Ceramic Flooring and Tile

Tile is Timeless

Tile is a trend that stretches back over the decades – and it still hasn’t gone out of style! Interior designers love tile for its high-quality look, its practicality, and its ability to complement almost any design trend that comes along. Whether its a backsplash of white subway tile to offset intricate cabinets or hand-painted tiles that lend an extra pop to your bathroom floor – tile finds a way to bring a unique charm to any room in the house. 

There are even tiles that look like hyper-realistic wood! This is a great way to get the much sought after look of hardwood flooring without sacrificing the function and easy maintenance of tile. Just install the tiles right up against each other with no grout lines between and you have a “hardwood floor” that’s magically water resistant! 

Tile is Sanitary

Ceramic flooring has reigned supreme in popularity for bathroom and kitchen floors alike because it is water-resistant and extremely easy to clean. Tile does not retain moisture like hardwood or carpet and it remains odor-free – even after years wear and tear! Because ceramic flooring is so dense, it repels allergens and bacteria instead of settling into your floor. Tile is also mostly stain resistant – you can mop or sweep away just about anything without worrying about ugly permanent spots. 

Tile is Hypo-Allergenic

If you or one of your family members has allergies or asthma, tile may be an ideal flooring option. Unlike carpet, it cannot trap dust over time – however, you will need to mop, vacuum, or sweep regularly because the hard surface will repel dust, leaving it free to float in the air if it accumulates. It is also often much easier to clean what you can see and tile is basically impregnable, leaving all the contaminates in easy reach of your cleaning implement of choice – making it easier to keep your home allergen- and dust-free. 

Another key benefit of ceramic flooring – and tile in general – is one that no other flooring option can provide: improved indoor air quality. Other floorings such as carpeting and laminate often contain trace amounts of toxic chemicals that occur as a byproduct of the manufacturing process. They can also accumulate and retain detrimental particulates such as dust, cockroach waste, and chemicals tracked in from outside. 

Because tile is made using a high-temperature kilning process, almost all of the potentially harmful substances are destroyed as they’re manufactured. The finished tile contains zero trace of volatile organic compounds. You can also purchase grout with no volatile organic compounds which means your floor could be one hundred percent (100%) non-toxic. This is the perfect choice if you or someone in your home has asthma or another respiratory disease. 

Tile is Durable

Ceramic flooring and tile stands up to regular wear and tear without showing its age. By comparison, laminate, carpet, and even hardwood floors show their age over time. Tile and ceramic flooring are made from natural materials. After they’ve been exposed to extremely high heat to cure and harden, they become resistant to water damage, fire, and corrosion. This durability makes them very attractive when you’re choosing flooring for your long-term home. 

Installing tile can be a little more costly than vinyl or carpet, but it is well worth the investment – exposed tile can last for over fifty (50) years, on average. And even if a tile does crack or chip, you can remove and replace the individual tile – and voila! A whole new floor! When carpet and other types of flooring wear out, you have to replace the entire surface which can quickly become incredibly costly. 

Tile is Eco-Friendly

Porcelain tile and ceramic flooring are made from clay, which is considered to be a renewable resource. Because the materials are natural, porcelain and ceramic tiles do not emit any toxic fumes after they’re installed in your home.  

Things to Consider When Selecting Tile Flooring

We think that tile works in just about any room in the house for any type of taste, but there are a few pro tips and tricks that can help you get the most out of your tile flooring. 

Avoid using thick grout lines or white (or other light-colored) grout in high traffic areas of your home – i.e. the entryway or the mudroom. When the grout is exposed to dirty shoes and muddy boots on a regular basis, it can darken and become grimy which, in turn, makes your tile floors look grubby and soiled. You can always scrub the grout back to its original look, but with some planning ahead of time you can avoid the extra effort and select a look and layout that perfectly compliments your space. 

It is also best to avoid glass tiles when you’re selecting tile flooring. Ceramic and stone have been fired and designed for durability and are made with stone or clay. Glass is made with melted sand and while it can be a gorgeous addition to your backsplash or mosaic, it was not designed to be trod upon – over the years, wear and tear will show much more quickly and you’ll have an uneven floor on your hands. Glass tiles are also easily scratched by dirt and stones brought in on the bottoms of shoes and then dirt is ground into those scratches, making it a very difficult surface to clean. 

If you’re interested in ceramic flooring or tile we have dedicated specialists to help walk you through the selection process. We can help you dream up and implement the tile floor of your dreams – from start to finish. Just contact us to make an appointment with one of our flooring professionals.