Why two boxes of the "same" tile can look different

This is the complaint we hear most about tiles bought elsewhere: "The sample was lighter." Or the floor in the hall does not quite match the floor in the room next door, laid a month later. Nobody cheated anyone. It is how tiles are made, and it is avoidable if you know three words: batch, shade and calibre.

Batch

A tile factory fires tiles in runs. Each run is a batch. Between runs the clay, the glaze, the kiln temperature and the printing all drift a little. The design is the same; the exact colour is not guaranteed to be.

Shade

Factories sort each batch into shade groups and print a shade code on the box. Boxes with the same code match. Boxes with a different code are the same design in a slightly different tone. On a cream like Marfil Ganache or Armani Lorial Creamy the difference can be a warmer or cooler white; on a grey it can be a half-step darker.

Calibre

The same goes for size: tiles shrink a little in the kiln, and a batch is sorted by its exact finished size. Mix calibres and the joints stop lining up. Your tiler will notice before you do.

What Drambay does about it

Three things. One: every order ships from a single batch; we do not top up from a second batch to fill an order. Two: the shade is checked on the floor before dispatch, not read off a label. Three: we tell you to order the whole area at once with wastage, so there is no second order.

If you are buying a large house in stages, tell us. We can hold boxes from one batch for the next room rather than hoping the next run matches.

What you can do

Check the shade code on the boxes when they arrive; they should all be the same. Open two boxes from different parts of the stack and lay four tiles side by side in daylight before the tiler starts. Five minutes now saves an argument later.

Questions we get asked

Is a shade difference a defect?

No. It is normal between batches and is why batches are sorted. A difference within one batch would be a defect; that is what the pre-dispatch check is for.

Can you match a tile I bought years ago?

Usually not exactly, even if the design is still made. Bring a piece and we will show you the closest current option in daylight.