Identify TILE

Yes, once again I am doing another bathroom remodeling project, different house, different state, although after the last one I swore never again ....
I am once again trying to identify TILE maufacturer, color, etc. I was fortunate enough last time (6 years ago) to actually have several tiles that I "removed" which made it a "no brainer" as to the manufacturer (Wenczel name on back) and thus I tracked down the color (gold dust). I was extremely lucky to actually locate some of this discontinued, 20 year old tile by finding someone with three boxes, brand new and unused !!
THIS time, I cannot "remove" any tile pieces, and actually need to add quite a few tiles to "fill-in" the area where a large garden tub once was, which is soon to be replaced by a walk-in shower. I guess the "safest" and best thing is to actually try and remove at least one tile, clean the glue off the back (as I did last time) and properly identify. I am just trying to avoid this as the existing tiles are in excellent condition and on there so very, very secure. I can tell you that the home, located in Plant City, Florida (33566) was built in 1989 by Lennar Homes. The exact same tile was used in BOTH bathrooms. It's a tanish-brown with a "texture", somewhat like a floor tile look, but the standard 4" square.

tile

Probably impossible without a piece of the tile, and "iffy" even at that. The homeowner could have selected any of several brands when they chose the color, so even knowing the tile installation company probably would not help.

it's funny ....

.... yes it's funny that of the last two houses we lived in, which needed NO bathroom remodeling or repairs, one had a full, brand new box of bathroom tiles in addition to boxes of floor and wall tiles that were used in every other room. Of couse that house was only two years old, we were second owners. The other house (we just moved out of) didn't have full boxes, but it did have at least five or six pieces of each tile, all brand new, left in the space over the garage, along with extra carpet. This house was six years old, and we were also second owners.
I guess to be 100% accurate, especially with a 16 year old tile, I must definitely (and very carefully) "remove" a tile, clean it up, and visit several large tile distributors/dealers.

As you discovered on your first job, tile patterns do get discontinued on a regular basis. It can be difficult to even match the hue or texture of a basic white tile. As a long shot, if you could find the original owner of the home, thier contract with the builder may have spec'd the tile.

If the legwork becomes beyond reason, one technique often used is to be creative with the patch. Rather than try to macth, use some bold contrasting colors; or use some of those tiles with grapes on them, or whatever. Limited only by your imagination. I have seen some really good looking repairs done by people with a certain artistic flair. There may be a good design person at a local time dealer who would be willing to offer suggestions.

you are correct ....

.... the time when I located the Wenczel "Gold Dust" tile, the actual boxes had two different lot (shade) numbers on them and you could definitely "see" a difference. One was much more white background than the other and one batch had more gold speckles. Both batches were slightly different than the original tile I was matching, but without going into much detail, I can tell you that this "nut" went and removed a section of the "original" tile (about 60 tiles) and cleaned each and every one by hand (soaking for days then removing glue and wallboard residue). I ended up re-tiling an entire (back) wall using the "new" from the same batch and reused the old, cleaned up ones on the other (side) wall. The slightly "whiter" batch I used behind the toilet, etc. All-in-all it came out excellent, but I actually did notice the three boxes of "new" tile were actually thinner, yes much thinner than the original. Another reason I definitely could not "mix" the new and old on the same wall. I also noticed three different "Wenczel" logos on the back of the tiles, indicating different production years and/or manufacturing plants.
Unfortunately we purchased this house in Plant City from the second owner who bought it in 1996. It turns out the first (original) owner is a highly decorated Navy War Hero buried (with his Wife) in Arlington Nation Cemetary. There are actual pics of his gravestone as well as several "tributes" on many websites.
But back to the tile issue........ I totally agree that a really nice "dimension" border tile of contrasting color then some tile below it in a close or even contrasting color would work well in this situation. The very LAST thing I really want (or need) to do is to rip down all this nice, clean, well secured tile, which we all know will totally destroy the sheetrock, then install new cement backer board and either re-tile OR install sheets of Corian. Hmmmmmm Corian ?? Could this be the "lazy man's" answer ????

It's very unusual for the manufacturer's name to be on the tile backs. In fact, it's rare.

I guess I was lucky.......

Although it was the first large wall tile project I ever did (six years ago), I guess I was very lucky to have tile with identifying logos on the back. Back then, the original tile I was trying to match on the walls of our 1964 raised ranch in Connecticut, that turned out to be Wenczel "Gold Dust" (an off-white tile with gold specks, very popular in the 60's) actually had the name "Wenczel" molded into the back, in the center of the tile, just like the horizontal "ribs" were molded in. And a few other tiles mixed in that original batch had just a "W" in the center of the back of the tiles. The three "newer" boxes of tile I happened to locate, which I talked about previously in this forum (that were actually thinner) had a "W" inside a sort of 5-sided geometric diamond shaped logo on them. This is why I just assumed that ALL tile manufactures must have a logo, number or something?
Although it was my first big tile project, I did it right, using new Durrock cement board, with genuine Durrock fasteners (not roofing nails that pull out) and taping the actual Durrock seams with mesh tape and quickset. The tile was level, correctly spaced, and grouted very nicely. The whole project started with removing a window in the shower/bathtub, which was slightly rotted, replacing studs, adding new R-13 unfaced-insulation and 20 mil plastic vapor barrier, putting the Durrock over where the window was and installing a brand new Pella Circlehead window over the top of the "tile line". Being an Engineer, naturally I "overkilled" the project by making blueprints and plans and actually having dimemsions come out "in reality" to within 1/16". I even drew the tiles on paper and figured out how to "symettrically center" the rear wall to have the front and rear tiles be the same size, instead of using a full tile in front and a small sliver in the rear, as most contractors do. It really came out very well !! Unfortunately we sold that house two years later.
By the way, I recently ordered: "Tile Your World" and it should be arriving this Monday, along with a few other bathroom and kitchen remodeling books.

Thanks for buying Tile Your World. A couple more sales and I can take my wife out to dinner.

Appreciate it.

did I see that you are basically converting a tub enclosure to a shower? or is this actually a combo tub w/shower? If those existing tiles weren't installed for use in a wet shower condition, they may not be as secure as you think.

to try and simplify.....

.... we have two bathrooms, both small, both "outdated" (1989) and both carpeted. BOTH need major renovations / upgrades (including tiled floors). I am starting with the guest bathroom, the "slightly" smaller of the two and the "easier". Oddly enough, they both have the same wall tile (which is exactly the same color, texture, etc.) Not to brag, but the tile and grout in this guest bathroom is in fantastic condition, and the color is not that bad.... not worth tearing it down!! But..... in this guest bathroom I just removed an very ugly gold tub sliding door <yuck> and although the tub is "clean, unscratched and not corroded" where this door frame laid for nearly 15 years, there are six holes in the tiles on the wall where the sides of this frame was attached. After carefully removing the six plastic anchors, I had to fill the holes (temporarily) with a smooth (non-sanded) grout that closely matched the tile color, then "seal" them with liquid grout sealer. It is actually THIS bathroom that I need six pieces of tile for. I am very skilled with a Dremmel tool and can easily remove these tiles and cleverly put new ones in their place !!
As far as the Master Bath, that indeed has a 42" wide, very deep TUB -and- shower combo, I was originally going to remove the tub, install the rectangular shower pan (retrofit to tub drains) , put Durrock (cement board) on the open walls and put NEW tile back over all this. THIS is also why I wanted a "matching" tile.... but after serious consideration (this weekend) I MIGHT be much better off to just tear down all the tile and either re-tile (with larger, more modern tile) or use Swanstone or Corian sheets (patterned -or- smooth?) for the walls of our "soon to be", new walk-in shower.