Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering 1 Dec 22, 2009 11:04 am We are currently looking at tiles and I am overwhelmed by the variety. I really like limestone and marble but how do they perform in the long run, are they easy to maintain and what is the installation difficulty like? So what are the pros and cons of different tile types? Porcelain Ceramic Limestone Marble Granite Re: Pros and Cons of different Tiles 2Dec 22, 2009 12:14 pm I don't know much about different tiles ... have have ceramic in my living area, but in my laundry I have a matt tile (what was on offer at the pre-start) and I chose a darkish colour. Bad choice!! It shows all our footprints if there is the slightest dust on our feet. I keep having to sweep and dust!!! They always say you need one house to practice on!! Built the Driftwood with C*ollier Homes Moved in 8 November 2009 Slowly getting organised ..... Re: Pros and Cons of different Tiles 3Dec 22, 2009 12:43 pm My understanding is that because limestone, marble etc are natural stone products that they need to be sealed and need to be re-sealed after a certain amount of time (however long sealing lasts). On a commercial project that I worked on they had marble fronts to a bar and someone spilled red wine down it before it got sealed.....and they can't get it off completely (left a greyish mark). Re: Pros and Cons of different Tiles 4Dec 22, 2009 12:48 pm I hope nobody minds, but I might just move this to the Floor and Floor Covering section. www.themaxbuild.blogspot.com forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=20717&start=300 www.leahspaperpassion.blogspot.com Re: Pros and Cons of different Tiles 5Dec 22, 2009 2:32 pm Thanks all. I think I might need to go for marble or limestone effect porcelain or ceramic tiles Re: Pros and Cons of different Tiles 6Dec 22, 2009 4:14 pm Hard to answer comprehensively, but a few things..... Tiles (like any floorcovering) should be chosen for their intended service. So get advice on the suitability of the tiles for each area. Porcelain tiles are made from a much more dense clay called kaolin clay, and are generally of higher quality than most ceramics. But be aware of polished porcelains, as the mirror finish makes the quality of installation critical, and can look really bad if not laid meticulously. Polished porcelains usually benefit from being sealed too, which adds to the cost. The glazed finish of ceramic tiles means they normally do not need sealing. Choice of grout and width of grout joints can play a big part in the finished result and maintenance issues. Keep grout joints fairly narrow if you can. Rectified tiles (where the edges are machined to a perfect square edge) allow for narrower grout joints, and provide a better quality finish. Natural stones that are calcium rich (including marble, limestone and travertine) are acid sensitive and have some porosity, so yes they can stain and be etched by acids. So marble should only really be used in areas that are not exposed to drink spills etc as most drinks are acids. Generally, natural stone floors are more costly, can be very exotic and beautiful, but should be carefully chosen with full consideration of the suitability for the floor's intended purpose. Any porous surface will benefit from good quality sealers. Avoid cheap sealers though. Sealer's life and maintenance depends on many factors. Granite is a very hard natural stone, and ideal for benchtops, as it generally is not sensitive to acids like other stones. Granite is still a bit porous and should be sealed from new with a solvent based penetrating sealer for best service. Cheers! Ash. Re: Pros and Cons of different Tiles 7Dec 22, 2009 4:26 pm To add to that, I just recalled some feedback I've heard (as an example)..... A wealthy family I clean carpets for built a home in Swanbourne about 5 years ago. They have a beautiful architect designed home with many exotic finishes throughout. A main floor going through most of the ground floor is travertine. It is really beautiful, and the lady says she is extremely happy with it. It certainly still looks great. BUT she said they also have a rental property, and at the same time, installed the same travertine floors by the same contractor into the rental home. The floor is not doing so well there. It looks really bad in all the traffic ways, and the tenants had tried to look after it, and had cleaners try too. The main difference is the BIG home has a large floor area, and traffic is spread over a very large floorplan. In the rental though, the traffic is confined to major use areas in the kitchen & adjoining passages and living area, which makes use and soiling much more concentrated. This has meant more and more cleaning, which was not done properly. So the porous surface had been assaulted by all the concentrated use and looks like crap. Food for thought!......... Ash. Re: Pros and Cons of different Tiles 8Dec 22, 2009 4:30 pm I am having polished porcelain tiles throught 2/3 of the house. CONS: Yes they ARE slippery when wet, but PROS: they look spectacular as far as I am concerned. We will just have to be a little careful. Carpet in the Theatre Room/Formal dining and formal living, all upstairs in Rumpus and bedrooms. CONS: Vacuum Vacuum Vacuum PROS: Looks geat, warm in Winter, Plush, plush, plush. Totally my personal thoughts. www.themaxbuild.blogspot.com forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=20717&start=300 www.leahspaperpassion.blogspot.com Re: Pros and Cons of different Tiles 9Dec 22, 2009 4:35 pm Hey Max, With you being in Sydney, and intending on installing polished porcelains, take time to have a word with A'nge Kokkliararis of Aquamix. He can give you plenty of sound advice about the whole selection process, having them laid, grouted, cleaned, sealed etc. Ash. Re: Pros and Cons of different Tiles 10Dec 22, 2009 4:40 pm Thanks Ash will note that in my very THICK notebook. I appreciate it. www.themaxbuild.blogspot.com forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=20717&start=300 www.leahspaperpassion.blogspot.com yep you need a joint, foam is easiest, will look fine once rendered with a joint. 2 5451 Hi, have purchased a house with 2 single garage doors. The Centre pillar one side sits proud to the other. Can I change 2 doors into one. Please see picture. 0 7322 Hi All, This is our second home build and first time with a custom builder. They are small builder and have built some houses with good quality. They tender and color… 0 1574 |