FAQ

What products does your company produce?
What does ‘negative bas-relief’ mean?
How do you produce these negative bas-relief cavities?
There are profiled tiles available on the market. Why are yours so significantly different?
What does ‘fire polished’ mean?
We have just purchased some of your tiles. What is the best way to install them?
How do we cut your tiles to fit around a corner?
I note that the colour backing is not ‘fired’ on. Will this detach from the glass?
I am able to see slight variations in pattern definition on your glass tiles. Why is this?
Can I use your tiles for anything else apart from putting them onto walls?
I have been able to see slight variations in colour. Why is this?
I am wanting to have your tiles in my kitchen but your standard stock colour range doesn’t have the colour I want. Are other colours available?
I have an heirloom piece of porcelain that I want to have colour matched in my bathroom. Are you able to do this for me?

What products does your company produce?
Lumistile® Limited produces ‘negative bas-relief’ glass tiles.

What does ‘negative bas-relief’ mean?
The design is formed into the rear of the tile as a negative cavity. This allows for viewing from the fire polished side which is the ‘correct’ way to view glass.

How do you produce these negative bas-relief cavities?
The development of the process to facilitate this has been a long and expensive exercise. The final production process requires a very much hands on ‘handcrafting’ approach by skilled artisans. Only recently have we reached the point of it being a commercially viable operation with a resulting high quality product. We are of course continuing the refining of the process.

There are profiled tiles available on the market. Why are yours so significantly different?
Yes. There are profiled glass tiles on the market.
You will note that almost all of these:

• are of the listello or edging type tiles.
• have protruding front profiles.
• have a duller face.
• the designs tend towards the generic geometric.

• are of a standard 100x100mm size which allows for placement within the tiling area or as a defining edge.
• have only a softly curved front surface on our high profile tiles. This greatly reduces the chances of collecting dust. It also allows for easy cleaning.
• have a fire polished face. Which means the tile face was not against the mould surface. This has the end effect of giving a much greater clarity to the internal design and colouration.
• Our current range of designs are more naturally endemic to our environment and can easily be seen as ‘unique pacifica styled art works’ within the overall tile matrix.

What does ‘fire polished’ mean?
There are two sides to any piece of glass. The side that is in contact with a moulding surface, (or in the case of window glass manufacture where the mould is liquid tin) or the upper surface that is directly exposed to heat and/or flame. The upper surface is called ‘fire polished’ as it will always be the smoothest surface.

We have just purchased some of your tiles. What is the best way to install them?
We recommend that they be installed onto a bed of neutral cure silicone 60. Ensure that all cavities are also filled taking care to avoid air inclusions. The neutral cure silicone 60 maybe used as both the adhesive and the grout. Ensure the grout component covers the colour coating on the tile edge. This will ensure a smooth transition so that dirt is not trapped. The use and application of the bedding silicone to the substrate must be done following the manufacturers instructions. The same installation procedure should also be used for exterior situations.

How do we cut your tiles to fit around a corner?
These tiles MUST NOT be cut, nibbled or chipped. Such actions will produce dangerously sharp edges which require extensive and specialised smoothing. Damaging the integrity of our products will void all stated and implied written and/or verbal warranties, by Lumistile Limited, its staff, licensed agents and/or associated companies.
We recommend that you lay the tiles outwards from internal corners and stop from an external corner at a point that would require a tile to be cut. This area should be tiled using an appropriate coloured material. Refer to the bathroom mirror gallery photo on our website here.

I note that the colour backing is not ‘fired’ on. Will this detach from the glass?
The colour backing used has been specifically developed by Resene Paints Limited in New Zealand for application to glass. This application of colouring is carried out by a network of qualified tradesmen fully trained in this procedure.
A 10 year guarantee applies provided all installation recommendations have been followed.
Click here for more information.

(To ensure that it really does stick, Wayne has boiled one of our tiles for a 12 hour period – even boiling it dry twice. There was no visible flaking, peeling or colour change discerned.)

I am able to see slight variations in pattern definition on your glass tiles. Why is this?
Congratulations. You have identified one of the many unique characteristics of our tiles. Each tile is handcrafted through all stages of its creation from glass selection to final packaging. Every component of every mould used is also handcrafted. With so many manual steps in each creation there are many opportunities for our tiles to attain these desirable points of difference.
We do endeavour to keep wide variations to a minimum.

Can I use your tiles for anything else apart from putting them onto walls?
Let your imagination run wild! Perhaps frame them. Attach them to the edges of mirrors. Feel free to email/send photographs of them to us at info@lumistile.co.nz
Don’t forget they may also be used in exterior situations. The same installation procedures apply to both interior and exterior situations. However due to the slightly raised surface, we would never suggest or recommend that they be used/installed where they may be walked on.
(Sending such images to us effectively gives Lumistile Limited a full licence to use/manipulate these images for all our commercial applications. Your photographs will not be passed/sold onto any other third party)

I have been able to see slight variations in colour. Why is this?
The iron content of the glass will vary depending on the mineral content of the batch mix. This iron content variation will have an effect on the final perceived colour tone.

I am wanting to have your tiles in my kitchen but your standard stock colour range doesn’t have the colour I want. Are other colours available?
Yes. Most colours from the RESENE paint range may be selected. However we would strongly recommend that to get the best from your selected tiles, you use colours within the metallic range. From experience non-metallic colours look flat and there is little light interaction. Also be aware that as the glass we use already contains an iron green tone, any colour shift that occurs will not be apparent until after the coating is completed. Should the glass be from differing batches the colour shifts will also vary. We are unable to strip and recoat these tiles. There will be non-refundable ancillary costs (payable in advance) associated with such requests. We suggest you talk to your local retailer about this or contact us direct by email info@lumistile.co.nz.

I have an heirloom piece of porcelain that I want to have colour matched in my bathroom. Are you able to do this for me?
Yes; most colours may be matched. However be very mindful that as the glass we use already contains an iron green tone, any colour shift that occurs will not be apparent until after the coating is completed and thus may vary from the colour chosen. We are unable to strip and recoat these tiles. There will be non-refundable ancillary costs (payable in advance) associated with colour matching. We suggest you talk to your local retailer about this or contact us direct by email info@lumistile.co.nz.