Harlequin Black and White Checked Marble Floor

Carrara Venato 12×12″ Polished and Nero Marquina 12×12″ Polished.

Carrara marble from the The Builder Depot helps create the luxury of Harlequin marble flooring without the cost by ordering direct from the quarries. From European Palaces to our homes it exudes luxury that reflects the ever increasing value of our homes and the important position they have in our life capturing so many memories. That’s a bit blah, blah, blah content. Quite frankly this look has been amazing the heck out of people for literally centuries and still does today. Look at these floors… WOW!!!

One of the most well known Harlequin floors is that of the famous Grand Trianon at the Palace of Versailles. This is best known as King Louis XIV’s rural getaway is perhaps most closely associated with Queen Marie-Antoinette. When the King decided to replace the disintegrating porcelain tile in the Trianon, he upgraded to Carrara Marble and Nero Marquina ensuring that the floor tile would last well beyond his lifetime. (Bit more historical fluffy content).

Classic and Modern….. Marble!

This is a simple design and using just three products. Carrara Bianco 6×12″ Honed, Nero Marquina 5/8″ Mosaic to create border on the right and around Carrara Venato 1×1″ Square Mosaic offering a brighter look to stand out around the shower.

While I cannot see the top of the shower, it would be nice if it also has the rain shower head on the top.

You can design classic and modern. Get the design right and you never have to worry about remodeling again…. my biggest fear! I would hate to have the “pink” bathroom tiles that I see getting ripped out of 1980’s homes, someone paid to install those and thought “what an awesome design… nope”. Or tiles with Vegetables on them in the kitchen.

Yet I have seen bathrooms with Carrara marble dating back to Roman times (and they are still impressive). Even less extreme examples over history the Carrara Marble bathrooms in the Plaza NYC and many other historical hotels across London dating back to the 1890’s.

Bathrooms over 100 years old and still looking beautiful…. and the traffic through these hotels over 100 years, yet the marble looks incredible.

That is what I want. Classic. Durable. Stand test of time. Never remodel again. A forever bathroom!!!

Bianco Carrara Collection…. lot matching.

Start of the lot matching process for an order mixed of many products

Adding more products per customers instructions

Another angle (why not very happy with this match)

I just loved the veining on this Bianco Carrara 3×6″ honed…. time for a close up 🙂

Our Bianco Carrara Collection; Customers place orders for bathrooms with multiple products on the order. This is normal for us and we inventory our own products in the same location we are communicating to you about your order.

We own our warehouse and our office is located in the same facility. This allows us access to the products. While this does not seem like a big deal…. it is! Most online companies (over 95%) do not have access to their inventory. They are either drop shipping or using a 3PL (third party warehouse). This has a huge number of problems, here are just two:

#1. Drop Shipping or using a 3PL warehouse to ship marble does not work because no one will check your order to see if it lot matches. It will just be packed by someone that an hour ago was packing tennis shoes, or T-Shits, they have no skill in natural stone. They are not trained to even look inside the box.

#2. The return policy will be painful. It is painful regardless this is marble it is heavy but a company that does not ship from its own facility will have huge penalties for returns 30-40% of the order, because the 3PL location cannot process it. It will just get thrown away and your penalty is the company simply writing it off and throwing it away.

We like to spend time going through lots and sometimes we achieve the impossible with a natural product. Here we have 18×18″ Carrara Bianco Honed, Bianco Carrara 3×6″, Baseboard Honed, Basketweave with Bardiglio dot, Herringbone 1×2″, Basketweave border along with 2×4″ Nero Marquina. The matching of this collection of Bianco products is excellent. A third party warehouse cannot do this. It cannot send you pictures.

This selection will create an impressive bathroom.

Reviews…. More than a Decade of chasing excellence.

There are many more. Pages of them! If you have read all these and would like more please email sales@thebuilderdepot.com

Cement Tile. Carrara Tile – The never aging trend.

Atlas Black used on the front of this Countertop. Stunning (our marble 4×12″ Venato for $9.95 a Square Foot along with Arabesque picture frame used as a border). Stunning Kitchen posted to our IG feed (take a look to see questions).

If you are an avid follower of design trends, or frequently spend your time on Pinterest or Instagram looking for the hot and charming trends, then it is safe to say that you might have come across some beautiful looking patterned tiles now and then. From kitchen floors to bathrooms and laundry rooms, these patterned tiles offer an appealing outlook to any floor.

Several of the patterned tile you’ve set eyes online and social media is Encaustic Cement Tile. It perfectly encapsulates the essence of a vintage tile. This tile like other Handmade Cement Tile has been making waves in Europe for quite some time now, but only just gained prominence and popularity in the US only in the last couple of years. What makes it an attractive Cement Tile is its alluring matte finish and the smooth, silky feel of its body.

We can rave about the amazing qualities of Encaustic Cement Tile all day and not be tired, and indeed it’s an integral part of The Builder Depot line up of products their Cement Tile collection. The Builder Depot is the only Google Trusted Store and the highest ranking store in the Tile and Stone Industry as a whole not just in the Cement Tile Industry

As well as the only company that ships from its own warehouse which it owns, giving us complete control over QC checks prior to it being loading onto the truck.The competition well…. They are all 3PL a 3rd Party ships their orders at a high price (that is a person simply scanning an order and putting a box on a pallet, no checking, fast as possible, then move onto other orders in the Air Conditioning section) 3PL’s stock multiple product types.

The Competition tries to sneak around their higher cost structure by selling online as cost per piece for example $6.95 is all the customer will see. But to get to the square foot price you have to multiply that by 2.25.

An example of pricing per piece (FYI. The only flooring product that is sold by the piece). $6.95 x 2.25 = $15.64 per Square Foot. So you do have to watch this tricky maneuver, to make you buy before you think. Whereas we are $10.95 a Square Foot and Free Shipping.

The Builder Depot works on massive economies of scale, a no debt business, pays cash upfront for the product (which ensures the highest quality – no one wants to loose a cash paying account). Along with a no frills marketing strategy, that keeps our costs down, along with no fixed costs. Instead of keeping this extra margin, we pass it onto the consumer. Pricing in 2019 for our Handmade Encaustic Cement Tile (made with the highest grade of Cement; Portland cement) is $10.95 a Square Foot and Free Shipping.

The competition does not have (and this is to warn not poke holes)

• Their own a warehouse
• Have a review policy (We are the only Google Trusted Store in this industry)
• An address shown on their website, very few. (as it is operated out of their home, nothing wrong with that but at least get a mailbox).
• No return policy (read their policy if you can find it in the lines and lines of waffle).
• Why you might ask? So they can collapse overnight and you cannot come after them for the sub-par Cement Tile they sold you. They have no assets. They will simply hide behind their LLC and you cannot take their 3PL that is not theirs. The inventory will be gone before you can say “But Lawsuit…..”

However: This well-designed Handmade Cement Tile still has a couple of drawbacks on its own. So let’s discuss those.

It is very similar to marble. As a Cement Tile, it  can stain if acidic liquids like wine are just left to sit. It is handmade and can be more susceptible to wear than any other tile (depending on the quality you purchased, from a small company with no history he will be buying the cheapest tile possible. Shipping from a 3PL (3rd Party Location and close up shop and hide behind his LLC as everyone is left with terrible tile, company has no assets, that is why they are all 3PL shippers).

It needs to be re-sealed as required better sealer quality less often. It does share very close similarities with marble. But some of these drawbacks could be a blessing in disguise. These “imperfections” are what makes the Encaustic Cement Tile perfect, and you know what, because the color and pattern of the tile are usually bold, when they wear or fade, their beauty will even come out the more. So, like fine wine, the Encaustic Cement Tile gets better with age.

Prices subject to change at anytime. The website has the most up to date pricing but we try and keep some stability. Ordering a sample for example. That locks your price in for 30 days from when you ordered the sample gives you time to decide without the rush. (Sorry lawyers want this caveat added to anything with pricing).

Carrara Venato 1×3″ Herringbone Mosaic Tile

Carrara Venato 1×3″ Herringbone Mosaic Tile available in Honed and Polished $14.95SF

Here is the Venato Carrara 1×3″ Herringbone Honed, installed in a spectacular bathroom. In the background is our Brilliant white 3×6″ glass tile (for $9.95 in 2016) so it gives you some perspective of how incredibly white based this product actually is. It really is the whitest tile I have ever seen and so consistent, you cannot see where one sheet of mosaic ends and another begins.

Updating the same page this image above is added on August 12th 2016. This shows the Carrara Venato 1×3″ Herringbone Polished. I like looking back at it historically, there has been no change in the product in two years. That is consistent!

Another image. This is an order for a customer shipping out in August 2016. You can see how consistent the quality of the Venato Carrara 1×3″ Honed has been kept over the months and years.

2023 and another picture of the Carrara Venato 1×3″ Herringbone.

Time flies!!! Still taking pictures. The consistency of this collection spans over a decade and is amazing. This is due to the quality control system we have in place with massive 30FT sample boards at the quarry. Simple enough strategy the product has to match the sample board. Keep it simple works! If it matches the sample board then it meets the classification to fit this high-quality collection. The density of the product along with the feel of the finish is carefully inspected as well. Artisans with decades of experience carefully select the best blocks to meet the requirements improving efficiency and reducing waste keeping cost efficiencies for the consumer.

Here to stay!

Alpharetta, GA. 5920 Shiloh Road East: Finally it is completed. More space at last!

I like this side the best. This is showing seven loading docks, this goes on for fifteen. A ramp for loading local pickups and plenty of space for UPS Trucks.

Best of Houzz for the 4th year running!

THE BUILDER DEPOT

Awarded Best Of Houzz 2017

Over 40 Million Monthly Unique Users Nominated Best Home Building,

Remodeling and Design Professionals in North America and Around the World

Alpharetta, Georgia, January 17, 2017 – The Builder Depot has won “Best Of Customer Service” on Houzz®, the leading platform for home remodeling and design. The largest white marble stocking wholesaler was chosen by the more than 40 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz community from among more than one million active home building, remodeling and design industry professionals.

The Best Of Houzz is awarded annually in three categories: Design, Customer Service and Photography. Design award winners’ work was the most popular among the more than 40 million monthly users on Houzz. Customer Service honors are based on several factors, including the number and quality of client reviews a professional received in 2016. Architecture and interior design photographers whose images were most popular are recognized with the Photography award. A “Best Of Houzz 2017” badge will appear on winners’ profiles, as a sign of  their commitment to excellence. These badges help homeowners identify popular and top-rated home professionals in every metro area on Houzz.

What a great way to start 2017!

Google Trusted… Yes! World First for Natural Stone!

We all must have by now purchased something online. I think it is fair to say that Google are the masters of the world wide web. They have captured the marketing unicorn “synonymity” or “Synonymous with a product or action”.

Throughout history this has always been the goal in the 1980’s we did not photo-copy you would “Xerox this please”. Kleenex is another one, it was not pass me a tissue or napkin it was “Kleenex please” and people “Hoovered up the floor” following the brand Hoover and vacuum cleaners.

Today when we want to look something up we “Google it!” we do not say “Bing it!”

We “Google It!”. So Google has become Synonymous. Will it last? I cannot predict the future so I cannot say, but certainly other brands in this position have lost control. Xerox could not keep their hold, it is hard to keep complete control.

But today June 13 2016. Google is the Internet.

They have a Google Trusted Store Program. They are the only 100% unrivaled most invested mechanism for reviews. Their entire business and keeping the internet clean is based on it as they are the Internet. So why have others not dived in? Something to hide?

I honestly believe the Billion Dollar Home centers are running good systems for reviews.

But when you get into companies that are less than twenty years old and not on the stock market or have less than 2,000 employees and are not in your state then you must fall back on the company that controls the internet. If you are buying on the Internet. Google.

The Builder Depot is the only Google Trusted Store in the online Natural Stone world. Try and buy a complete bathroom of matching tile 6×12″, perhaps 12×24″ and chair rail and pencil along with a matching mosaic…… there is no other Google Trusted Store in the World. The Builder Depot is the only company that sells matching natural stone product collections. A World First!

How are we doing. We are trying to get better every day. Spotting issues. Removing products that do not fit the standards required by Google and pushing the limits.

Ultimately the real trick is not us. It is the consumer. We can fix a terrible supply chain, improve products, but a product that is natural and has variation (aside from our Glass, Wood Look Tile, Metal, porcelain, ceramic…) okay so 70% is natural which means every lot is different. That is where looking at the blog, reading the FAQ page read the Q&A page as well. Finally I would read #15 on the FAQ page, this is mistakes made by others. Reading and reading the website is the key to success. We have a great product. We have an incredible business model that is striving to save consumers money outlined here (and by the reviews below again left on Google)

As a company The Builder Depot seeks to disrupt the inefficient supply chain that has been in place for decades, wasting consumers money. Take those savings and pass them along to the consumer. Keep the savings….. Nope, pass them on. So you can add value to your home. That is our passion!

It is the only Google Trusted Store in the Industry to do so.

 

 

Here is a little more about us!

Yahoo has posted us as their Feature blog post on Yahoo Small Business “Start“. This is a blog to help small businesses get off the ground and get going. You can read it here.

When Yahoo first approached me about this, I did ask “Why? I simply assumed this is what everyone in America did at some point a Garage Startup with little or no investment. The American Dream” I was corrected “No! Today everyone goes to the bank or chases VC’s with their concept”.  But I really got going in 2008 and no one even cared about me, three banks told me they were not opening new business accounts. I did not want to borrow money just needed to make deposits.

Borrowing money. I could never really grasp that principle. If you had a good idea. A good idea you believed in. Then why not just work. You do not need to be a millionaire. You just need to provide a great working environment for people, provide healthcare and look after everyone that works at the business. Create a family. There should be no titles (as you can see from our “meet the team” (which has grown so we need to add to the page). You will also get an email from “David” that is me.

In my mind. If you have a good idea. Or not even a good idea, but are willing to work as my Grandfather said “Until the cows come home” then it will work. Yes it hurts and you do not sleep and you can expect a decade of misery.

But just forget the money. Forget about the wealth. Focus on the people that work at the business help them have a great life and focus on the customer. Work, answer the phone. Be a person who sweeps the floor. Just because you created a company that makes you no better or no different than anyone else.

Also this is odd, but do not sell anything, ever. Just simply offer the facts. We have decades of knowledge, if your plan does not fit our business, we can help with other suggestions. We are not looking to be billionaires or some mega company. Perhaps this is the new Mom and Pop of the 21st Century.

My advice is to anyone feeling like giving the “Dream” a go, firstly you are in the right part of the world. So that is a massive head start!

Then cut your costs. Live on very little and get used to it. Friends, you will have to give those up for a while as you will just be working, when they are out socializing you will be well…. working (not an easy sacrifice).

Focus on your “Vision” and then the families of the people that work for you, look after them. Think of all the children who are now dependent on you. Do not borrow money, no debt. Just work as a warehouse guy, as a freight manager, as a CFO, a CEO do it all until perhaps in 2-4 years until you can hire someone. But only part-time and only full time when you are sure you can take care of his or her family as they are now your responsibility. Make the dreams and goals of those that work for you, your priority. Put everyone else first. Put yourself at the bottom. Empty the trash.

Then if you can make money, give to the community. Focus on scholarships with a local high school, give back. But make sure it does not involve you. Have someone that works for the company give the checks out. (Never you). Let them see that the year was more than just work, that they made a difference as well. Because they did!

Good luck. Hopefully your idea is a lot lighter than mine, like Diamonds. I used to wish that a lot. Why could I not be in the socks or cufflink, business.

I am not a Journalist. I am sure there are mistakes in this post. But one of our rules is to keep costs as low as possible to the consumer, a no frills, word-of-mouth marketing strategy. So paying for journalists is just not a cost we want our customers to pay for. As that is how all costs are covered through the sale of the product. If you are a writer/journalist please let me know and I will correct 🙂