Norwich & surrounding suburbs, villages & towns have been witness to a massive surge in new housing in recent years. From Little Plumstead through to Sprowston, Watton to Wreningham, Costessey to Wymondham, Surlingham to Old Buckenham, Dereham to Attleborough, Holt to Thetford. The list is, like our Norfolk skies – endless. Keeping just the positives in mind this is great news for local communities – more housing, more amenities, more businesses & increased employment opportunities. One issue for many in Norfolk, however, has always been the availability of ultrafast broadband. So ..read more

According to Stephen Maunder at Which Magazine “The UK property market has enjoyed a mini-boom since reopening after the lockdown and the government’s stamp duty cut could result in more people moving home over the next few months”.  At both our showrooms we have also noticed an upturn in business with folks getting out there and looking to focus on their home improvements. Thankfully for us, public interest in tiles is growing. If you have a project in mind but you are not too savvy when it comes to either measuring up or choosing which tiles are best for which purpose and you ..read more

DIY culture is huge these days, with the millions of tutorials available on YouTube and bloggers keen to share their knowledge it can sometimes feel that no project is too big to handle at home. It can be difficult sometimes to know when to take on a tiling job yourself and when to call in the professionals, so we’ve created a handy scale so you can tell whether you’re up to the task for your latest home improvement project. Simple:   If a tile or two needs fixing or replacing, it can quite a simple fix if you have spares to hand. If a tile is cracked but not in danger of moving or causi ..read more

A Very Merry Christmas from Tiles Away! Christmas is just around the corner, and we’re feeling festive here at Tiles Away HQ! We’ve had a wonderful year at both our Attleborough and Norwich showrooms, with lots of exclusive ranges and new product lines keeping us busy through 2019! We’d like to say a big thank you to all of our stockists and customers for supporting us, and wish you all a very Merry Christmas! We have lots of exciting plans for 2020 but first, we need to recharge our batteries and have a nice rest over Christmas! Pop in and say hello if you are in the city doing the last bit o ..read more

Can I Tile onto Tile? We are frequently asked by customers if it is okay to tile new tiles onto old existing tiles?The most direct answer is yeah but no but yeah but…… ideally you wouldn’t do it. No. It means you don’t have to go down the labour intensive route of removing old tiles and making good the surface below, prior to your new installation.   Why wouldn’t you? If you don’t know whether you can completely trust the original tiles, let alone what lurks beneath, then the gamble becomes greater… if the original tiles are starting to fail in any way then this will transfer to your new ..read more

2020 has been a year of shocks, struggles, high street trade collapsing, businesses re-inventing themselves, people retraining and all of us facing new normals.  One thing that hasn’t changed is the trajectory of new homes being built in Norfolk. The construction industry is booming. And our tile selection is growing ever more to keep up with the latest trends and customer demands.   Scott properties are looking to build on a 193-acre site in Taverham and bringing more than 1500 new homes to life.  Halsbury Homes have submitted the plans for land off Green Lane East, in Rac ..read more

Frequently we get customers coming in and asking us for advice on how to drill into their tiles. Although basic rules are similar, it’s not necessarily altogether obvious what to do and how to do it. So take a couple of minutes reading this first before you embark on your DIY quest. Ordinary drill bits just won’t cut the mustard.  Is your tile ceramic or porcelain? There is a massive difference between the two materials with porcelain being incredibly tough.  Make sure there are no pipes or wires buried behind the area where you will be drilling into. Yes, it does seem obvious ..read more

You’d be surprised the number of customers ask us which is the best type of finish on a tile for a bathroom or shower. Some firmly believe a gloss finish is best, whereas others are adamant that it’s got to be a matt finish all the way. So what is the best finish to choose? This is probably a debate which will continue to rage on long after this little piece. Both finishes have their advantages. Gloss tiles are ideal for bouncing light around a room, especially in a room with little natural light. You can get gloss tiles with ripples in and these will accentuate the available light even furthe ..read more

Just a few days ago we were discussing fireplace tiles with a customer. After 45 minutes of checking, matching, cross-matching and comparing they settled on their favourite. The brief they gave us was for a rustic wall & floor tile with a terra cotta feel. Anyways just as the total price was ringing up in the till the wife happened to mention (totally out of the blue) just how good the tiles they had carefully selected would look around their new log burner. I stopped the sale instantly & explained that as beautiful as the tile was it wouldn’t suit the purpose they had in mind. And so ..read more

How To Choose The Perfect Tiles Quite frequently customers visiting our stores tell us that they are looking for a tile but don’t know much more than that. It’s not unsurprising when there is such a bewildering array of choice. There is so much which needs to be taken into consideration with choosing the ideal tile that’s where we come in. You really are running the gauntlet when selecting & buying a tile purely online. Choosing a tile on its purpose It’s easy to fall in love with the look of a tile but it’s so much harder to make sure that this tile is right for it’s intended destination ..read more