A Guide To Buying Tiles [Here's What You Need To Know]

Buying the right tiles can be quite confusing especially for newbies. When it comes to flooring for your home or any commercial space, tiles are the best flooring solution. There are so many things you need to consider to find the right tiles for your home or commercial space. You need to make sure the selected tiles are durable enough as well as easy to clean.

Tiles can be categorized based on the material type, usage, design, etc. In this guide, we will talk about everything you need to know before buying tiles.

Different Types of Tiles

Tiles come in a wide range of sizes, polishes, colors, and shapes. In this section, we will talk about different types of tiles you need to know about. Here are different types of tiles:

• Ceramic tiles

• Terracotta tiles

• Marble tiles

• Travertine tiles

• Granite tiles

• Parquet tiles

• Porcelain tiles

• Wood look alike tiles

• Vitrified tiles (PGVT & GVT)

• Concrete cement tiles

• Stone tiles

• Glass tiles

Things To Consider When Buying Tiles

Buying tiles can be a tedious task, especially for newbies. In this section, we will discuss various things you need to consider when buying tiles.

Usage

The first thing you need to take into account when buying tiles is usage. You may want to use it for your kitchen, living room, bedroom, etc. And, you may want to use it for the floor or wall.

Material

Tiles are available in different material types. This includes ceramic, vitrified, porcelain, terracotta, marble, concrete cement, etc.

Durability

You will find tiles available in different types of materials. The durability level varies depending on the material type. For example, porcelain is more durable as compared to the standard ceramic.

Design

Tiles are available in different patterns and layouts. Depending on your usage, you have a wide range of tile patterns and designs to choose from. This includes herringbone, offset/staggered brick, ⅓ offset, versailles, geometric, mozaic, and more.

Water resistance

If you are planning to install tiles in your bathroom or area where there’s high exposure to water, you should get tiles that are durable enough. Porcelain tiles are more durable than standard ceramic tiles.

Choosing Tiles According To The Space

As we have seen, there are different types of tiles out there. One tile type isn’t ideal for all locations.

Bathroom

For bathrooms, ceramic tile is considered as the right choice. When getting tiles for your bathroom, make sure to get one that is less slippery and water resistant. Glazed ceramic tiles can be used for bathrooms, but should be avoided for bathroom floors. Glazed ceramic can make the floor slippery. Use natural stones like granite, sandstone, or slate.

Living room

For your living room, you can choose anything from ceramic tiles to natural stones. You can even consider terracotta tiles, Italian marble, or porcelain tiles.

Kitchen

For the kitchen, ceramic tiles are the right choice. Ceramic tiles are cost-effective and available in a wide range of colors & patterns. With so many colors and patterns out there, you can choose the tile as per your preferences.

Choosing Tiles According To The Finishes

Here are different tile finishes:

Glazed

Glazed tiles are coated with a layer of enamel or liquid glass before firing at high temperature. Glazed tiles are the one with glossy or shiny finish. The liquid glass or enamel provides a glazed look to the tile.

Unglazed

For making glazed tiles, coating is applied before putting into the kiln. Unglazed tiles are when no coating is applied on the tile.

Porcelain

Porcelain is one of the types of ceramic tiles. However, it differs in such a manner that porcelain is more durable & sturdy as compared to standard ceramic. This is one of the hardest and densest tiles out there. Besides being durable, some other advantages of porcelain tiles is, they are non-porous and scratch-resistant.