More premium projects are delayed by ordering decisions than by product availability. The material is rarely the problem; the arithmetic, the batch and the calendar usually are. A little discipline at this stage removes most of the risk from the rest of the programme.
How Much to Order
Start with the net area, then add wastage — and be realistic about it. A simple rectangular room in a standard format needs around 10%. A room with many cuts, recesses and returns needs 12 to 15%. A diagonal or herringbone layout needs 15 to 20%, because every perimeter piece is cut twice. Large-format slabs cut for worktops and splashbacks are calculated differently again, by the fabricator, from a cutting plan rather than a percentage.
Then add a genuine surplus on top: two or three square metres held in storage. A cracked tile in year four, a repositioned radiator, a new door opening — these are ordinary events, and matching material later is often impossible.
Check the delivery on arrival and before the tiler starts, not on the day of laying. Opening several boxes from across the pallet allows shade, calibre and any transit damage to be identified while there is still time to act.
Why Batch Matters
Tiles are produced in production runs, and shade varies marginally between them. Order the entire quantity, including wastage and surplus, in a single batch. A second order placed a month later may arrive fractionally different in tone — imperceptible in a box, obvious across a Notting Hill hallway floor. Record the batch number and keep it with the property documents.
Realistic Lead Times
Stocked collections can be with you inside a fortnight. Made-to-order collections from our Italian and Spanish mills typically run six to ten weeks, and slab formats requiring fabrication should have another two to three weeks added for templating, cutting and delivery. Templating cannot begin until cabinetry is installed — a sequencing fact that catches out more kitchen projects than any other.
When to Commit
Confirm the selection once drawings are fixed and before the site programme is set, not after. Deposit early, deliver late: material can be held and released to site when there is somewhere dry and secure to store it — which in a Chelsea terrace with no front garden is a genuine consideration.
Bring your programme dates to the showroom and we will work backwards from your tiling week.
