pros and cons of ceramic/porcelain kitchen floor tiles

cyclonebri1

[QUOTE=tpt;54522259]no need to steam clean unless they are very textured. polished can be slippery especially if they get wet and can be a !!!!!! to keep 'looking' clean - any light across them shows every smear.

good quality ceramics or porcelain will last a lifetime if laid properly. Large tiles are in fashion at the moment as are light colours. dont go for a very flat colour or again its tough to keep the appearance of cleanliness[/QUOTE]

Agreed easily cleaned, but what about the grout joints, they are the most likely source of any possible bacteria on a kitchen floor and easy to miss, steamer for that reason.

Also the floor dries much more quickly than a wet wash will, so again safer.;)

Jaynne

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Agreed easily cleaned, but what about the grout joints, they are the most likely source of any possible bacteria on a kitchen floor and easy to miss, steamer for that reason.

Do you eat off the floor and how long do you steam your tiles for?

Its pretty hard to kill a lot of bacteria (some need quite long being steamed or the use of harsh chemicals) and unless you take quite a while with your steamer you won't reduce the population enough and they'll just grow back. Further more the vast majority of bacteria are not normally harmful to people. Kids are going to be exposed to a whole range of bugs and unless they have a weakened immune system for some reason you aren't doing them any favours by making everything sterile as they're perversely more likely to develop allergies and other conditions like asthma. Ex-geneticist speak here.

cyclonebri1

Jaynne wrote: »

Do you eat off the floor and how long do you steam your tiles for?

Its pretty hard to kill a lot of bacteria (some need quite long being steamed or the use of harsh chemicals) and unless you take quite a while with your steamer you won't reduce the population enough and they'll just grow back. Further more the vast majority of bacteria are not normally harmful to people. Kids are going to be exposed to a whole range of bugs and unless they have a weakened immune system for some reason you aren't doing them any favours by making everything sterile as they're perversely more likely to develop allergies and other conditions like asthma. Ex-geneticist speak here.

Well my 8 month old grandson certainly does, .
I fully understand what you are saying, but my family don't and I don't argue;) current nagged husband speak here,
Plus the steam mop is a more effcieint method of cleaning the floor for the reason in my post you didn't quote, ie, less water left and it dries quicker, not to mention we find it does lift visible muck more easily than wet mopping.

There is also another reason why tiles do need cleaning properly.
Once you have a very forgiving floor in terms of longevity, resistance to damage from foot traffic and relative ease of cleaning, it is much more likely that people will walk muck onto it than if it was a plush axminster.

JennyW_2

I have shiney grey ceramic tiles and if I could go back, I wouldn't have them again. They look lovely but a nightmare to keep streak free when cleaning. I've tried every product I can and even a steam mop but the marks always appear when dried.

I can say though that after dropping a few heavy items, they haven't cracked.

They are cold in the winter and you definitely need socks and slippers on.

katejo

JennyW wrote: »

I have shiney grey ceramic tiles and if I could go back, I wouldn't have them again. They look lovely but a nightmare to keep streak free when cleaning. I've tried every product I can and even a steam mop but the marks always appear when dried.

I can say though that after dropping a few heavy items, they haven't cracked.

They are cold in the winter and you definitely need socks and slippers on.

Glossy ones seem more popular at the moment. There is a bigger selection in the tile shops. I am sticking with matt ones.

Did any of you order samples from places like Topps Tiles? I want to try the bigger tiles but don't have a car and I'm out during the day so it isn't convenient to have them delivered. So far I have carried smaller samples home (on the train) but the bigger ones may be too heavy.

pinkteapot

grizzly1911 wrote: »

Are you laying them or are you paying to get them done?

I have been told that porcelain are much harder to cut and drill than ceramic and that you need relatively expensive cutters and more skill.

It's true - porcelain take longer to lay because of this as well.

If you have a choice between ceramic and porcelain, go with ceramic.

As for tiled vs vinyl... Tiles will be colder underfoot - whether this bothers you depends on how long you spend in the kitchen without slippers/shoes on.

Plates, glasses etc seem to be break just as well on vinyl as on tiles if dropped from an average height so I don't see that as so much of a concern.

I have chipped a kitchen floor tile before when dropping something on it. It wasn't a tile with full body colour (it was white underneath the grey colour on the top) so the chip showed. Get ones with the colour all the way through if you can.

Get something with a decent amount of texture/roughness - nothing worse than slippy floors.

Mojisola

We did look at tiles when we did our kitchen but went with Amtico flooring.

I've stayed in holiday cottages that had cracked tiles in the kitchen - not a good look. We also found them to be very cold and we do walk around a lot with bare feet.

My health isn't great and one of my first warning signs is that I start to drop things. Our flooring doesn't stop things being broken but - so far - the tiles haven't been damaged.

cyclonebri1

pinkteapot wrote: »

It's true - porcelain take longer to lay because of this as well.

If you have a choice between ceramic and porcelain, go with ceramic.


.

But remember that not all porcelain tiles are polished, they are available in many different levels from matt to polished.
They are not all square edged either which is less forgiving of out of level, but yes they are difficult to saw and drilling needs the correct diamond drills or rather holesaws.

My view is the opposite, porcelain for wear resistance.

There is 1 pitfall though and I don't know how common this is.
I came across one instance of porcelain glazed tiles that a relative had used.
They came from Homebase are were a mark down. I think I now know why seeing them a couple of years later. If they are all like this, avoid at all costs.

Incidentally with decent tiles some, maybe most tiles, will have the manufacturers wear rating on the packaging, gives a good idea of life expectancy.

Leif

A decent quality vinyl or similar can look nice. Not as long lasting, but warmer. I don't regret tiles, but I can understand choosing vinyl.

katejo wrote: »

Glossy ones seem more popular at the moment. There is a bigger selection in the tile shops. I am sticking with matt ones.

Did any of you order samples from places like Topps Tiles? I want to try the bigger tiles but don't have a car and I'm out during the day so it isn't convenient to have them delivered. So far I have carried smaller samples home (on the train) but the bigger ones may be too heavy.

I have a few large porcelain tiles which I took home as samples. I do think you need to do that as I found I did not like the beige, it did not go with my kitchen, and so I went for white. No doubt your tastes will differ, due in part to a different kitchen decor. I have no problem carrying a large tile, although getting on a bus and paying the fair might be interesting. Just pop into a tile shop, and pick one up. They almost always have one or two samples lying around so you can carry test one.

There do seem to be some things in fashion, but as the curtain people told me, buy them for yourself. Turned out they were right as far as curtains go. Did I tell you how much curtains cost ... rant ramble blah blah.

Oh, and if you have large tiles, you have to have a more level floor. One way to achieve that is with levelling compound. Another is to lay a sub floor. Adds to the cost, but not much in the case of levelling compound.

katejo

pinkteapot wrote: »

It's true - porcelain take longer to lay because of this as well.

If you have a choice between ceramic and porcelain, go with ceramic.

As for tiled vs vinyl... Tiles will be colder underfoot - whether this bothers you depends on how long you spend in the kitchen without slippers/shoes on.

Plates, glasses etc seem to be break just as well on vinyl as on tiles if dropped from an average height so I don't see that as so much of a concern.

I have chipped a kitchen floor tile before when dropping something on it. It wasn't a tile with full body colour (it was white underneath the grey colour on the top) so the chip showed. Get ones with the colour all the way through if you can.

Get something with a decent amount of texture/roughness - nothing worse than slippy floors.

i definitely don't want vinyl. I have had it for most of the time until now and I am fed up with it. The current floor got torn by the foot of a new fridge. If the floor is cold, I will wear socks. i will choose a floor with slight texture though i imagine that the rougher ones might be harder to clean (or painful if you stub a toe?)