Ceramic Tile

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Ceramic Tile

When you think elegance, beauty, and style, you think of Ceramic Tile. Like hardwood flooring, ceramic tile adds value to your home because of its durability, beauty, and versatility.

One advantage to ceramic flooring is the variety of types including wall tiles and floor tiles. This variety makes it an ideal flooring choice for rooms such bathrooms and kitchens because it is impervious to moisture and able to cover the entire room with fluent design and grace. Accent Tiles can give a touch of flare to a ceramic tile installation giving the entire room the feel you’re looking for be it rustic or contemporary.

Ceramic tile floors are becoming more popular for other rooms of the home as well, from living rooms to dining rooms, because of its long lifetime. A high quality ceramic floor will last a lifetime while maintaining its luster for years. Often, people use area rugs to enhance the tile’s color and even further bring a room to life.

With our wide variety of ceramic floors and ceramic wall tiles the perfect tile is only a few clicks away.

Ceramic Tile Sizes, Styles, & Textures

There are so many styles to choose from when it comes to ceramic tile that it can be a real challenge to go out and shop for tile. We'll try to give you some insight into what might fit your specific needs. Sizes

Ceramic tile varies in size, from 1" X 1" to as large as 24" X 24". We will discuss the most commonly used sizes for square tiles—12", 13", 16", 17" and 18".

Choosing the correct size to fit your area is simple. If you have a small room, for instance a 9' X 9' area, we would recommend that you stick to a 12" X 12" or 13" X 13" tile. If you use a larger size in a small area, it may tend to appear overpowering, and you may not get the full overall presence of the tile. In a larger area, the choice is yours.

A simple room-of-thumb is, the larger the tile, the larger the overall look. This is mainly due to the fact that with a larger tile, you will have fewer grout joints or grout lines. With fewer grout joints, the overall look will be less busy, and will look larger. Another benefit to the fewer grout joints is that there is less grout in general to keep clean.
Daltile - Villa Valleta™

Styles
When it comes to ceramic tile styles, the choices are virtually endless. Even so, there is still a method of shopping for the right style. Just try to imagine what look you want in your home. Do you want the warm, somewhat rustic look? If so, the stone look tiles are for you.

The stone tiles are by far the most popular look right now. There are a lot of stone look tiles, and they usually live up to their name, imitating the natural look of stone. Most have a very textured look.

There are usually mixes of color in each of the stone-look tiles. However, there are also many available in solid and slightly shaded colors. Many also have very rustic edges, with the appearance of having been cracked or hammered.

All of these features add to the finished look. Many manufacturers also make coordinating and contrasting borders to accent the look of a tile. But we must caution you to consider your project budget, as some of these borders are quite costly.

Ricchetti

Would you prefer the formal high gloss look? This has been a popular look for a very long time. A high gloss marbleized tile can add a high class look to any home.

There are a few considerations in using high gloss tiles. If you have an active family lifestyle, with kids, etc., or if you have anyone living in your home who is disabled, or very elderly, the high gloss tiles can present a problem. They become extremely slippery when they are wet. In addition, they tend to show more day-to-day soil than the textured or less glossy tiles do. With that in mind, if you have the appropriate home for this type of floor, it will definitely lend a touch of elegance to any area. Textures

The different textures of ceramic tiles are directly related to the style, and whichever style you decide on will most likely determine the texture you get. If you are looking at the stone-look tiles, they will most likely have a rougher texture, while the marbleized tiles will have a smooth, glass-like feel.

There are several other textures available. One, which is very common, is known as a matte finish. This is a smooth finish which is not as slippery as a high gloss finish, and has a duller appearance.

Mannington - Catania

There is also a rippled high gloss finish which is also referred to as an "orange peel" finish. Another texture is the non-skid finish. This is available in a few different variations, but the most common finish looks and feels like a heavy grit sand paper. This finish is sometimes used outdoors on patios, walkways, around pools, or in commercial application.

Keep one thing in mind, though, when considering using this type of texture outdoors. Although it has a heavy sand-like quality, it is still a glazed ceramic tile. This means that any water will sit on top of the tile, and can still present a slip hazard.

Mohawk Coloration

There are other tile textures available, such as a quarry tile or a porcelain tile, but these are mainly used in commercial applications.

Remember, if you ever have any questions concerning this topic or any related topics we are covering here, feel free to call us and we will be glad to give you as much help as we can.

Mannington - Lipari

Ceramic Tile Qualities & Ratings

There are different qualities or "groups" that are used to rate a ceramic tile.

Group 1 - Light Traffic
These tiles are usually used in residential bathroom floors and are not recommended for any area that will have any constant or heavy foot traffic.

Group 2 - Moderate Traffic
These tiles can be used on residential interior floors but should not be used in areas such as kitchens, entry ways, stairs, or areas that me have contact with sand or gravel and then be walked on.

Group 3 - Moderate to Heavy Traffic
These tiles can be used for any residential or light commercial application. The only place this tile would not be used is in a heavy traffic commercial area such as in a bank at a teller window, a restaurant, etc.

Group 4 - Heavy Traffic
These tiles can be used for any residential and most all commercial applications. These tiles could even be used in such heavy traffic areas as a shopping mall.

Group 5 - Ultra Heavy Traffic
These tiles can be used for all residential, commercial, as well as industrial applications where extreme durability is required.

Decorating With Ceramic Tile
Decorating with ceramic tile can seem at first to be very confusing, mainly because there are so many different styles available.

The first thing you want to decide on is the overall look you want. If you would like a formal look, then it would be a marbleized or glossy finished tile. If you are trying to achieve a casual look, then a textured or stone look tile will be more appropriate.

The stone-look tiles seem to be in style currently, but that does not necessarily mean it is the right tile for you. Trends come and go, but remember one fact: A ceramic tile floor is a somewhat permanent floor.

Our suggestion is to try and stay as neutral as possible. This doesn't mean it has to be boring. But one thing we have learned in our years of experience is that you may want to avoid loud, strong or definitive colors when you choose your ceramic tile, as well as your grout color. Although you may just be buying a new home, or remodeling your existing home, you will probably one day want to sell it. If you have a ceramic tile floor in a color that is hard to decorate around, it may be a deterrent when it comes time to sell the home.

There are other factors to consider, such as what pattern to install your tile in - a straight installation, or a diamond pattern, (also called a 45 degree pattern). This is pretty simple to figure out. It is a matter of space. If you are doing a small kitchen - let's say 8' X 8' - you would probably want it to a be a straight pattern. A diamond installation in a small area tends to look busy and chopped up, which will take away from the overall look. If that same kitchen is just one room that will be connecting to other rooms being tiled, then a diamond will be okay, because the overall look is all of the rooms combined.

The size of the ceramic tile itself is also something to think about. To learn about what size tile to use and what is available, go to our Sizes, Styles and Textures page. There we go over the maze of ceramic tile choices available and how to successfully narrow down your choices.
Ceramic Tile Installation Methods