Picking the perfect tile for your floors

By / Food / May 6th, 2015 / 2

We’ve talked about hardwood flooring and carpets, now it’s time to delve into the oh-so exciting world of tile flooring. Tiles, made from clay and other recycled materials, are a long-lasting flooring option.

Ceramic Tile

Strong and durable, these come in a variety of colours and designs. Imperfections aren’t visible, but if they do occur, the tiles are easy to replace if they chip or crack.

Traditional
Ceramic tiles are traditionally non-porcelain; made with white, red or brown clay and other minerals.

Porcelain
Made from clay and minerals, porcelain also contains 50% of either white dust or feldspar (a crystal found in rock); feldspar melts during kiln-drying, bonding the clay together.

The appearance of ceramic tile is created by varying the temperature and type of kiln used. Another way to vary the appearance is to use a glaze.

Glaze
Available in matte, semi-gloss and high-gloss finish. Glazing increases stain resistance, scratch resistance and traction. The glaze also decreases water absorption.

Natural Stone

Quarried, made into slabs, finished and cut to size, natural stone makes for beautiful and varied flooring.

Granite
Dense and heavy, the vein of speckled minerals in granite are an amazing asset to any space. Use in high traffic areas like the kitchen or hallway.

Limestone
This adds an earthy feel to your home. Available in both dark and light, textured or polished. Less dense and prone to scratching, this is another low traffic area flooring.

Marble
Also a veined tile and also available in a variety of colours, marble differs from granite in its density. More porous, it is best used in areas that have low traffic unless honed and resealed on a regular basis.

Slate
Dense, durable and a dark earthy colour. Perfect for high-traffic areas, the surface is available in textured or smoothed finish.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A freelance writer and editor, Lisa Hoekstra loves learning and trying new things. She can be found with her nose in a book or multiple tabs open on her browser as she researches the latest and greatest in the world of food, style and everything in between.

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