Benefits of Porcelain Tile Flooring
If you’re looking for a home flooring product that will stand the test of time, it’s hard to beat porcelain tile. As with most home renovation products, tile has improved over the years along with advancements in manufacturing technologies.
Not only are many of today’s tile products high-performers from a functionality standpoint, but thanks to imaging technology allowing for greater depth and dimension of color, many high-end porcelain tile varieties can pass for natural stone, marble and even hardwood—so they’ve also got great aesthetic appeal.
If you’re contemplating whether tile is the right choice for your home application, here are a few of the advantages of porcelain tile:
- High durability. The aggregate used specifically to manufacture porcelain tile allows the production of a harder, denser tile – in some cases harder than granite.
- Impervious to moisture. Porcelain is the densest of tile varieties: It absorbs between 0.001% and 0.5% of its weight in water, which makes it suitable for all applications – some porcelain tiles are even rated for exterior use.
- Carefree maintenance. Porcelain tile is inherently stain resistant and easy to maintain with many different types of cleaning products. Natural stone or marble requires specific non-acidic cleaning products, routine sealing and polishing in some instances. Quality porcelain with a stone visual is a great alternative.
- Cost efficient. The increasing demand for quality porcelain tile has driven costs down, making this flooring a more cost-effective option in the tile category – especially when compared to a natural stone installation.
Years ago, we used a lot of standard clay-body ceramic tile in the home remodeling industry. These products featured a painted surface with a glazed finish. But time has moved on and porcelain tile has commanded the market due to its high durability and wide variety of design options—from beautiful tapestry patterns that can be used as a focal point to clean-lined contemporary installations.
About grout. The one hesitation I often hear from customers when they’re considering porcelain tile: the stained grout line. At Dover, we use a high-quality grout in all of our installations. Because it is less absorbent and self-sealing, it repels liquids and guards against stains. We’ve tested a lot of products and arrived at this grout that is not only the most stain resistant and most uniform in color, but also the highest in durability—so no cracking.
Today’s high-quality porcelain tile is not only harder, but more uniform in size than in the past. The benefit of a well-made tile allows for a better installation—small grout lines with a flat uniform appearance throughout.
Installation matters. You can buy high-end tile and premium grout, but at the end of the day, if you want your tile flooring to look better longer, go with professional installation. Just like a good mechanic, a professional installer offers the benefit of expertise that comes from repetition. Our installers at Dover have been managing tile installation for 20 years or more. They have a process and a method that they follow every time, every job. They’re the best at what they do—and the end result shows.
If you’re interested in learning more about tile or talking through what the best options might be for your home application, stop by the Dover Flooring & Tile Center. We’re here to help.
Tschaun Procaccini
