This updated blog was originally posted here January 28th 2014 and is featured again by popular demand.

One of the most common questions we get at American Bullnose Company is "how soon will my order be complete?"  Our process requires multiple steps over several days. There are no shortcuts to producing a quality piece of bullnose tile trim.

The Bullnose Process Timeline
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Day One
You send, ship or drop off your field tile to one of our locations. When your field tile arrives we verify the size and quantities of bullnose needed. Your order is scheduled and you are given an estimate of the date of completion.

Day Two
Your field tile is cut to your size specifications and placed in drying racks. Because tile cutting and bullnosing uses a wet process, the bullnose pieces require a minimum of 24 hours to dry (some tiles can take as long as 72 hours to dry!). 

Day Three

• Glazed Bullnose Tile – Glaze is applied to the bullnose edge of your tile. Your bullnose is then loaded into kilns and fired. The kiln firing process takes up to twelve hours. 
• Bullnose Tile That Does Not Require Glaze –Through body porcelain bullnose, through color porcelain bullnose and bullnose that you do not want the edge glazed, will be boxed or wrapped and prepared for customer pickup.

Day Four

• Glazed Bullnose Tile – Your glazed bullnose tile is unloaded from the kiln, checked for quality, boxed or wrapped and prepared for customer pickup.  
• Bullnose Tile That Does Not Require Glaze – This tile is ready for pickup!

Day Five
Your glazed bullnose tile order is ready for pickup!

So, for glazed bullnose figure five days and for unglazed, four days. 

There are other factors which can affect your bullnose order.  If we experience shortages in the supplies we use, or there are electric blackouts, then delays will occur.  If you use a shipping company, we cannot start the order until they deliver the materials.  For glazed bullnose, kiln space is a limitation.  Orders of full size tiles take more kiln space, and therefore, more time to complete.

We schedule our orders on a first come first served basis. We understand that small orders (under 100 pieces) are time sensitive, so we have personnel dedicated to completing small orders only.  This greatly reduces the turnaround time, although, depending on the backlog of work, your order may not be scheduled to start for several days. We strive to complete orders as quickly as possible without sacrificing quality. 

Please ask a question or leave a comment.

Author: Mike Gardiner

This updated blog was originally posted here January 15th 2014 and is featured again by popular demand.

12. Do I bring you the tile? Yes. You can bring the tile yourself our have the tile delivered to us by any means you would like. When the tile arrives at one of our facilities, we will be able to schedule and give you a completion date.

11. Will you pick up my tile? Generally speaking we do not pick up or deliver. We will be happy to package and send your tile via a delivery service of your choice for an additional charge.

10. Will you deliver my bullnose? See above.

9. Will you expedite if I pay extra? No. If we expedite your order, another customer order would be completed late.  

8. Do you sell to the general public? Yes.
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7. Do you paint the edges? Absolutely not. Painted edges degrade over time and will wear off or scratch off.  Regardless of where you purchase your bullnose, you should insist on a kiln fired glazed edge. Many tile companies sell bullnose with a painted edge, without disclosing it is not kiln fired.   Protect your investment by asking if the edge is painted.

6. How many pieces of bullnose can I get per field tile? You have two options to determine how many pieces of bullnose you can get out of a single field tile.

·  Bullnose without a factory edge is produced for customers requiring the maximum amount of bullnose per field tile. The number of pieces of bullnose is limited only by the width of the bullnose divided by the width of the field tile. For example you can get four pieces of 3x13 single bullnose out of a 13x13 field tile. Bullnose without a factory edge represents 95% of our orders. 

·  Factory edge bullnose. Your field tile is cut first to the desired width and then bullnosed on the cut edge. This technique maintains the field tiles original factory edge opposite the bullnosed edge. A maximum of two pieces of bullnose can be produced per field tile using this method. Factory edge bullnose is normally only produced if the field tile has an unusual edge for example a scalloped edge.

If you have any additional questions or you would like clarification on one of the answers above please leave a comment. 


Author: Mike Gardiner