Although traditionally many people have preferred to use small format tiles for ease of installation, this is now the exception not the norm. Modern, efficient installation systems now mean the focus is on long term aesthetics and maintenance rather than initial installation. There are no hard and fast rules when selecting the size of your tiles. If you are concerned about advice you are receiving, please speak to one of our friendly sales team who will happily provide honest and transparent recommendations regarding your best options.

Our friendly sales team would be glad to help you select the most appropriate products to meet the style, colour or design you desire. Get in touch with our team at your local showroom - Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Newcastle.

Shower areas are harsh chemical and wet environments. Shampoo, soap, and cleaning products are aggressive and can easily degrade porous surfaces that are not hard enough over time. High quality porcelain tiles are highly resistant to both water and chemical attack. Materials like natural stone, metals, cement and terracotta need careful consideration before selection as they may not meet your expectations.

All tiles in our range may be used on your kitchen splashback, though some products will require sealing to protect from oil and contaminants. If you are considering an open-flame cooktop and your splashback is within 200mm of the cooker, a non-combustible material should be used, or your builder will need to install heat protective sheeting between your splashback and substrate. Using a ceramic or porcelain tile at least 5mm thick satisfies the requirements for a non-combustible splashback without any extra work.

We have a range of products to suit all budgets.

If you are looking for designer tiles on a budget, the Earp Bros Clearance Centre is now open and offers significantly reduced prices on last season, end of line and limited run tiles. View our clearance tiles here.

Generally a small format tile must be used to cover a curved surface. We generally recommend mosaic tiles as they are the most adaptable for these applications. We have recently launched a range of natural stone sheets called Airslate which is a truly flexible hard surface covering - natural slate measuring only 2mm thick that can achieve a curve of radius 250mm or more.

Most tiles are produced by pressing, decorating and firing inorganic materials such as sand (silica), talc, feldspar and clays. 

Some manufacturers use higher levels of silica in their tiles and other additives designed to reduce the amount of heat needed to 'vitrify' or fuse the ingredients together. This results in a weak, low performance tile that is inherently cheaper to produce.

We only work with manufacturers who produce tiles above and beyond industry accepted standards, manufacturing tiles that will last the lifetime of a building. Our core ranges are produced using world leading technologies that are more sustainable - recapturing most of the heat, energy and water usually lost by other manufacturers. By using higher quality raw materials, industry leading technologies and machinery and environmental best practice, our tiles are the strongest, highest quality hard surface materials in the market. 

Ceramics include the entire family of fired clay materials including terracotta, ceramic, porcelain, technical porcelain, stoneware, etc. Porcelain tiles are a particular group of ceramics which exhibit high performance characteristics.

International Standards use water absorption as the main classification method for tile products. A product with lower water absorption will be inherently more resistant to staining, abrasion, scratching and wear than a product of higher water absorption. Porcelain tile has a water absorption rate of less than 0.5% whilst a higher water absorption is classified as a ceramic tile.

Vitrified tiles have a water absorption of less than 3% - this includes porcelain tiles (less than 0.5% and also known as fully vitrified) and some low water absorption ceramic tiles (0.5% to 3% known as vitrified). Vitrification is the transformation of a substance into a glass - that is to say a crystalline amorphous solid. Vitrification is responsible for a tiles impermeability to water.

Vitrification is a process - as a tile is heated in a kiln the different materials in the clay body begin to fuse together, with some materials softening to fill the gaps between harder particles. At a certain point there will be no further fusion possible - depending on the raw materials used, the resulting tile will have achieved a certain amount of vitrification. The level of vitrification of a tile is measured by water absorption.

Although vitrified tiles offer advantages over non-vitrified or semi-vitrified tiles, it is more important to consider the specific performance characteristics you expect from your tiles.

Our entire range of Porcelanosa Group Wall and Floor Tiles are Global GreenTag and Declare Label certified.

Click here to view the collection.

Tiles are mostly produced in a pressed format. To achieve a more precise size (length and width) and to reduce the size of the grout joint required, tiles can be rectified after they have been fired in the kiln. The rectification process involves grinding or cutting the edges of the tile to achieve a more perfect size (calibration) and edge profile.

The shade (or batch number) indicates a specific production run of tiles. Tiles may vary in colour, size and appreance from shade to shade. The shade number is printed on the side of your box for ease of reordering, however don't be alarmed if the boxes have already been recycled - all orders are recorded in our system with specific shade details as supplied.

All floor tiles can be used on walls, however wall tiles cannot be used on floors. Practical considerations should be made in terms of surface texture (aggressive slip resistant finishes may not be appropriate) and weight (30mm thick stone or porcelain may be too heavy for your wall substrate).

We have large selections of grout from the world's leading grout brands including Ardex and Mapei. During the selection process we are able to guide you through grout selection with samples in store to visualise with your chosen tiles.

Yes, we can coordinate and supply a wide selection of bullnose and edge pieces for our entire range of porcelain tile and stone products. Please note that lead times apply to most bullnose and edge profiles.

Ceramics are an inherently non-combustible material by composition. Produced by firing inorganic raw materials in a kiln to over 1200 degrees Celsius, ceramic tiles will not produce smoke or fumes during a fire.

Read our Fire Compliance Declaration.

We understand not all projects have lead times sufficient for tiles to be imported from Europe, so we hold large quantities of select products which are readily available from our central warehouse. When browsing our range online, click the formats tab on the product page - products which require an extended lead time (generally 12 weeks) are indicated with a ship icon. 

We have an extensive range of stocked items from all over the world, ready to ship anywhere in Australia. 

Logistics times from our international manufacturers vary from 8-16 weeks. We can advise estimated delivery times once we confirm with the manufacturer, which can take up to 5 business days. For in stock products, 2 working days lead time is required to pick, pack and ship your tiles once your confirmed order has been received.

You can place an order by getting in contact with a team member at any of our showrooms by phone, email or by visiting us.

To secure your order, we require a non-refundable deposit of 30% of the total value of your order. The outstanding balance is due prior to delivery or pickup of goods. 

Measure the length and width of the surface to be tiled. Multiply the length by the width. This is the m2 quantity required to cover the surface.

For example:

3m x 4m = 12 m2

A minimum of 12 m2 is required to cover the wall. We recommend you include an additional 10-15% for cutting and wastage. For more information see 'Do I Require Extra Tiles?'. 

See 'Do I Require Extra Tiles?'.

When installing your tiles your tiler will inevitably need to cut your tiles to fit the dimensions of the area to be covered and will require an additional allowance for breakage. As a general rule we recommend 10-15% wastage (on top of your measurements) to ensure you have enough to make up for cutting and breakage. Some tiles or configurations may require a little bit more based on the tile, tile layout, pattern, etc... Ask your friendly sales team member for advice when selecting and ordering your tiles.

We deliver anywhere in Australia and internationally by request. Delivery is a paid service and is not included in the price of the material.

Yes. To ensure ownership of your goods transfers to you, you will be required to sign for receipt of the goods upon delivery. It is important you check the product delivered for issues and alert us within 24 hours for any claims to be made. 

We can recommend you potential tilers, although we can take no responsibility for the quality or reliability of their work. There are many parts to the installation of tiles - the recommendations we make with regards to potential tilers is based on our customers previous experiences. It is important you check the quality of potential tilers work prior to selecting your tiler.

In most cases the answer is yes. The important factors are substrate and surface movement, and adhesion. Different substrates will require different preparation and adhesives. ie; In most cases wooden flooring willr require and underlay be used.

In general yes, though installation on certain substrates and surfaces may require specific installation methodologies. Please get in touch with an Earp Bros consultant for specific recommendations.

Cement tiles can be used on kitchen splashbacks, however they must be sealed periodically to prevent the oils, fats and chemicals inherent in a kitchen environment from penetrating or staining the tile surface.

XLight and XLight Premium have been developed for covering all manner of surfaces including the external cladding of buildings. There are many variables to consider when cladding buildings requiring the expertise of a qualified engineer and collaboration with the material manufacturers. We have a number of experienced team members who can provide advice and technical documentation who are available by request.

Most tiles can be installed over the top of most existing wall & floor surfaces. Timber, bricks, plasterboard - each substrate is different and has its own unique issues. Some surfaces require different methods of preparation, primers, adhesives or mechanical fixing systems.

We partner with Australia's leading adhesive companies and can provide comprehensive specification documentation and advice for installing tile over the top of existing substrates.

There are many suitable slab porcelain materials available today. In our experience each application must be considered individually. 6mm is the minimum thickness to be used on benchtops, but the intended use, design and subframe of the benchtop must be considered.

There are many factors that will influence the installation costs of your tiles including the material being installed, quantity, availability, application and site. Generally a tiler will charge between $60-$120 per square metre.

Non-porous products such as glazed ceramic tiles, porcelain tiles and glass mosaics do not require sealing. Porous products such as natural stone, cement tiles, unglazed ceramic tiles, polished porcelain and terracotta tiles generally require sealing.

Our range of cement tiles arrive pre-sealed to help prevent staining during installation. Once the tiles are installed and grouted, we recommend resealing to give the best possible protection to your cement tiles.

Marble and most natural stones are inherently absorbment materials, easily affected by chemicals and abrasion. Without sealing your stone you greatly increase the risk of stain damage and/or acid etching, which inevitably reduces the practical and aesthetic lifespan of the material.

Most of our tiles require only a light clean with clean water periodically to maintain them. pH neutral cleaning liquids can be used to assist in loosening some contaminants from the tile surface when required, however most chemicals leave a light residue on the surface which can create a hazy buildup over time.

We recommend using chemicals only to spot clean and for heavy duty cleaning when required.

No acid based cleaners should ever be used.

We do not accept returns of extra goods supplied. We recommend storing your extras in a clean, dry environment in the case you require matching tiles for repairs or extensions in the future.

It is important that you notify us within 24 hours of delivery or collection of your tiles. If you fail to notify us within 24 hours or if you lay, install or use the tiles in any way, you are deemed to have accepted the tiles.