In the rehab of our house, we put new hex tiles [to match the tiles in our
master bath] into the half bath we created in the area of the little 1/4
bath closet (just a commode, sink was across the room of the 1930s
addition) and on the floor of the upstairs bath (was wood, which had to be
removed anyway to fix the framing that had been hacked away to make the
initial plumbing installation...they didn't always make stuff right in the
good old days...my house was framed by idiots, which was then compounded by
plumbers who proceeded to chew through anything wood like pherome-crazed
termites in order to install steam pipes and water pipes...but I digress).

Anyway, these tiles were a ringer for the 1926 originals.  I don't know
what Dal Tiles are and why they are not desirable, but these tiles are the
proper color, they have very crisp sharp edges (not rounded), and are the
exact size of the originals.  I have searched and cannot find the name of
the tile manufacturer (we ordered them through a local tile dealer, and
none of the paper work has the name of the stuff!), but the shipping label
on the carton gives the distributor:

Marva Marble and Granite of Washington DC, Ltd.
12225 Distribution Way
Beltsville MC  20705
301/596-1882

This was probably about 4.5 years ago.  Perhaps the person searching for
tiles can contact this distributor to track down what they are looking for.


I would also consult _Traditional Building_'s most recent focus issue on
tile and research the always excellent Source Lists they compile for the
spotlighted trade.

____________________________________________
Dan Becker
Executive Director, Raleigh Historic Districts Commission

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