Sorting Through Your Choices for Flooring Tiles

Construction & Contractors Blog

New flooring can make a home seem updated and modern, or give it a traditional and homey look. It may even increase the value of a home that you're looking to put on the market, and make it look cleaner overall. When you are ready to shop for floor tiles, you may be surprised at the number of materials and options available, so note a few tips for sorting through all those choices.

Vinyl tile

The advantage of vinyl tile is that it's very lightweight so you rarely need to add bracing to the subfloor to hold the new tile. It's also easy to install; opt for peel and stick tile for a DIY job. With these tiles, you simply peel off the backing and stick the tile to the floor, so you don't need to worry about putting down glue or adhesive. Vinyl tiles can resemble wood or a variety of stones so you can find just about any look you want with vinyl. The material is also clean very easily and are very durable against pets, children, and other such high traffic homes

Porcelain

Porcelain is a mixture of sand and clay and sometimes other materials, which is then baked to a hard finish. The advantage of porcelain tile is that it's virtually impervious to stains, so it's good for kitchens. You may note that most porcelain tiles are given a grade for how resistant they are to abrasion; you want to choose something with a higher grade for high traffic areas like kitchens and mudrooms, and for homes with children and pets. Opt for a more affordable, lower abrasion grade if your home doesn't see a lot of foot traffic. Note, too, the weight of porcelain tile and if an older home especially may need added bracing in the subfloor to hold it up.

Natural stone

One advantage of natural stone is that it's meant to withstand the elements so it holds up well in high humidity environments like kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms. Slate is less slippery than marble or granite so it's often used for flooring tiles where there is the risk of a wet floor that might be even more slippery, such as a bathroom. The drawback of natural stone is that it's very heavy so your floors may need added bracing, and especially for upper stories where the subfloor may not have as much weight resistance as lower floors. It also doesn't help to absorb sound so every footstep can seem louder on stone floors.

For more information on tile options, talk to a professional.

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20 June 2016