Stone,Ceramic,and Porcelain Tiles

This is an excerpt from the Book called “New Kitchen Ideas That Work” by Jamie Gold. Continue reading to learn more about Stone, Ceramic and Porcelain Tiles, thanks to the author.

Tile floors are popular for their durability, beauty, and nearly endless design possibilities. Tile is a generic term that encompasses stone, ceramic, and porcelain materials produced in individual pieces rather than in sheets like vinyl. They come in varying sizes and shapes, most commonly square and rectangle, and in numerous increasingly large sizes. To use as flooring, the tile you select must be rated for floor use, with enough hardness and slip resistance to serve this purpose. The showroom sample and box will be marked accordingly.

Stone

Stone tiles are created from natural quarried materials, with granite, marble, limestone, travertine, and slate being especially popular for upscale floors. They are typically installed in large-format sizes with nearly imperceptible grout lines, contributing to the prized, seamless look of a natural stone floor. Many, however, are sensitive to acids and prone to etch or stain if spills are not cleaned immediately. Sealing helps but adds a regular maintenance chore.These factors, along with their high cost to purchase and install, have contributed to the increasing popularity of improved ceramic and porcelain tile offerings.

Ceramic And Porcelain

Like stone, ceramic and porcelain tiles are created from natural materials (clay, feldspar, and sand, in particular), but they are far more highly processed in order to become tile. New larger sizes, screen printing, and ink jet processes can make their surfaces nearly indistinguishable from natural stone.

Ceramic and porcelain tiles are like fraternal twins_ typically made in the same factories using different varieties of the same materials and comparable manufacturing processes.

The most significant differences are in consumer marketing: porcelain tile is often packaged with more designer features, like rectified edges and finishes that penetrate below the surface for better wear, thus commanding a higher price. You can find similar offerings in ceramic tile, but they’re less common.

Ceramic and porcelain tiles for residential use have been marred by wide grout lines. Not only is grout unattractive, but it also is a maintenance headache. It’s best to use the largest tile size that works with the scale of your room and the darkest grout that closely matches it to help hide inevitable stains. You’ll need to seal the grout before the new floor is used and periodically afterward. When possible, consider a tile with rectified edges, which are created by improved precision cutting processes and most commonly seen in more expensive porcelain offerings. These edges allow tiles to be installed so closely together that grout lines as tight as 1/16 inch become nearly invisible.

There are a few drawbacks to a tile floor. First, any of these materials makes a floor that’s hard underfoot. And some tiles-especially polished styles-can have a high slip factor. Antislip treatments that can be added to the floors after they are installed are available in most areas, but their professional application can add several dollars per square foot to your flooring. Finally, tile floors, especially those made from stone, are cool to the touch. Radiant heat, a coil system, that gets installed in the floor before the tiles go in, can offset

Radiant Floor Heat

If you plan on replacing your kitchen floor, consider adding radiant floor heating at the same time. This system for heating a room from the bottom up is ideal for naturally cool floors like tile or stained concrete, but it’s popular under wood and laminate in colder climates, too.

There are two types of radiant floor heating systems: electric, which uses cables, and hydronic, which uses water tubes. Both are embedded beneath the finished flooring to warm the room. Typically, electric is used if you’re only going to install it in one room, but it is a more energy-intensive system. You can reduce costs by programming your radiant heat system to operate only when you need it- for the time you spend in your kitchen before you head to wok, for example-on a thermostat independent of your home’s forced-air system.

Recent innovations have combined all of the radiant system components that go below your finished floor into easy-to-install panels, cutting the time and cost involved with having one. There are even models suitable for installing below a floating engineered wood or laminate floor or for embedding in thin set cement overlays for a new concrete floor.

If you’re building a new home or undergoing a whole-house remodel, hydronic radiant heat can be among the most energy efficient, comfortable, and healthy heating systems available today.

The New Porcelain Tiles

Porcelain isn’t a particularly new tile material. How it’s being designed, manufactured, and marketed today, however, is bringing tremendous new innovation and style to the category.

Smooth edges for tiny grout lines: New manufacturing techniques allow porcelain tile to be installed with grout lines as tight as 1/16 inch. In addition to offering an easier-to-maintain flooring surface, these rectified edges offer a more versatile, upscale, natural-looking floor.

Color penetration for greater wear resistance: New manufacturing technologies that can push surface color and pattern deep into semi glazed tile means that chips and dents barely show. The minor damage that can typically result from kitchen mishaps will show far less until you have an opportunity to replace the damaged tile.
Fabric, stone, and wood look-a likes: Another style advance is the ability to produce porcelain tile that looks like fabric, natural stone, or wood, bringing new design options to the kitchen that are otherwise impractical. These new tiles create versatile high-end looks that are also worry-free, low maintenance, and super-durable, perfect for a busy family kitchen.
Ultrathin tiles for faster, cleaner installation: Some porcelain manufacturers are now producing ultrathin tiles. These exceptionally skinny but strong tiles can be installed directly over existing flooring, reducing mess and the land-fill while saving time and cleanup. They require an extra installation step, so your tile installer needs to know that you requested ultrathin tiles when bidding your job.

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Stone, Ceramic, and Porcelain Tiles

Stone,Ceramic,and Porcelain Tiles

Stone

Ceramic And Porcelain

Radiant Floor Heat

The New Porcelain Tiles