This week I have to finalize my tiles for my kitchen, small bath room and gym room. My house is not far from Hous Depot. Jalan Ipoh is not that near but it is also not that far either. My subcon is telling me that most of the tiles shops are selling about the same quality but I am not sure. Granted my tiles will be very simple no fancy design and white/off white/cream color. My question is where to get high quality tiles assuming price is not a major concern?

My contractor tell me actually the price is not much diff and same grade if we buy made in china, only local tiles have grade 1 and 2.

So i ask my contractor to suggest me where he normally buy and near to his house.
So in case short of tiles, he can help me to bought it...rather than i just purpose go to jalan ipoh to purchase 1-2 tiles...save my time and petrol too.

But the reason i will visit some nice showroom...atleast we can get idea how it look like when the tiles install at bathroom...small tiles shop wont have show room...just sell tiles only

Right now I am a tiles idiot. So there are those that are made in China and Grade 1 and Grade 2 local. Ignoring the price difference, what are the differences among them? I assume color consistency will be better for those higher grade ones. But what about anti stain and scratches, etc and maintenance? Thanks.

Thanks for the info... will keep track of this thread...

Hi, im also doing a survey on tiles currently. Based on what I know from the shop asst, there's not much different on grade 1 & grade 2 tiles. Only grade 2 tiles might be having different color for different batches.
Grade 1 tiles will not have this discoloration issue. Just need to make sure that u order enough tiles for your house (and hopefully these are in the same 1 batch of colors).
Most of the tiles in the market are using nanotechnology, which is anti-stain. Again, it'll be up to what types of tiles that you select.

This post has been edited by cvshi515: May 30 2011, 08:34 PM

Tiles what you need to look out for, based on personal experience:


1. Full body or half body; full body obviously is more expensive, but if you chipped the tiles down the track (ie. you suddenly drop a hammer on the tile for example) you won't see one chipped white spot there very obvious. But if half body, you may see the white chipped spot

2. Difference between grade, not only in discoloration but also in terms of how straight and clean the factory cut the pieces. Some even are not straight, ie. bengkok in the middle. This will cause problem when laying the tiles so your tiles cannot be aligned symmetrically across the room (some will be higher some may be to the left a bit etc)

3. There is a difference between polished and unpolished

4. There is a difference between procelain, ceramics, marbles etc.

5. Pricing wise, huge difference between stores in jalan ipoh. my strategy is to look for exactly what you want (set your mind on it) then go to all the stores and ask them for best price. don't be fickle or change your mind as you may have urge to suddenly buy something else (and it may be more expensive than other stores)

6. Showrooms - White horse in selayang, niro granite go to segambut, MML in PJ i think. These 3 are malaysian brands and are quite good quality.

After reading some websites, I think porcelain tiles with all the low water absorption, high scratch and chemical resistance and high non slip index is the type that I want for my kitchen.

For kitchen, you should go for unpolished porcelain tiles.

It have few range of surface pattern (e.g smooth, rustic and etc)

High range tiles are imported tiles from Italy. The difference the durability of the tiles due to better furring process in the factory.

Hi Sifu,
Pls advice in more specific what type of tiles for toilet (wall & floor), kitchen (wall, top & floor) and car porch?

Just my opinion :-

toilet, kitchen or any wet area : use Matt porcelain tiles for the floor and use polished porcelain tile for wall and top or maybe infill with glass mosaic..

External area, use porcelain tiles rustic finish, Matt finish or timber finish.. Maybe can have mixture of pebble wash...

For heavy duty use (e.g. car porch, external areas, heavy traffic floors) use homogenous tiles... they are very sturdy and dense compared to ceramics (least durable) or porcelain (more durable than ceramics - it is fired at a higher temperature).

Homogenous tiles are also good because it is 'full bodied' as an earlier poster said.

So many places to get tiles... so far MML, Niro, Guocera = good reviews from friends.

Sorry I am abit confused about polished and unpolished also. Please advice. TXS

Polished - smooth finish something look glossy

Unpolished - Matt finish

Rustic - rough surface abit something like earth surface

that is some tiles factory u can visit. seacera, white house. try to seach at internet for more info.

Go to Ipmuda Buildermart and can find all type of tiles and home accessories b4 ur buy anything. Do some research, Ipmuda Buildermart is somekind of Tesco for home reno stuff. Add: No 1 Jalan 13/1 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, 46200, Malaysia