The Perfect Flooring Choice Throughout Your Home

by Carlisle Homes

“Tiles are not only on trend, available in many looks, feels, styles and colours to suit everyone’s individuality, tiles are the perfect home flooring choice ensuring at your next dinner party you don’t have to ask your guests to leave their shoes at the door!”

Tiles are not only fun to plan and work with, they also have significant advantages over carpet, wood and vinyl floors.

“Increasing concerns with allergies as well as frustrations with successfully cleaning carpets, limits its appeal, while wood can be a nightmare in some locations and vinyl, well, let’s be frank, it doesn’t quite cut it if you’re looking to add value to a home,” Ms Wood said.

“Of course we at Beaumont Tiles are biased, but for good reason - tiles come out on top hands down, as the best home flooring option when you consider durability, maintenance, room traffic, moisture levels and allergens.”

Ms Wood said the key reasons why tiles are the perfect choice include:

Tiles don’t scratch
The Mors hardness scale of 1-10 is used by the industry to rate the scratch resistance of flooring materials against ten common minerals. While no flooring scores a hardness of 10 (the hardness of a diamond), porcelain tiles rank highest at between 7 - 8.

Tiles keep your toes toasty
In the depths of winter, we desire flooring that keeps our toes warm, made possible through underfloor heating. While underfloor heating is available for most floors, it’s more effective with materials that have good thermal conductivity. Tiles have great thermal conductivity and retain heat well.

Tiles are pet friendly
Despite all the positives, fur-babies are harder on our household flooring than people. Pet mishaps can be easily mopped off tile flooring and the smooth surface of tiles is kind to cat and dog paws.

Tiles are allergy-friendly
With around 20% of the Australian population having at least one allergy, tiled floors are one of, if not the healthiest, home flooring choices. Ceramic and porcelain tiles, with a hard and mostly flat surface, are a good hygienic choice for those with allergies. They are easy to keep clean, cannot be penetrated by dust mites, pollen and pet hair, and are resistant to mould.

Tiles are termite-proof
A survey by CSIRO suggests that one in three dwellings has termites within the property boundary and many of those are at risk, particularly if they have untreated wood and wood products. Ceramic and Porcelain tiles are immune to these highly destructive pests which the Australian Institute of Architects suggests attacked 130,000 Australian homes in a year, causing $1.5 billion in damage.

Tiles are low-maintenance
With life so hectic, homeowners love nothing more than life hacks to reduce cleaning and maintenance of their homes. Tiled floors are an easy and low-maintenance flooring option, requiring just a sweep or daily vacuum with a mop weekly with a drop or two of vinegar. Tiles are virtually non-porous and tend not to absorb any liquid, smoke or fumes.

Tiles are long-lasting
Tiles are among the most durable products around, with the average lifespan reaching up to 100 years. They are so durable, that there are hundreds of pre-1800 ceramic and porcelain tiles on sale throughout the world. Floors tiled in Ancient Rome are still in use today.

Tiles are odour free
Flooring takes the brunt of food and liquid spills, muddy footy boots and animal accidents, resulting in uninvited odours despite the best cleaning efforts. Carpet, timber, concrete and vinyl flooring are all like a big sponge – they absorb odour like a sponge absorbs water, even when sealed. Non-porous or impervious flooring such as glazed porcelain and ceramic tiles do not absorb soils or moisture.

Tiles are waterproof
It is not just the wet areas of the home, such as bathrooms and kitchens, that are likely to get liquid on them. Kids, pets and parties are among the spill inducing scenarios that can see the lounge room, dining room and bedroom floors become soaked – potentially having a long term effect on the floor. Tiles are the ideal waterproof flooring with a durable glaze on the top of the surface making them virtually impenetrable and will not let liquids soak in.