Wall Tile Decals?

Hi,

Maybe a stupid question, but hope someone can help.

When we bought out house 4 years ago, the kitchen walls over the
countertops were tile in a plain almond wall tile. We replaced the
cabinet and countertops, but discovered if we tried to remove one of
these tiles, it took the wallboard with it, so we left them.

We want to do something with these tiles to dress them up instead of
having to tear them out and possibly re-sheetrock the room because of
the damage done when they come out.

Is it possible to buy decals that can be applied to some of the current
tiles and won't come or wash off? That way we could dress up some
tiles, create a pattern and avoid having to replace all of them.

Also, while a stock decal could work, we do have a tile design in our
floor which I wonder if I could find a way to create a custom decal by
scanning that design and putting it on a decal I make myself. But not
sure if that is an option.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Look in the Yellow Pages under "vinyl graphics" or under "signs". As
for the design you already have, you should be able toa adigital
picture and the vinyl shop can reproduce it. Also look under "Decals".

Andy
http://www.neoglassic.com

Ryan wrote:
Hi,

Maybe a stupid question, but hope someone can help.

When we bought out house 4 years ago, the kitchen walls over the
countertops were tile in a plain almond wall tile. We replaced the
cabinet and countertops, but discovered if we tried to remove one of
these tiles, it took the wallboard with it, so we left them.

We want to do something with these tiles to dress them up instead of
having to tear them out and possibly re-sheetrock the room because of
the damage done when they come out.

Is it possible to buy decals that can be applied to some of the
current
tiles and won't come or wash off? That way we could dress up some
tiles, create a pattern and avoid having to replace all of them.

Also, while a stock decal could work, we do have a tile design in our
floor which I wonder if I could find a way to create a custom decal
by
scanning that design and putting it on a decal I make myself. But not
sure if that is an option.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

In article . com,
says...

Is it possible to buy decals that can be applied to some of the current
tiles and won't come or wash off?

I can't answer your specific question, but I can offer
a suggestion. Buy a roll of clear shelf liner (or drawer
liner) and apply it to a tile or two with whatever design
you choose to print on it. I have some really dreary
kitchen cabinets that I jazzed up several years ago
by facing them in this self-stick shelving liner purchased
in housewares at Walmart. I am pleasantly surprised at
how well it has remained in place. It is easy to paint
onto the film with acrylic paints - either artist paint
or ordinary commercial trim paints. The advantage is
that if you don't like it, peel it off with no lasting
effect to the tile (or in my case cabinet fronts), and
try another pattern.

Hi Ryan

Don't know WHERE to tell you to find them, BUT
They make 4x4 thin tile covers in everything from metal through clear
acrylic.
I have used the brushed stainless covers in a kitchen we went with all
stainless appliances. And changed a green and yellow bathroom to
light beige with accent pieces here and there, made from a very thin
self-adhesive acrylic.
I liked the acrylic better because the edges were turned under further
so you could grout them in as well. A more natural appearance than
the metal ones produced.
At the time I purchased the acrylic tiles, they did have in stock
clear tiles that had various patterns on the backside away from harms
way, such as sheafs of wheat, flure de lis, flowers, and other
patterns.
This was at a company that specializes only in tile and non-material
type floor coverings. Meaning no carpets or sheet stock.

If you can get the clear covers, you could print your design on
transparencies for projectors.
Heck, why not just reverse print the design and glue the
transparencies up?

TTUL
Gary

Yes. There are a variety of materials on the market now that permit you to
make decals or decal-like transfers by using your computer and its printer,
or with professional color copies of things you've created and printed.
Some of these can be made permanent with a thin overglaze.

I'm most familiar with Lazertran products, which are artist-quality
transfer papers that produce water-slip decals from photocopied images.
They're not cheap, but they produce very high-quality results, and the
decals themselves are so thin that once they've been applied to the tile
and allowed to dry, the image appears to be part of the tile itself. I've
used this material on some ugly '70s-era tile around my fireplace with very
good results.

Their Web site - http://www.lazertran.com/ - describes their line of
products. I see they have one now that works with inkjet printers, but I'd
be surprised if it's got the permanence of the originals, which are
intended for use with the kind of color lazer copiers you'd find at a
Kinko's or similar commercial copy shop.

You might also try using Google's advanced search page to search for the
"water slip decal" and "inkjet" - there appear to be a number of different
products out there now to do the job, although you'll want to check
carefully about their permanence.

--
Pat Kight

You can try http://www.onestroke.com/shop/plaidkits/ad324c.html - They
used to have an ivy set which I used in my bathroom 2 years ago.

Ryan wrote:
Hi,

Maybe a stupid question, but hope someone can help.

When we bought out house 4 years ago, the kitchen walls over the
countertops were tile in a plain almond wall tile. We replaced the
cabinet and countertops, but discovered if we tried to remove one of
these tiles, it took the wallboard with it, so we left them.

We want to do something with these tiles to dress them up instead of
having to tear them out and possibly re-sheetrock the room because of
the damage done when they come out.

Is it possible to buy decals that can be applied to some of the
current
tiles and won't come or wash off? That way we could dress up some
tiles, create a pattern and avoid having to replace all of them.

Also, while a stock decal could work, we do have a tile design in our
floor which I wonder if I could find a way to create a custom decal
by
scanning that design and putting it on a decal I make myself. But not
sure if that is an option.

Any ideas?

Thanks!