Your choice of tiles can have a direct influence on the overall outlook of your home improvement project. Therefore, it is important for you to select the right ones for your living space.
Tiles can be categorised into ubiquitous (ceramic, porcelain), decorative (mosaic, metal, resin, glass), natural stones (limestone, quarry, travertine) and luxurious (marble, granite). Each tile type has its own unique properties which determines their suitability for different areas of your home. Hence, you should not make the mistake of choosing tiles just because you like the style, colours, and design.
Here is a list of 6 common mistakes committed by homeowners that you should look out for:
Ceramic tiles are known for their colour permanence properties as the colours are fired directly into them. Therefore, they can maintain their pristine looks despite exposure to the sun for prolonged periods. Hence, they are ideal for places in your home where there are high levels of sun exposure such as your living rooms and balconies.
Another trick to have a low maintenance abode is to select tiles with high levels of stain and dirt resistance. Porcelain and ceramic tiles meet this requirement due to their ability to repel moisture, dirt, and household stains. This makes cleaning your household much easier with simple cleaners instead of specialised ones.
Create a clean, uniform surface with less joints by using large format tiles (60x60 cm or 75x75 cm). Refrain from using these tiles for small surfaces as you may end up with an unattractive layout.
While using large format tiles will reduce the appearance of grout lines, it will have a reverse effect with the wrong colour choice for grouts. Hence, it is critical for you to work with an interior designer to select matching or complementing colours for both your tiles and grout lines. Generally, tiles will appear bigger with matching colour while contrasting ones distort the design and make the lines more visible.
Tiles can vary according to colour, prints and tone whenever a new batch is created, it is advisable for you to ask your tiling contractor for extra tiles as backup at the end of your renovation. You can use them to replace any damaged tiles in the future.
If you have disabled, younger children or elderly at home, it is important to consider slip resistant tiles for areas like your kitchen and bathrooms where people are prone to falling when it gets wet. Tiles are made slip-resistant with glaze additives, surface patterns and various glazes. You should refrain from using glazed tiles for areas where the floor gets wet easily due to their vulnerability to slips. Other factors that can impact a tile’s slip resistance include tile size, the floor’s slope degree and the distance of grout lines. R9-R13 are the terms used to determine the degree of anti-slip properties found in a tile.
