Is Ceramic Tile Flooring Right for You?
Ceramic tile may be the only flooring material that truly works in any room of the house.
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In other words, you really can’t go wrong with tile.
The Spruce / Margot Cavin
This helps to keep the air free of irritating materials that can be harmful to asthma and allergy sufferers.
It all depends on the quality of the tile and the difficulty of the installation.
While most ceramic floor tile is glazed, there are unglazed ceramic tiles, such as traditional Saltillo tile.
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Thesemust be sealedto protect their surface from liquids and stains.
A quality installation can last for hundreds of years if the floor is well-maintained.
If asingle tile does crackdue to a severe impact, the process forreplacing a tileis relatively simple.
Solid tiles can be mixed and matched in patterns or accented with custom designs or motifs.
They can also be printed to reproduce the look of many hardwoods andnatural stones.
Finally, the tiles themselves can be cut and shaped into triangles, rectangles, and planks.
The Spruce / Margot Cavin
Installation
Ceramic tile is labor-intensive and somewhat tricky to install.
Amateurs can certainly do it, but tile is not as DIY-friendly as laminate or vinyl.
This means that tile may not always be appropriate for upper-story installations or floors with inadequate floor structures.
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Comfort and Convenience
Ceramic is extremely hard, which makes iteasy to cleanand maintain.
Unfortunately, this can also make it difficult and uncomfortable to stand on.
Unlike resilient floors, hard ceramics cannot be softened using padded underlayment.
A weekly sweep with the broom or vacuum, and mopping will keep tile floors in shipshape.
The grout should be sealed though to prevent dirt and stains from settling in.
Children’s Environmental Health data pipe.
