When you choose the type of tile that you will use in your home, you must consider not only the size and the shape of the tiles, but also how these factors will change the appearance of the room in which the tiles is installed. Many people will select the color of the tiles that they likes in their home, but they may not consider the scale of the tile. The scale of the tile is important in that the scale of the tile will impact whether the room appears small or larger.
The grout lines in the floor are the area in which the individual tiles meet, and each of the grout lines will create a visual grid within the room. If the tiles that you choose are small mosaic tiles, there will be many grout lines within the floor, and each of those grout lines will contribute to the visual texture of the area. People often use mosaic tiles of this small size in showers to provide extra grip to those walking on the floor, but the numerous grout lines can make it appear as if a small bathroom with these type of tiles is too crowded.
How to Choose Floor Tiles for Your Home
Alternatively, using medium or large format tiles will create fewer grout lines in the bathroom. Fewer grout lines will make it appear as if the floor within a small bathroom is larger because the floor appears to be continuous rather than broken by grout lines. Another factor to consider when selecting the type of tile that people will use in the home is the shape of the tiles.
Commonly, people use square tiles in the home. Rectangular tiles, however, allow for the creation of different types of pattern in the floor. For instance, you can lay the rectangular tiles in an offset pattern or in a herringbone pattern.
These types of floor designs can be used to draw the attention of the individuals in the room to a particular focal point within the room. Other types of tiles, such as those in the shape of a hexagon or a fish scale can be used in the home, but these specialty shapes are bold choice in the flooring selection process. Due to the fact that these types of floors are bold choices, they can be used in specific area within the home rather than throughout the entire structure.
The type of subfloor that is installed in your home will impact the type of tile that can be used in your floors. For instance, if the subfloor within your home is made of wooden floorboards, it is important to ensure that the tiles that are installed are not too large in area. Large format tiles are often rigid; they cannot bend like wooden subfloors.
If the wooden subfloor bends, the large format tiles will crack. In these instances, it may be necessary to install uncoupling membrane or cement boards under the subfloor prior to installing the tiles. Installing these membranes and boards will prevent the potential for the floor to crack in the future.
Another factor to consider when selecting the type of tile for your home is the weight of the tiles. Intuitively, most individuals will know that a larger tile is heavier than a smaller sized tile. The weight of the tiles is a consideration in that the weight of the tiles will be a load on the floor of your home.
For instance, if the bathroom that you will tile with these heavy floor tiles is located on an upstairs floor in the home, the floor joist of that upstairs floor must be able to support the weight of these heavy tiles. Otherwise, the floor may sag within your home. Another alternative to individual floor tiles are modular panels.
These panels are pre-assembled sheets of glass or acrylic. The modular panels can mimic the look of individual floor tiles, but are easier to install than individual floor tiles. Installing individual floor tiles requires the use of a wet saw to cut the individual tiles to size, and you must grout those individual tiles to adhere to the subfloor.
Alternative modular floor panels will create a clean-looking floor that requires less labor to install than individual floor tiles. For example, a kitchen may be better with a stainless steel floor panel rather than tile. Stainless steel will make it easier to wipe the floor clean in the kitchen, and requires less effort than cleaning grout lines on the floor.
The size of the floor tiles should be proportional to the size of the area in which they are to be installed. In smaller areas, such as a powder room, a mid-sized tile may be the best choice for maintaining proportion within the room. In large areas, such as a living room, a large format floor tile will create a seamless look in the area.
In other words, the larger the area in the home that is to be tiled with floor tiles, the larger the size of the tiles that should of been used. Each of these factors must be considered to ensure that the floor tiles will appropriately support the architecture of the room in which they will be installed.
