Where can I find discontinued ceramic tiles, Casa Roma Lavina #62
White.  I only need 6.

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Request for Question Clarification by clouseau-ga on 04 Oct 2002 10:18 PDT

Hello Lance,

I'm working on finding this for you, but I need more information:

What is the size of this tile? 6"x6"?

How old is it?

Where was it originally purchased? 

Do you know the name of the manufacturer?

Can you take a picture and post it on the Internet where I can
download the image? If not, can you describe it in as much detail as
possible?

Please tell me as much as you can and I will endeavor to find this for
you.

Regards,

-=clouseau=-

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Clarification of Question by lance-ga on 04 Oct 2002 11:19 PDT

These are 13" x 13" Italian ceramic tiles that were distributed in
Western Canada, but discontinued about 30 months ago.

Casa Roma is the manufacturer.
Lavina #62 White is the model.

Our research revealed that the distributor was Schneer.  They sold the
last of the remnants to Home Depot.  Calls were made to all Home Depot
stores, but they do not have any left.

Pictures and detail probably won't be much value, because I'm not
looking for a match - I'm looking for these exact tiles.  Several
"close matches" exist, but the original tiles have an interesting
combination of colours that are unique.  We recognize that even the
ones we eventually find may not be close enough due to subtle changes
that occured over the duration of the production run, but at least it
would be a start.  The alternative is to rip them all out and start
over.

I need only 6, but would take up to 80.

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Request for Question Clarification by clouseau-ga on 04 Oct 2002 11:25 PDT

Thanks Lance,

All I need to know. I'm working on it.

-=clouseau=-

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Request for Question Clarification by clouseau-ga on 04 Oct 2002 12:14 PDT

Hello again Lance,

I have found one company that might be able to help but they refuse to
sell into the USA for some reason.

Can you tell me where you are located, if you don't mind? Also, where
were these purchased originally?

I do have friends in the country in question above and might be able
to make arrangements to have them place the order and relay the
shipment and have made this suggestion to the company in question, but
your information may make this process easier.

Regards,

-=clouseau=-

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Request for Question Clarification by clouseau-ga on 04 Oct 2002 16:03 PDT

Lance,

I have located two pieces at the moment and continue to await replies.

Let me know your level of interest in these two, particulalry if no
more materialize. I have asked that they be held for me for a few
days.

Regards,

-=clouseau=-

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Clarification of Question by lance-ga on 05 Oct 2002 01:50 PDT

Great work Clouseau!

I am located in Western Canada.  Calgary to be exact.  But I'll take
them from anywhere in the world via whatever means we have to devise
to get them here!

You located two tiles?  Only four to go!  Unfortunately six tiles is
the minimum required to solve the problem.  Any less means that the
whole floor still has to come up.

The next "magic" point would be 35 tiles.  This would be fantastic.
The final "magic" point is 65 tiles.  This would be the ultimate, as
we could repair all the damage we've done trying to get six tiles from
an existing area.

Of course, 6, 35, or 65 all assume absolutely no screw-ups during
installation.  So any extras beyond any of these points would be
great.

Thanks for your dedication.

Lance.

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Request for Question Clarification by clouseau-ga on 05 Oct 2002 10:10 PDT

Hello Lance,

My pleasure. I love the challenge 8^)

No need to reply to this clarification right now, but I posted this
way to be sure you received notice of this posting.

I don't expect any more activity until sometime Monday. I do realize
that two will not be sufficient for you, but may not be able to find
any more. But I have not given up just yet.

I have about 30 emails out and only have received 3 replies (one which
had the two!). I have a friend at Home Depot trying to find the SKU
for this tile to run regional remote SKU reports. And, even though
there appears to be no "Casa Roma" in Italy that is a ceramic
manufacturer, I have a friend in Italy checking local sources.

So,something may come of this yet.

If by any chance you do have the old SKU number from Home Depot on an
old receipt, do post here as that will help me in that leg of the
search.

Regards,

-=clouseau=-

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Request for Question Clarification by clouseau-ga on 07 Oct 2002 06:26 PDT

Hello Lance,

I have located a full box of 16 tiles.

I am confirming price right now and have told them you would be
contacting them within 24 hours to purchase and arrange shipment. I
told them that Lance from Calgary would be calling.

Would you like me to give them any additional information about you or
to identify you when you call? (Please do not post phone or credit
card numbers or the like here)

Either way, I should be posting the final answer for you here very
shortly

-=clouseau=-

Hello Lance,

I just got off the phone and confirmed the tile, had it held for you
and confirmed pricing.

The cost of the tiles are 31.84 plus taxes for a total of 36.62
Canadian, plus shipping.

Casa Roma Lavina #62 White (16 pcs)

Tono 27868815/Calibro L1 H) - this is the lot number to see how close
it will match your tile.

PH #519-743-8300
Fax #519-743-3460
Mark Goetz (Owner)
Grand Valley Tile Co.
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

Call and ask for Mark and tell him you are Lance from Calgary. I
briefly tried to explain Google Answers to him, but he had not heard
of Google!

His email is gvtile@golden.net and he is also reachable that way, but
I told him you would be in contact within 24 hours, so you might want
to call to be sure.

I do have quite a few other emails out there that have not yet been
answered, and if more tiles become avialble, I will post
clarifications and let you know where they can be found.

I trust this will take care of your need.

Thanks for the very enjoyable search for tile!

Best regards,

-=clouseau=-

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Request for Answer Clarification by lance-ga on 28 Oct 2002 15:57 PST

Hi again!

Did any more of these tiles turn up?

You mentioned on 4-Oct that you had located two tiles.  Where?  

We could do a nicer job if we had a few more.

Thanks,

Lance.

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Clarification of Answer by clouseau-ga on 28 Oct 2002 16:10 PST

Hello Lance,

No additional tiles ever showed up and I'm afraid that since I
considered your need filled, I had deleted all of the infomation on
the other two tiles. They were in the Kichener area, however.

So sorry. I did not anticipate a need to retain that information.

-=clouseau=-

A thousand thanks to the legendary Inspector Clouseau.  By finding
these tiles he has saved us thousands of dollars.

If they're discontinued, your only hope will be specialty stores
dealing in restoration products, which is basically a second-hand
store for rare construction materials.

Good luck lance-ga. I recently had the same problem and, after two
months of looking, gave up and bit the bullet by replacing all the
old, unmatchable tiles. Luckily, my project involved only a relatively
small entryway. I hope clouseau is able to come through for you.
ericynot-ga

If you live in Calgary, try Tim's Reuseables. The number is in the yellow pages.