Ceramic Floors

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Shopping for a suitable floor covering requires more thought than simply choosing what color you prefer. Floors require to withstand people walking over them, and if you are buying for a kitchen or bathroom, you will need them to be water resistant.

Porcelain Tiles

Made from clay dust, porcelain tiles are then fires in a kiln to higher temperatures than some other types of ceramic tiles. The benefit of this is that porcelain tiles can be laid on floors in high traffic areas and are very well suited to kitchen and bathrooms because they can withstand water. Because porcelain tiles are so popular there is a very wide choice available in terms of sizes, colors and surface finish.

Quarry Tiles

Made from clay, Quarry tiles are ideal of rooms in the home where a lot of people walk over. They as not a good as porcelain tiles in terms of water resistance, so you need to make sure they are well sealed. Colours tend to be natural earth tones of red and orange.

Terracotta and Saltillo

Terracotta has been popular since Ancient Rome and means "dry earth". If you want a rustic farmhouse feel to your home then terracotta tiles are ideal. It is imperative that you properly seal terracotta tiles to protect them from water.

Sealing Terracotta and Saltillo tiles can involve many coats because it can take some time before the tile becomes saturated with the sealant. Avoid wax sealers as they are not as effective and don't soak into the tile, water-based sealants work best. Because the Mexican tiles are so much more porous you may find the need to apply several coats.