How to choose the best tile flooring
Tile is a flooring material that looks good in the living room as it does the kitchen and bath. This highly designed product comes in a wide assortment of colors, patterns, shapes, and sizes, but it's important to remember that not all tile is the same, having different strength and porosity levels. The right tile for your installation will go a long way toward great appearance, better performance, and longevity.
Porcelain vs. ceramic tiles
Porcelain is a type of ceramic with a composition of clay, glass, and sand. It's dense, robust, and best for heavily trafficked rooms in busy spaces like the kitchen. Porcelain is waterproof, whether or not it's glazed, and can be used outdoors on patio and deck floors.
Porcelain is a large format tile, through-body tile, available in an almost unlimited number of colors and patterns. This tile can be made to look like anything, including wood, stone, fabric, and leather. It's often preferred as a stone look, as the large format, fewer seams give it more of a continuous look like that of quarried marble, granite, slate, terrazzo, quartz, etc.
Porcelain is a large format tile, through-body tile, available in an almost unlimited number of colors and patterns. This tile can be made to look like anything, including wood, stone, fabric, and leather. It's often preferred as a stone look, as the large format, fewer seams give it more of a continuous look like that of quarried marble, granite, slate, terrazzo, quartz, etc.
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Pay attention to COF
Tiles get slippery when wet, and you'll see "Coefficient of Friction" or "COF" on the boxes when you explore the inventory in our tile store in Ridgeland, MS. These words mean grip, and the COF should be at least .50 for residential use and .60 for commercial. If shopping for the bathroom, you might also want to choose a tile with texture to increase the traction.
Other ceramic tiles include the 4 X 4 squares, which should be used only on indoor moderately foot trafficked floors. Mosaics are the tiny (sometimes 1X1), durable glass-coated tiles often used as accents. Terra cotta bricks are durable but also porous, so ask about sealing. Subway tiles are used primarily on backsplashes but can be used indoors on low traffic floors; they now come in assorted colors, shapes, and sizes.
Other ceramic tiles include the 4 X 4 squares, which should be used only on indoor moderately foot trafficked floors. Mosaics are the tiny (sometimes 1X1), durable glass-coated tiles often used as accents. Terra cotta bricks are durable but also porous, so ask about sealing. Subway tiles are used primarily on backsplashes but can be used indoors on low traffic floors; they now come in assorted colors, shapes, and sizes.
Trust Mississippi's finest builder for your tile flooring
From concept to creation, Unique Flooring uses our creativity and 15 years of experience to transform your vision into reality. For information about tile flooring or any of our other products and services, as well as a free quote, visit our showroom in Ridgeland, MS, especially if you live or work in and around Ridgeland, MS, Madison, MS, Jackson, MS, Flowood, MS, Clinton, MS, Gluckstadt, MS, Brandon, MS, Florence, MS or Canton, MS.
