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  • Home » Bathroom Help Category -- Also note those subcategories in the orange navigation, above! » bathroom tile help & ideas » Another potential source for hard-to-find vintage replacement tile: Vintage Building Supply / Rosten Remodeling in Sacramento

    Another potential source for hard-to-find vintage replacement tile: Vintage Building Supply / Rosten Remodeling in Sacramento

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    Posted by: pam kueber • November 10, 2016

    monarch-tileBuilding on my list of 15 (now 16) places to find basic 4 x 4 (or -ish) tiles including replacement tile, I recently heard from a *new* company that says they may be able to help readers. The company — Vintage Building Supply — in Sacramento, Calif., says that have and continue to accumulate vintage stock — that they are eager to work with homeowners to match replacement tiles — and they even sent photos of some catalogs to illustrate some oldies but goodies they may have in stock.

    replacement-tile-12Owner Andy Rosten wrote:

    We have a large stock of numerous manufacturers of discontinued tile from 1930s to 2000, and we offer free identification of those seeking to match existing installations as well as many retro colors, and ship all over North America. We welcome you adding us to your source list: Vintage Tile, 1619 E St, Suite B, Sacramento CA 95814 916-451-8424. In addition to wall and counter tile, we also carry many 8″ discontinued floor tiles and several 12″ floor tiles from Dal and Florida Tile.

    I have been a general contractor doing repairs on older homes for over 25 years. Our building is rather non-descript with just our business name, Rosten Remodeling Inc. on the front door. This has been a side business for about a year, but I am slowly developing it as a separate one. I’ve made up some business cards that say Vintage Building Supply (I also have many antique plumbing, electrical, hardware & molding items), but I haven’t yet made a sign out front and I’m working on an advertising plan. It is VERY time consuming to seek out, clean, sort, identify and inventory tiles, and I’m still trying to get everything organized. Every week I run across new items I was unaware of, and I am planning to take photos of tiles from the other manufacturers that I don’t have sample boards. The photos I sent you are sample boards that are over 20 years old. We also have several floor tiles (mostly 8″) that are no longer available to help people trying to repair their floors.

    I asked Andy if they have stock of every tile shown in the boards, and if they stock sufficient to do entire bathrooms. He replied:

    No we do not have stock of every tile shown. Some we have none, some we have many, and some we may only have a few or only certain pieces. However, we are acquiring new tiles all the time as we search salvage yards. We have tiles from over 20 different manufacturers, although some we only have a few.  However, I have been developing a cross reference index because many manufacturers copied colors/patterns of others so sometimes we can offer close substitutes. This is especially true for such patterns as oatmeal, golden granite (a white with tan specks) and the Dal Mayan series (which was copied by at least 6 companies).  Our specialty is helping those who are trying to repair existing installations, and we offer free identification. We are not a good source for new installations where buyers are looking for large quantities as they would sell out quickly and then we couldn’t help others.  I can also send a diagram that shows the different pieces made with their corresponding part numbers.  Most lay people do not know how to accurately describe what piece they need. We often hear customers say they need a “bullnose” and there are more than a dozen different pieces called “bullnose.”

    Some vintage tile boards in Andy’s collection:

    where-to-find-replacement-tile replacement-tile-monarch monarch-tile replacement-tile-15 replacement-tile-14 replacement-tile-13 replacement-tile-12 replacement-tile-11 replacement-tile-10 replacement-tile-9 replacement-tile-8 replacement-tile-7 replacement-tile-6 replacement-tile-5 replacement-tile-4 replacement-tile-3 replacement-tile-2 replacement-tile-1

    Link love:

    • This company does not have a website. Contact Andy at Vintage Tile, 1619 E St Sacramento CA 95814; phone: 916-451-8424. He also says you can send photos of the tile you are looking for to the company’s email address, rosten@softcom.net
    • Our overview story: 16 places to find 4′ x 4′ bathroom tile in vintage colors

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    Comments 21
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    Comments

    1. Robert says

      June 21, 2017 at 4:35 pm

      OMG, I just called the, and Lordy! They are charging SO much! 4.50 for just one 4″ tile. An entire shower would be a fortune! I’m so glad they have options, but holy cow.

      Reply
      • Pam Kueber says

        June 21, 2017 at 6:17 pm

        For a new bathroom try B&W — https://retrorenovation.com/2012/07/16/12-places-to-find-4-x-4-ceramic-bathroom-tile-in-vintage-colors/

        Reply
    2. Barbara Boldt says

      August 15, 2018 at 10:41 am

      Hi, I am trying to find four 4-1/2x 4-1/4 peachy pink wall tiles to replace broken ones on our bathroom wall. The tiles have a shiny smooth finish.
      The house was built in 1948. Any help is appreciated! Thanks.

      Reply
      • Pam Kueber says

        August 19, 2018 at 3:21 pm

        See this story: https://retrorenovation.com/2012/07/16/12-places-to-find-4-x-4-ceramic-bathroom-tile-in-vintage-colors/

        Reply
    3. Jerry Tomlin Sr says

      October 16, 2018 at 4:00 pm

      happened across your site, I have in the past been a distributor of tile in N. Ala. I have 2-3 pallets of Monarch tile and trim I am interested in getting ride of.
      Jerry

      Reply
      • Pam Kueber says

        October 16, 2018 at 7:13 pm

        Hi Jerry, I do not buy things and the comment threads are not meant for buying/selling or it would be chaos. Contact the company(s) listed in various stories directly. Brite blue bold text = hotlinks.

        Another thought: There are sellers on ebay who specialize in replacement tile – perhaps they might be interested in your stock.

        Good luck.

        Reply
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