Tile Terms You Need to Know - Part 2

Deco:
Used to describe a decorative tile that is of the same size as the surrounding "field" tile. Sometimes these are referred to as "inserts"

Listelli:
Sometimes called "Liners", are elongated pieces of ceramic or metal that have decoration or are of a contrasting color to the field tile and are inserted for decorative purposes.

Square Feet:
Tile is sold on the basis of square feet and not by tile. (Deco tile and Listelli are however usually sold by the piece). Any retailer that quotes you tile prices in terms other than square feet is not helping you make a rational buying decision. You are not buying pieces of tile but covering area and unless you are given the square foot price it is very difficult to evaluate prices between different sized tiles. Be very cautious of per tile quotes as they often cost more per square foot than a traditional tile store would charge. A typical 4x4 bathroom tile costs about $2.00/square foot. There are roughly 9 pieces per square foot. A retailer offering these tiles at "Only 25 cents each" is in fact charging you $2.25/square foot for the tile!

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