Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Mar 30, 2016 10:38 am I love the look of polished porcelain as I think it gives a very classy look. However, I am concerned about a few things. I was wondering if anyone can pass on their thoughts and experiences in regards to * are they difficult to keep clean. As they as very shiny, do they leave footprints and marks once waked on? * are they slippery? If they are leading to the alfresco area and people come in with damp feet, are they going to go for a six and slip and injure themselves? * I have seen them used in bathrooms on the floors to keep the flow with the rest of the house. Again are they practical slip wise? Let me know the for and against s please Thanks in advance for your input Polished Porcelain Tiles - Questions 2Mar 30, 2016 1:29 pm Hi. I have them and LOVE them. Most hygienic flooring you could have. My biggest worry was how dirty they'd look. I'd heard of people mopping themselves silly which scared the heck out of me. Sure they are super reflective so you do see foot prints. But they are so easy to clean! I use a Sabco fluffy broom (or vacuum) once a week, then go over with the Sabco damp mop with just water. I've read on here some people use metho, some squirt windex on the mop. I find just water good. I had a friend bring her Enjo around and that did an awesome job with just water. That's what made me realize that's probably all I needed with my Sabco SuperSwish. Yep, just water is good. No, not slippery at all. Not sure about bathroom but no problem with water on floor in my hall, kitchen, butlers, living & dining both lead off to alfresco through stacker doors. One thing I recommend is to STRIP THE PACKING WAX OFF once they are laid. Then SEAL YOUR GROUT! If you don't seal your grout, be ready for it to get yucky and stained. I got down on my hands and knees for a few days. Scrubbing wax off, then sealing the grout with a paint brush. Well worth it! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Also did husbands workroom upstairs (walls and tiles are white ... ignore yellow cast in this pic) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Polished Porcelain Tiles - Questions 3Mar 30, 2016 1:55 pm I spent some time looking into the slip issues with polished porcelain before we bought them for our new place. Our previous house had white gloss glazed tiles in the living area, and they would get slippery when there was water spilled. On the whole though, I was comfortable with having them in a living area where it was fairly rare for the tiles to be wet. I tried comparing the polished to the glazed with some sample tiles, wetting them and standing on them. With bare feet, one difference was that when wet, the glazed would give a little more grip than the polished initially, but then would let go suddenly, whereas the polished you could feel when you had little grip, and there was less sudden change as you added pressure to it. So the polished would be a little more slippery, but you were more likely to know when you didn't have traction. When just wearing socks in the dry, the polished tiles are more slippery than the glazed. In terms of cleaning, I don't think the polished is any worse than the gloss white glazed tiles we had. If you look for them closely enough, you can see marks, but as long as you're not obsessive about having mark-free floors, they're not much problem. Then they do clean up quite very easily as well. In any case, they won't be any dirtier than any other floor-covering, at worse it just means you can see the dirt a bit more. Re: Polished Porcelain Tiles - Questions 4Mar 30, 2016 4:00 pm TomCat Hi. I have them and LOVE them. Most hygienic flooring you could have. My biggest worry was how dirty they'd look. I'd heard of people mopping themselves silly which scared the heck out of me. Sure they are super reflective so you do see foot prints. But they are so easy to clean! I use a Sabco fluffy broom (or vacuum) once a week, then go over with the Sabco damp mop with just water. I've read on here some people use metho, some squirt windex on the mop. I find just water good. I had a friend bring her Enjo around and that did an awesome job with just water. That's what made me realize that's probably all I needed with my Sabco SuperSwish. Yep, just water is good. No, not slippery at all. Not sure about bathroom but no problem with water on floor in my hall, kitchen, butlers, living & dining both lead off to alfresco through stacker doors. One thing I recommend is to STRIP THE PACKING WAX OFF once they are laid. Then SEAL YOUR GROUT! If you don't seal your grout, be ready for it to get yucky and stained. I got down on my hands and knees for a few days. Scrubbing wax off, then sealing the grout with a paint brush. Well worth it! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Also did husbands workroom upstairs (walls and tiles are white ... ignore yellow cast in this pic) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ You are right. They look great. I really appreciate your reply. I love your colour too. What colour is it? Also your walls tone in beautifully. If you don't mind me asking the name of the paint. You have put my mind at ease. I know and expect they will show marks etc but I'm thinking the trade off is worth it! Thanks for sharing your pics and info Re: Polished Porcelain Tiles - Questions 5Mar 30, 2016 4:05 pm oneJohn I spent some time looking into the slip issues with polished porcelain before we bought them for our new place. Our previous house had white gloss glazed tiles in the living area, and they would get slippery when there was water spilled. On the whole though, I was comfortable with having them in a living area where it was fairly rare for the tiles to be wet. I tried comparing the polished to the glazed with some sample tiles, wetting them and standing on them. With bare feet, one difference was that when wet, the glazed would give a little more grip than the polished initially, but then would let go suddenly, whereas the polished you could feel when you had little grip, and there was less sudden change as you added pressure to it. So the polished would be a little more slippery, but you were more likely to know when you didn't have traction. When just wearing socks in the dry, the polished tiles are more slippery than the glazed. In terms of cleaning, I don't think the polished is any worse than the gloss white glazed tiles we had. If you look for them closely enough, you can see marks, but as long as you're not obsessive about having mark-free floors, they're not much problem. Then they do clean up quite very easily as well. In any case, they won't be any dirtier than any other floor-covering, at worse it just means you can see the dirt a bit more. I love that you even did a slip test. We don't have little kids my boys are all adults and I'm not planning on throwing water over them continually but if I did decide to do them in the bathroom it doesn't sound like they would be "dangerous ". Thanks so much for your information. I'm loving hearing what polished owners have to say. Re: Polished Porcelain Tiles - Questions 6Mar 30, 2016 4:23 pm Pixielix I love the look of polished porcelain as I think it gives a very classy look. However, I am concerned about a few things. I was wondering if anyone can pass on their thoughts and experiences in regards to * are they difficult to keep clean. As they as very shiny, do they leave footprints and marks once waked on? * are they slippery? If they are leading to the alfresco area and people come in with damp feet, are they going to go for a six and slip and injure themselves? * I have seen them used in bathrooms on the floors to keep the flow with the rest of the house. Again are they practical slip wise? Let me know the for and against s please Thanks in advance for your input Do you have any pets? We have gloss charcoal coloured tiles and it just doesn't work with our two white cavoodles. The white hair shows up everywhere and the footprints from the dogs walking in their water left spilled from their water bowl track all through the house. We were literally cleaning the tiles daily until we gave up and now just live with the foot prints. Only clean when it is really bad or we have guests We have purposely chosen a Matt finish tile in our new home to avoid the dirty look. Gloss look great for a high quality finish however if you have pets or young children you might get frustrated with how quickly they show marks. Just my opinion though!! Feel free to ignore me! Re: Polished Porcelain Tiles - Questions 7Mar 30, 2016 4:29 pm measure Pixielix I love the look of polished porcelain as I think it gives a very classy look. However, I am concerned about a few things. I was wondering if anyone can pass on their thoughts and experiences in regards to * are they difficult to keep clean. As they as very shiny, do they leave footprints and marks once waked on? * are they slippery? If they are leading to the alfresco area and people come in with damp feet, are they going to go for a six and slip and injure themselves? * I have seen them used in bathrooms on the floors to keep the flow with the rest of the house. Again are they practical slip wise? Let me know the for and against s please Thanks in advance for your input Do you have any pets? We have gloss charcoal coloured tiles and it just doesn't work with our two white cavoodles. The white hair shows up everywhere and the footprints from the dogs walking in their water left spilled from their water bowl track all through the house. We were literally cleaning the tiles daily until we gave up and now just live with the foot prints. Only clean when it is really bad or we have guests We have purposely chosen a Matt finish tile in our new home to avoid the dirty look. Gloss look great for a high quality finish however if you have pets or young children you might get frustrated with how quickly they show marks. Just my opinion though!! Feel free to ignore me! That's a good point and one that I had thought of. We have x2 jack Russell s and they shed all the time. We had white tiles with a slight gloss in our previous home and even though there was hair you couldn't see it. I'm therefore going for a light colour. Maybe off white or ivory or latte would be the darkest I would go. Thanks again. I wouldn't ignore you. I'm happy to hear all opinions Re: Polished Porcelain Tiles - Questions 8Mar 30, 2016 4:47 pm Thanks Pixielix. Tiles are from Beaumont - Mocha. Our wall are Haymes 'Allure'. Deliberately chosen to accommodate our dark boofy dogs. I like things clean, but some things in life are more important Re: Polished Porcelain Tiles - Questions 9Mar 30, 2016 5:52 pm TomCat Thanks Pixielix. Tiles are from Beaumont - Mocha. Our wall are Haymes 'Allure'. Deliberately chosen to accommodate our dark boofy dogs. I like things clean, but some things in life are more important So true. I'll be looking up Allure. Thanks again Re: Polished Porcelain Tiles - Questions 10Mar 30, 2016 6:36 pm TomCat Thanks Pixielix. Tiles are from Beaumont - Mocha. Our wall are Haymes 'Allure'. Deliberately chosen to accommodate our dark boofy dogs. I like things clean, but some things in life are more important I'm loving your wall colour too. We have finally got our gallery date so may keep, 'Allure' in mind. Does it have a hint of Grey? Re: Polished Porcelain Tiles - Questions 11Mar 30, 2016 7:13 pm I love the walls too. Yes it does Marsh. I think it has brown tones other peeps have argued grey. I can see that too. Goes with both schemes I think. Re: Polished Porcelain Tiles - Questions 12Mar 30, 2016 7:27 pm TomCat I love the walls too. Yes it does Marsh. I think it has brown tones other peeps have argued grey. I can see that too. Goes with both schemes I think. I just looked it up. I see more grey. Looks great in the pics. Looks like it goes with a lot of tones Re: Polished Porcelain Tiles - Questions 13Mar 31, 2016 10:17 am Yeah it does. It's a great colour. It goes with my dark choc tones and warm white light ... reflects browns. But when you put cool white light on it looks grey. It picks up tones around it. Very versatile! Re: Polished Porcelain Tiles - Questions 15Mar 31, 2016 10:32 pm Hi Pink. The grout is called 'Havanah'. It's the same colour as the tile but a lighter shade. My grout is 3mm wide. Our slab was wonky and we didn't want our tiler to screed it flush. If we had 1.5mm grout, you'd not notice it. Re: Polished Porcelain Tiles - Questions 17Apr 01, 2016 8:40 pm We have polished porcelain tiles throughout our house also in toilets and both bathrooms to keep the flow. I haven't had any slip issues yet. They aren't to bad to keep clean. I'm just using a steam mop now. Re: Polished Porcelain Tiles - Questions 18Apr 02, 2016 2:29 am justheart We have polished porcelain tiles throughout our house also in toilets and both bathrooms to keep the flow. I haven't had any slip issues yet. They aren't to bad to keep clean. I'm just using a steam mop now. Thanks just heart. That is reassuring. Personally, considering your layout (study/work desks in bedrooms), I don't think you have any other option but to leave NW windows and make them as big as possible e.g.… 7 10470 We had this happen to us last year and got charged a variation. Try and give away as much as you can that is usable to charity otherwise if you are in Sydney I have a… 1 4494 Not sure what council area you are in. Some LGA's allow zero lot retaining walls. This usually occurs in greenfield developments but not often in established areas. You… 1 8231 |