Elegance Affordable at Tile Store
If you believe, like the real estate agents, that the installation of ceramic tile will increase the value of your home, you might want to check out the great prices at Tile for Less on Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Canoga Park.
This store is packed with quality tile by well-known manufacturers such as Maravvi, an Italian tile maker, and Riviera and KKPT, both here in the United States. Besides the marble, nothing in the store is more than $2 a square foot. You will find all types of ceramic tiles here--for the kitchen, bath, floor, wall and patio. There was a lovely “Radiance” pattern tile for $1.49 a square foot, and tiles by Walker Zanger go for $1.59 a square foot, with three sizes and five colors to choose from.
Tile Pak mosaic tile is represented here at $1.69 a square foot. To show you just how good this price is, a major membership club warehouse sells it for $2.30 a square foot. Tiles from Saltillo, Mexico, run $1 a square foot. Tile for Less is also an outlet for Dura Ceramics, formerly Franciscan ceramics, at the same low prices.
There’s nothing quite like the elegance of marble tile; at $25 to $30 a square foot, however, it’s way beyond the means of most of us. But this is the place to get that elegance at affordable prices, and to me that’s the essence of bargain shopping. At Tile for Less, you’ll find a Carrara beige marble selling for $4.75 a square foot and an Alexandra pink marble (also from Italy) at $12.50. If what you want is not in stock, they’ll have it for you within three to five days and at the store price. Owner Bill Brennan tells us he imports marble from Greece and Spain as well, and the average price of that marble is $6 to $9 a square foot.
Sharp bargain hunters will check out the specials and close-outs first. The day we visited you could have picked up a couple of hundred square feet of ceramic tile, glazed in 24 karat gold, for $1.99 a square.
The folks at Tile for Less excel in customer service. I originally heard about them from a happy reader of this column, and after checking them out, know why she was so pleased. Leave your vital stats (name, address, phone number) and they will release tile samples to you on the buddy system: They’ll give you a few to take home and try out and assume you’ll be a good buddy and bring them back. Many places charge as much as $5 a tile for samples, so here’s another way to save.
If you plan to save on labor costs and install the tiles yourself, Scott Barraugh, the manager, is an experienced installer. If you bring in a schematic, he’ll advise you on the best way to get the job done right. If you’re not a do-it-yourselfer, he and his staff will be happy to work with your contractor or give you leads for installers.
* Tiles for Less, 8369 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Canoga Park. (818) 704-7961. Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. MasterCard and Visa accepted.
