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The color choices for ceramic subway tile is as limitless as the rainbow. To make sure you have enough tile to cover your entire project, measure your project space, round that number to the next highest square foot, then add 10 to 15 percent to cover waste, cuts, and breakage. One square foot comprises eight 3-by-6-inch subway tiles. Prices for ceramic subway tile start around $2 per square foot for budget field tile and soar to $50 (or more) per square foot for handmade artisan tile.
#New york subway tiles install
They’re tough enough to take a beating for decades-in fact, the adhesive, grout, and caulk used to install them will likely need replacing long before the tiles do. Manufacturers often use the term now to describe any rectangular tile with a length twice its height, from 4-by-8-inch planks to 1-by-2 mosaics, and even some tiles (such as contemporary 2-by-8 strips) that don’t share the original’s proportions at all. Inevitably, the popularity of subway tile has expanded its working definition.
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And they’ve made the leap from kitchens and baths to other hardworking spaces that benefit from easy-care surfaces, such as laundry rooms, mudrooms, and fireplace surrounds. Today’s tiles come in a mind-boggling array of colors and finishes that partner well with just about any style of decor. More than a century later, ceramic subway tile still endures as a perennial favorite for homeowners. The easy-to-clean, stain-resistant, light-reflective, 3-by-6-inch glazed white rectangles captured the public’s imagination back then and quickly moved into the bathrooms and kitchens of prewar houses for practical and aesthetic reasons. As a staple of kitchen and bath design, the ubiquitous ceramic subway tile has been around since it was introduced in New York City’s subway stations in the early 1900s.
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