It is the veining that gives it away at first.  If you can see the veining clearly through the initial darker plastic sheet then than means the base color will be a nice light Gray.  This product did not disappoint.  The Bardiglio strip 2″ Hexagon Mosaic is perfect for shower floors with the Bardiglio liners just giving that extra bit of grout and therefore traction for the shower floor.

This may seem a little descriptive but it is hard to explain how much we love marble.  That is why we are probably the best at it in the world. It is not a job it is a passion.

Please note (as with ever) – these pics are taken by just me and my iPhone at the back of the warehouse – so I apologize for the quality. Low cost marketing = Lower priced products & Higher Quality product. I would rather the money went back into the quality of the product than into a photographers company. We also think it keeps it real, you can see the lid has just been taken of the crate, you see the other boxes in the crate.  We have opened a box and took the picture.

Carrara Venato Honed 2×3″ Wide Basketweave Bardiglio Gray Dot

We love Basketweave it is such a wonderful looking product and we want to stock every possibility.  This is our Venato Wide Basketweave for $11.75 a Sheet (we have had the same wide Basketweave Bianco honed in stock for the last 12 months and it has proved popular).  This brings the number of Basketweave options to over forty choices. I would like to see sixty with Blue dots, Greek Thassos and other options.

Please note – these pics are taken by just me and my iPhone at the back of the warehouse – so I apologize for the quality. Low cost marketing = Lower priced products & Higher Quality product. I would rather the money went back into the quality of the product than into a photographers company. I also think it keeps it real, you can see the lid has just been taken of the crate.  We have opened a box and took the picture on top of the pallet of the product.

Another image and crate showing the Venato wide Basketweave with the Italian Bardiglio Gray dot, you can see the consistency between the two crates. Available in Honed and Polished for $11.75 a sheet. It is just so bright and white that it creates a room with such a different look to that of the classic Bianco Honed wide Basketweave.  Both are great looks. (The Venato wide basketweave is also available with the Nero Marquina Black dot for $11.75 a sheet in Honed and Polished).

Considering a border. Then consider it Bardiglio Gray for $11.95 Each in Venato Honed and Polished

Carrara Bianco 4×16″ (taken from 8×16″) Tile and cut to order

We now have the ability to customize orders which is a great leap forwards.  This 4×16″ tile was created specifically for a customer.  They found the lot of Bianco Carrara 8×16″ they wanted (an entire crate of 340SF) and then had us cut the number of 4×16″ needed for their project.  The 8×16″ was $8.95 a square foot and was polished.  These are machine cut and the micro bevel is put back onto the 4×16″.

This is not our regular operation and sometimes it just will not work out.  This particular customer was looking for a shower of 8×16″ around the bottom, then a border to go above that (we just happened to have the perfect lot match of random length polished mosaic $11.75SF) and then a 4×16″ tile installed above that.

With Venato Carrara, the collection is very consistent from size to size the base color, veining are all very similar it is great for alternating tile size designs and complete bathrooms.  Bianco Carrara is vastly more complex (as it can have heavier veining or lighter veining the base can vary from very light, lighter gray to not as light gray), we have 6 different lots of 8×16″ alone and 5 different lots of 4×12″, if we do not know what your plans are, how can we select the right matches?  Obviously we will do our best to match up the Bianco and having so many lots really does make it possible (but any information on the comments section when you place your order really helps).

For smaller companies with just 1 or 2 lots it would be impossible (that is why they buy from us).  The same applies for the trims, we have multiple trim lots, so we can match up to the orders.  The idea is when a customer orders a Bianco bathroom everything matches as close as possible, like this room scene (this customer did not email us his plans to go from 8×16″ to 3×6″ we did our best to match everything together and it turned out great.  We just used a different lot of 8×16″ polished that matched the 3×6″ polished – we have to do this hundreds of times a month, it would have been nice if in the comments a little note was there saying ‘for shower; 8×16″ will be at the bottom, then chair rail and 3×6″ at the top, please match as best as possible”, 99.9% of customers do not do this, I have no idea why).

However there are some customers that a) want a perfect match or b) want a certain style that is not available in every format they need (for example they do not want the 4×12″ Bianco Polished we have they want 4×16″ Bianco Polished and they want it to be the exact same veining from the exact same block)  The normal answer here would be “we would need you to buy a block from Italy and then have everything cut from the same block”.  The cost would be 3 to 4x what we have online.  You also need to go to Italy and find the block.  Which is fine for multi-millionaires, but to be fair multi-millionares are not shopping online for the best price 🙂  Their staff is managing it for them and cost is irrelevant.

For the rest of us that are trying to create a 5 Star Bathroom retreat and add significant value to our property we are looking, and price and quality is very important.

There are minimums associated with this type of fabrication, a min order of 300 square feet is required to cut (volume is the key to getting the product going – so definitely not for everyone).  The cost to cut the tile is a minimum of $1.50 a cut and that varies depending on the size of the job.  Little job then higher cost, no one wants to move machine parts, aline, measure for the sake of 40SF. Have your local tile guy do that.

There is also the cost of shipping to and shipping from the Fabricator. However even with all these additional costs you have to remember you are only paying $8.95 a square foot for the 8×16″ marble.  You will incur additional cost for example on this project:  The cost to cut the 8×16″ in half was $1.94.  There was 9% loss (waste).  The cost of the 4×16″ Carrara worked out to be roughly $11.50 a square foot.  Not too bad considering it was a perfect match, as you can see from the picture attached.

If you are considering a really complex bathroom design in Bianco with multiple format (sizes of tiles) changing up the wall then please contact us, we want to match the best we can.  Every bathroom for us is a working display.  If you need sizes we do not carry then please email us at specialties@thebuilderdepot.com we can have tiles cut to size.

Calacatta Gold Production in Italy – Polished and Honed

It is nice to see the production of our Calacatta Marble 6×12″ Honed being made in Italy available for $17.95SF from The Builder Depot.

Our European office is always providing feedback and pictures of production from Italy and here you can see some Calacatta during the final stages of production.  The difference between us and any single tile and stone retailer, we have people in Europe.  This is vital with Italian production as they are on the same time zone, they can work together closely and keep the product to the standards we set and reject those blocks that does not meet our requirements.

Occasionally we can go through months without having lots of this Calacatta Gold as we cannot find the quality that suits our requirements. That is why you see our collection frequently out of stock of many items.  This can result in some very angry emails from customers.  But please understand we are not out of stock because we choose to be, so please do not be angry at our sales staff. This is not a product that can be made in a factory.  It is a natural product and we have no control over what comes out of the mountain.

We focus on is quality (the quarry already knows the price point we need) so when we see pictures like this, we are very excited.  This is the exact type of Calacatta Gold we want.  This is they quality we are aiming for.  Any questions please let the Calacatta department know you can send them a message calacatta@thebuilderdepot.com if you have any questions on stock.

Palmetto Wood Tile Collection 6×36″ Format $2.99 a square foot

Palmetto Wood Look Tile $2.99 a Square Foot available in Chestnut • Cognac • Smoke (as pictured below) and • Fog •  We recommend purchasing a minimum of 10% overage to account for design cuts, patterns and defective tiles/waste and is GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified®

Palmetto Smoke Wood Look Tile available online from The Builder Depot in 6×36″ format

This product pictured is Italian Made Palmetto Smoke wood look tile for $2.99SF. It is part of a collection of four soft-wash neutral colors and the only Italian made wood look tile available with textured soft-beveled look for just $2.99 a Square Foot

 Wood Look Tile Distribution Points (note this is just for Wood look tile and not any other product)

There is no doubt that we are the largest supplier of Carrara in North America. But not many people know we are also one of the largest suppliers of wood look premium porcelain tile (no cheapy ceramic floor tiles sold here) as well.  It makes a lot of sense, our Carrara marble is imported from Italy.  The Italians have always been at the front of technology for porcelain tile and we are happy to help them bring these wonderful collections to the USA, as long as the quality is exceptional and the price is well…. breathtaking, almost unbelievable.

Wood Look tile is ordered in such large quantities, a favorite is the basement (as it suffers none of the laminate flooring issues of moisture while keeping homes cool) and the average order size is 1,700SF.  So in order to make this affordable for our customers we have had to add a considerable number of distribution points for our wood look tile products. For example yesterday a customer placed an order to Tampa, FL for 2,300 square feet of Palmetto Smoke, it was delivered to them for $296.87.  (That is just a mere $0.13 a square foot in delivery cost).  The maximum you will pay is $325.00 that is our flat rate shipping cost.  Or you can save on shipping altogether, just place the order and opt for local pick-up.  It is very exciting to not just be at the front of such an incredible category killer of laminate flooring but to have also organized our logistics in such a way that it offers huge benefits and savings to our customer.  If you would like a quote you can do so online by entering in the square footage needed or please feel free to contact stephen@thebuilderdepot.com who is charged with helping you get the product to you when you need it.

Whisper White Subway 4×16 Glossy Ceramic Wall Tile

Carrara 4×16″ Subway Tile $3.95SF and Free Shipping (prices valid thru 2016)

Venato Carrara 12×12″ and 6×12″ Marble Tile ($7.00SF)

$7.00SF Carrara Venato 12×12″ Honed Marble Tile

Carrara Venato 12×12″ Honed • Carrara Venato Honed Pencil Trim • Carrara Venato 6×12″ Subway Tile

Carrara Venato 6×12″ Honed ($8.00SF)

Carrara Venato 6×12″ Honed and 12×12″ Venato Honed