Flooring ‘N Tiles

In a mood for something far away from rustic Tuscany style… and a topic almost any floor tile expert would love approaching: shiny expensive chic floor tiles. It is frankly a challenge to find the most “chic” of anything, much less the amazingly wide variety of floor tiles.”Shiny” is easy! “Expensive”? No problem! But “chic”? Now there is an argument in waiting. There is even an argument which states the “most chic” of all tiles nowadays are the most “retro”! Now go gut that ’50’s bathroom. Like baseball cards once used as bicycle noise makers, many of the chic-est bathroom tiles are long gone in dumps all over the world.

However, assuming the newest and most attractive and expensive floor tiles are what we are searching for, we can look no farther than marble, in terms of natural stone. Marble’s uniqueness and other-worldly beauty is pretty unmatchable in nature and in flooring in general. Travertine can also be placed in this category, a small step below marble in beauty and a step upwards in terms of durability and popularity.

Take a look at this polished marble tile set – at just over $150 per carton (at the time of writing), covering 11.25 sq FT, it’s expensive and chic enough to fit the bill (click on the image for more details) -

In terms of the “unnatural”, manufactured varieties, we enter an entirely different arena. Metals, glass and ceramics now become a part of the lexicon of the most chic and expensive. There are tiles which are hand-made, virtual objects of art with colorations and even prints of photographs and art work, faithfully replicated and providing glamorous and insanely attractive flooring. Unlimited in potential, these ceramic creations offer the stylings of artists and can be computer-rendered, deriving form an individual’s personal request. Amazingly, then, you can actually take part in the design of your own tiles! Thus manufactured, then delivered, right to your door.

I hear this a lot: “We’re looking for Toscana floor tiles.” It is interesting inasmuch as there is no real set “Toscano Tile” outside of numerous tiles bearing that brand name. Yet, there is something very relevant in the question. We often hear of the “Tuscany kitchen”, for example. It implies a warm, sunny place, rife with light from the sun and with your more muted earth tones with perhaps some riotously-colored ceramic tiles mixed in. It is a truism in the industry that Tuscany offers a blend of fashion and of uniqueness, a reminiscent sense of place and time.

Yes, the brand, Toscano, is highly popular. Many firms manufacture and sell tiles with just that designation. It helps to bear in mind that almost all reflect the aforementioned properties to a “T”. Earth-toned, they can be of a terracotta sensibility, even polished, or they can be somewhat crudely-arranged earth-colored tans and browns with mottled tops and uneven edges. Both work and both have described exactly what people were looking for upon finding out the selections in that name.

Tuscany is famous for many things, but few more than the farmhouse-style of kitchens and ante-rooms. Toscano floor tiles almost always reflect these qualities and almost always satisfy. There are few ways to go wrong with a selection of a homey and warm-looking set of tiles like toscano floor tiles.

Removing floor tiles can be in sticky process. In the end, much depends on whether or not you want to preserve the tiles for some future project or not. When the goal is to save as many tiles as possible, it then becomes a tad thornier. Most floor tiles are adhered to their sub floor with some of the strongest products made. Separating tiles from the sub floor is therefore a project requiring the right tools and some patient work. In the end, strength can also be a huge help.

Some tiles, of course, are adhered by virtue of cement. This can be easier or harder than a typical floor mastic, but, once again, I can assure you, it is more of the above. Among the tools you need is a pry bar, a hammer and chisel (preferably a “cold chisel”, suitable for stone work), a small strong screwdriver and perhaps a rotary tool, good for cutting and certainly helpful in the removal of the grout along the sides of all the tiles.

First, let’s get rid of the grout between the tiles. While these areas are not the bulk of its adherence qualities, they certainly are an aid to keeping tiles in place. Removing these will certainly help. Not removing them will certainly hurt, in other words…

As a test, try and insert something underneath a tile, preferably a screwdriver whose flat edge can get below the tile and work its way further underneath. It might be worth the attempt to try and lightly hammer the tool under. It may just be that one might have to literally break a tile to get underway. Sacrificing a tile will give the ability to stick a wider chisel underneath and provide more surface area for prying. Once this is done, continual working of the tool under the tile should get on to the point at which the tile can be lifted out. Unfortunately, this will require repeating until the effect is achieved completely.

Removing floor tile is hard work. This may one one of those projects for a professional owing to the flying debris and general brutal strength required to pull it off.

Mediterranean floor tiles reflect the near certainty that a kitchen floor – and perhaps even more surfaces in a typical Mediterranean Style home – will be tiled. Naturally, tiles provide the perfect water-resistant, easy-to-clean surface that a kitchen would require. This much has been proven out over literal centuries of flooring work in Mediterranean areas. Classically, these tiles were originally brick or terracotta, easily manufactured at the level of manufacturing technology of those earlier times. But the advent of mosaic tiles which began in Greece and flourished in the exotic atria and homes of the Romans took the roof off of Mediterranean flooring design.

Whereas your typical Mediterranean flooring dealt with capturing and featuring the abundant bright sun of the area, thus featuring brown and muted earth tones which are considered the true “classic: Mediterranean flooring tile, later developments insisted that a mosaic and ceramic feature be included in this category as well. Moroccan influences spread to Spain and their influences can be seen to this day in many homes and public areas. Combined with Roman technology and practices, this yielded a most remarkable blend of classic Mediterranean tiles, mixed with artistic and unique twists.

By far, the primary current concept of the Mediterranean floor tile reflects its earlier form. Earth-toned, semi-terracotta, brown with red influences which reflect sun and brighten a kitchen or bathroom, or even more areas of a home, are the paramount conception of what a Mediterranean floor tile is.

Among many considerations in choosing flooring materials for a home renovation or a new home, the virtue of “noiseless” fl;ooring often appears as a major consideration. Naturally, carpeting often solves this problem nicely, but for those who wish for a more wood-like surface, natural-looking and semi glossy or glossy, cork is often the best solution. Cork tiles flooring offers silence and the finish of natural wood. Being a natural wood product, selected and peeled off Cork Oak tress once every 9 years, the birtual agricultural product also has a “green” element inasmuch as it is not only natural, but in that it is also renewable. This matters to many people and there are times we might wish it mattered to more.

Aside from that, cork tiles flooring happens to look great. As said, a natural wood product, the grains and uneven sworls which are Nature’s typically unique gift to wood, cork tiles flooring can al;so be highly finished with the urethanes and other glossy finishes now so standard in the finishing of almost all wood products.

Cork’s natural softness does not do justice to its durability, which is surprisingly excellent. As a tile, this wood prodcut can also be easily-replaced in a very quick reinstallation requiring some very basic materials. As a surface, it is “feet friendly” and its density also serves quite well in terms of insulation, retaining heat far better than many more porous and less organic materials.

While soundless flooring is gaining in popularity, creating the perfectly noiseless flooring solution is not easy. Cork is the closest that one can come to noiseless flooring because it keeps the echo from footfalls and the sound of dropped objects to a minimum.

A question I often get asked, is how to do mosaic tiling? As a relatively time-consuming, labor intensive project, installing mosaic tiles does have a few definite short cuts to completion. As a professional, a contractor does not have the luxury of a “near-perfect” result. His mosaic constructions need to be professionally and artistically perfect. Thus, most professionals opt for the ‘paper’ or ‘mesh’ processes which involve the actual configuration of the tiles to be constructed on a separate surface. (Incidentally, this part of the process is pretty much a given for any installer, professional or otherwise).

Thus arranged in the manner they will appear on the floor or wall, a “mesh” or “paper” is glued to the tops of the tiles to hold them in place. We try and make sure we work with a small enough sample so that the transference will keep the entire integrity of the design in place and unmoved. We then set this “batch” of mosaics onto a thin set applied to the sub surface. By adjusting appropriately, the tiles are set into place and the paper or mesh is extracted. Pressing the tiles into a firmer position adhering to the thin set can be done in any number of ways but preferably with a straight and flat board which should eliminate problems resulting from uneven thicknesses of the mosaics.

Once adhered, the last part is the grouting which follows almost all grout rules: spread evenly and clean thoroughly. Make sure when cleaning to dump and clean the sponge used for cleaning often. With some irregularities on the surface which are pretty routine in ceramic and glass tiles, grout can stick to them. Also, some careful consideration is always necessary in choosing the color of the grouting itself. Inasmuch as many colors and tones are available, there is bound to be a satisfying combination to opt for.

On a roll here, reviewing tiles, so expect a few more Today it’s those beautiful textured rough stone tiles -

Textured stone floor tiles have a non-glossy surface, by far more suitable for high traffic areas and also, owing to the naturalness of it origins, a more than appealing alternative for home flooring as well. Natural stone products have many advantages over polished ceramic and clay-fired alternatives, among them being sheer load strength. It is typical that natural stone is superior in terms of durability to anything else. After all, these “old rocks” have spent a few billion years here already. It’s not like they have anything to prove!

Yes, it is possible to polish and make glossy almost any stone. Indeed, some of the most strikingly beautiful floors are highly polished, very glossily-finished stone. In the end, it depends on a scale of need and of personal choice as to which stone product one opts for. The security factor of a more non-slip surface, plus its tendency to act secondarily as a feature, spotlighting other facets of a room, make a textured stone floor tile and excellent choice.

Textured stone floor tiles tend to be a better installation in many cases, speaking from a strictly practical view and that of a contractor. While the colors of natural products are almost always immanently satisfying, these textured finishes imply another stage of preparation at the manufacturing level which also nearly always indicates a willingness to cut to order. What this results in is exactitude in terms of depth and parameters and some latitude in design of the laying pattern itself. These are highly important for the serious contractor with an eye to design.