Much like our pervious article that talked about the differences in types of wood and their inherent benefits, Tile has several different constructions that you might hear about while looking to do your project. The main three we see are Ceramic, Porcelain, and Natural Stone, each with varying benefits and recommended installations.
First let’s talk about Ceramic tile, it can be an excellent cost-effective product that is mostly suited to wall applications, backsplashes, and low traffic flooring areas of a household. They are considered hypoallergenic and with regular maintenance and cleaning can easily last 15-20 years. With a glazed finish they are largely impervious to stains and water and offer a large variety of colors and sizes giving Ceramic high versatility and use for design aspects. While dense even after installation Ceramic tiles can still be very fragile and will break or chip easily under heavy stress or dropped items and wear quicker under heavy foot traffic areas. Still, they are a great choice while looking for that tile look and feel at a slightly more cost-effective range.
Next, we should cover Porcelain tiles as a very hard and dense material, porcelain is resistant to heavy wear, scratches, and damage, making it suitable for both high-traffic residential and light commercial use. They offer a low absorption rate of .5%, far lower than the 3-7% rate of standard ceramic tiles offering superior use in wet areas of a home. While also coming in a wide variety of colors, designs and sizes they also have a very high fade resistance to natural light sources and the lowest amount of maintenance needed to maintain. The main disadvantage of Porcelain is one that plagues most things nowadays and that is a higher cost of materials and often installation. They are also brittle due the high density that allows for a long wear life allowing for chipping under high impact. Given that Porcelain is the far most durable option with the least amount of maintenance, thus an excellent choice for new construction and that forever home.
Lastly, we can talk about Natural Stone tiles offer luxurious, unique, and durable flooring, adding some increased property value and lasting for many years to come. Nature doesn’t like consistency in esthetics, so no two tiles are exactly alike allowing for large areas to be done with no repeated patterns. Natural stone is also the king of heated flooring areas retaining and conducting heat far better than other tile options. Again, the main cons of Natural Stone Tile come down to two primary things, the cost of Natural Stone Tiles is usually far higher than that of both Porcelain and Ceramic and as a natural and highly porous material it requires the highest amount of maintenance and care requiring resealing every 1-2 years to maintain a moisture and stain resistance.
Natural stone also comes in its own variety of flavors such as,
- Marble: Known for its luxurious look and veining, but prone to scratching and etching.
- Granite: Extremely hard and durable, good for kitchens.
- Slate: Offers a rustic, dark look and is relatively easy to fix if chipped.
- Travertine: A type of limestone with warm, earthy tones, but it is more porous and requires more regular sealing.
- Limestone: Provides a soft, neutral appearance but is more susceptible to staining.
In conclusion Tile like wood and any other flooring options offer a variety of choices with their own pros and cons and recommended installation requirements or recommendations. But by far Tile usually offers the largest Selection of Choice to the customers, even our own Showroom here on Bryden dedicates almost 50% of our floor space to tile options.
Remember no flooring is perfect for everything you might need but there is always at least one choice that is perfect for what you need and educating yourself on the difference of the many different choices will ensure you make the best choice for your needs.
