Anybody had any experience with Benissimo granite tile?
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No, but with a name like that how could it be bad?
PAHS works. Bury it.
OK, I know a little bit about this tile, what help did you need?
I saw it used on a DIY TV show. They said that if you provide the measurements to the company that all tiles would be precut at the factory and no cutting would be required on site. There was a factory rep on the show who explained this. We went to a local retailer and the people there did not know anything about the factory cutting everything to size and that their installers would have to do some onsite cutting. After seeing the TV show I wanted to install it myself, but I didn't want to have to do any on site cutting.
Your thoughts?
I have not heard of the factory precuts before this. The website had no mention of it the last time I visited.
I have done the cuts myself, on site.
I will ask my supplier if they know about the factory cutting.
JIMMIEM
Pre cut tile is a bad idea!
It is extremely easy to cut your own tile. Those cheap little $95.00 wet diamond saws work fine.. They aren't like a wood saw in that they won't cut your fingers off. The blades have no teeth. Instead use diamonds to abrade the tile and they do it extremely quickly..
The score and snap tile method doesn't take great skill either to master.
Both types of equipment can be rented at local rental stores by do-it-yourselfers for a nominal fee.
I installed this in my bathroom about 5 years ago. It is a pretty nice system, but in the end it probably wouldn't have been much more to just get a solid piece of granite installed, especially since my vanity was so small. In a kitchen the price difference would probably be more in favor of the Benissimo tile since you will probably have more non-bullnosed pieces versus the finished corners and bullnoses.
I was a little concerned that the bullnose pieces would fall apart, but this vanity has been used hard for 5 years and looks almost new.
Oh - sorry, I just read your other post about the precut tile. I have no experience with that. That sounds like a bad idea!
Brian
Edited 7/22/2008 4:56 pm ET by BJC
Thank You for the info. The precut part was what really interested me. I want to do it myself an didn't want to deal with having to cut the tile....in the interest of time. Just had a not so great experience with a company that just installed some linoleum and carpeting so I'm not too eager to deal with more contractors. Have had some excellent ones and then some real bad ones. Guess you really need to do your homework when hiring.
JIMMIEM
Dealing with contractors is really a hit or miss proposition.. Which is why with absolutely no experiance at all in building I took on my own massive project.
To do successful do-it-yourself work you should do two things. First watch some pros do it (there are plenty of videos out there on every task) and second buy or rent good equipment.
One final point. Everybody screws up. If you closely examine the details of even the finest most experianced contractors you will see mistakes and screw ups.
However as a home owner you tend to notice the speed and apparent ease they work which comes from experiance. Don't be intimidated.. you can do it as well. It may take you longer than a pro will and you may feel awkward and clumsey at times.
However when your wife and family look at your work they won't notice most of your tiny little mistakes.. instead they will see a job you finished and be proud of you for that achievement..
The final reason to do-it-yourself is money. My home is more than a million and a half dollars cheaper than the best estimate I could get. plus it's done exactly my way and to exactly my specs and standards.. While you won't save that sort of money please remember the cost of materials is seldom more than about 35% of the total cost involved.
The money you save will allow your family several other projects.
If a fat out of shape 60 year old can achieve this you should be able to do many things.
Thank You for the encouragement. Can I hire you?
JIMMIEM
To do what? Cheer you on? I'm not a pro! I just decided that I wanted more than my budget would allow me to afford and figured out a way to get it..
I'm sure that you are capable of doing the same. Don't let fear and lack of experiance stop you. Step up, take a deep breath and start. Do the lay out first, when you are satisfied with that pick them up and put down the morter. You can't made a mistake untill you put down the morter. So at least get that far.
When you put down the morter work in small areas to start Don't get ahead of yourself..
Watch a video or two
When you are completely done and if there are minor flaws in the work take pride!
Those are charcter! Identifying you as human not a machine. Machines make perfect people make art!
Take pride in not being a machine!