However, before you even get to the wall of tiles samples, it’s not really about colour and style at the beginning it’s about material. Between ceramic, natural stone and porcelain, all materials have their advantages and disadvantages and some have a much more suitable home than others. When shopping for tiles Cardiff homes and families the visitor is normally overwhelmed by the number of options and by how quickly someone can get caught up in the stunning looks of a single design without really considering whether the material behind that design will suit the room it is supposed to be in and the way it’s supposed to be used. This guide explains how to choose the right material for bathrooms and kitchens and for the rest of the house’s flooring, not just in terms of looks but also safety, longevity, cost and wear.
There are many decisions you could get wrong in the tiling process, but getting material choice wrong will cost you the most in the long term, in terms of the durability of your work, its safety and its ongoing maintenance. It is impossible to tell in advance how a quality patterned tile in the wrong material will look and feel after some years, and costly to rectify after installation. This guide takes you through systematically considering the advantages and disadvantages of each potential material so that you never risk making the wrong decision, no matter which room or surface you’re tackling.
Why Material Choice Matters More Than Style Alone
It’s tempting to look online for a pretty tile and work backwards to the most suitable material for the space, but this misses out perhaps the single most important question: actually is the material suitable? For example a natural stone that stains easily within months in a high-traffic kitchen, or a delicate ceramic that may suffer from cracks under the weight of people in high traffic areas, is a beautiful material, let down by an inappropriately aggressive surface.
There are genuine differences in demands on a tile from one room to another – it’s not just about moisture in a bathroom, grease and dishwasher splashes in a kitchen, or constant wear on a floor in a hallway – and the range of qualities that tile manufacturers now cater for varies widely between material types. It’s not always possible to have the best-looking tile while still having it for the long term, and not necessarily necessary either, but the key is to start with suitability, and only then move on to other qualities.
There is a balance to be struck without sacrificing style of course, but the range of colours, finishes and surface finishes that modern tile manufacturing can achieve within even the more practical materials means that choosing the right material first and determining the right aesthetic second may save you unwanted compromise down the line. An approach to room by room rather than one material throughout the home is usually preferable, as the demands of a bathroom wall, hallway floor or kitchen surface can vary widely.
Understanding the Key Tile Materials Available
Unlike porcelain, the materials used for ceramic tiles are natural clay, fired at a lower temperature, with a glazed surface. More affordable than porcelain, easier to cut and suitable for walls and areas that don’t attract high foot traffic, ceramic tiles are slightly less durable and less resistant to water, so are better for vertical surfaces than busy floors. The ceramic and porcelain tile groups make up the overwhelming majority of tiling fitted in British homes, and knowing what the practical difference is in a real, genuine world sense is probably the most valuable knowledge any tiler can have before they take on a project, whatever part of the house they’re working on.
Porcelain vs Ceramic: What’s the Real Difference
Porcelain is by definition a finer, denser and more expensive variation on glazed ceramic, using a denser, more refined clay baked at higher temperatures so a much harder, less porous tile, which makes it significantly more resistant to water than standard ceramic, a very useful feature particularly for bathrooms and kitchens, and more durable for floors and other high-traffic areas. This comes at a premium, though, since it costs more, and is also more difficult to work with during installation, requiring a tile saw instead of a manual tile cutter.
Going beyond the Ceramic and Porcelain realm, other tile materials such as natural stone, cement- based and glass also have their own unique qualities and merits, to be discussed later in the guide. Having these three overarching types as a loose first guide does at least provide a useful starting point for ranking and filtering the many different brand names within each, ceramic or otherwise.
A quick way to distinguish a ceramic tile from a true porcelain at a glance, without taking anyone’s word for it, is to flip the tile over or look at an unglazed section, where porcelain will appear solid and uniform in colour, while ceramic will show up as a visually different and more porous body.
Choosing Tiles for Bathrooms
Water resistance is the first requirement of materials in the bathroom, which is almost certain to be the dampest part of the home. Porcelain is a popular and effective material choice for bathroom tiles Cardiff, as it is water resistant, durable and resistant to stains, warping and degradation – crucial for what is a very exposed environment. Depending on your tastes and preferences, and on whether others are part of the decision-making process, porcelain could be the perfect compromise of style and function.
Water resistance, together with, for a bathroom, slip resistance, is definitely worth finding out about before selecting any product for a bathroom floor, in particular in terms of slip-resistance rating for a bathroom ceramic tiles Cardiff shop will carry – tell-tale signs of the suitability of any porcelain floor tile for use in a genuinely wet bathroom environment are not necessarily self-evident, but a slip rating should be published on the relevant product data sheets. Natural stone remains a popular choice, but this requires much more care and regular sealing to be suitable, especially in a consistently damp environment like a bathroom. If natural stone is a goal for a bathroom, then porcelain copies of a stone can give a similar look with far less maintenance.
In the bathroom, as with so many things, adequate ventilation is worth factoring in with the tile selection, since no tile can totally counteract the effect of an inadequately vented room that gathers condensation and dampness readily. A well-matched product and ventilation make for a very long-term combination in a bathroom.
En-suite bathrooms and cloakrooms may sometimes be the space to be a little more experimental with material choice, a more decorative or delicate tile, since the scale and overall use of a smaller bathroom is not so demanding on material performance.
Choosing Tiles for Kitchens
Kitchens present another set of practical requirements, though different, and equally demanding: resistance to grease and food soiling, resistance to staining from the temperature of cooking equipment, resistance to chips or cracks from dropped pots and pans, the ability to resist chipping and cracking from daily wear without ceramic tiles showing chips or cracks. Here porcelain is again strong, presenting a durable and stain resistant surface that will cope with a busy kitchen quite naturally.
However, in a kitchen splashback where tiles are close to the heat of the hob and where kitchen spray is only moderate and occasional, you can be more flexible when it comes to appearance, and you can choose, for example, a patterned ceramic, a decorative natural stone, or a clear glass tile. The reason is that the practical demands for splashback tiles are often very modest compared with those of the floor. It is well worth remembering this difference and that you don’t need to use the same material throughout the room.
Against all this, a kitchen floor should be selected with an emphasis on durability and slip resistance, given the fact that it is subject to heavy footfall, unavoidable food and dirt in the movement of daily life, and the constant danger of dropped objects in busy kitchens. It is recommended that you opt for a good-quality textured porcelain tile here.
Choosing Tiles for Floors Throughout the Home
Looking beyond wet rooms and kitchens, tiling is increasingly popular all over the home – including hallways, living areas and bedrooms in warmer climates or those with underfloor heating. When larger areas are tiled, besides the visual aesthetics that matter more in rooms than truly functional wet areas, comfort and durability underfoot are the primary concerns.
Large-format porcelain tiling is now especially popular across open-plan living and hallway floors, as it offers a clean modern appearance with the robust durability for regular constant daily footfall. Wood-effect porcelain in particular has increased hugely in popularity for this application, providing the warm feeling and appearance of timber flooring but without timber’s potential for moisture issues, scratching and wearing.
There’s more scope for prioritising comfort and appearance when applying tiling to bedrooms and lower-traffic living areas – but it’s still worth opting for a tile with a rating suitable for floors intended for residential use (something difficult to find when shopping for tiles is meant for walls), rather than it simply having a wall rating which isn’t going to stand up to heavy use as a floor tiling material. If you are tiling a whole house with underfloor heating, things are very different again as this is one of the most important factors in choosing tile.
You see here why researching which tile is best for your specific residential project is so important.
Natural Stone: Beauty With Extra Care
Natural, marble, travertine, slate and limestone all add a level of character, texture and natural variation that manufactured tiles, even those with a convincing imitation, can simply never manage. Each is truly unique and organic in its development and many homeowners are happy to pay the premium for the visual appeal that this results in, despite the hands-on nature of the material.
That hands-on approach is still real though, and natural stone should be sealed and cared for regularly in order to keep it resistant to water and stains, with extra attention necessary when selecting cleaning products for periodical use to ensure the stone is not damaged or tainted. Marble especially can be slightly harder to care for, suffering etching or damage when exposed to acid-based household products, though this should be taken into consideration when chosen for a splashback or worktop area, in particular.
For those who are keen to enjoy a natural stone look but reluctant to pay the higher rates for care, it is advisable to speak with a natural stone provider before speculating on product suitability. Even within a category of natural stone, durability and maintenance can differ significantly, with slate being an easier, low-maintenance choice than limestone, for example, which can be softer and porous. In terms of longevity, it can also be worth considering that a natural stone floor will generally last a lifetime and become more and more attractive and characterful over the decades, considered part of its appeal rather than a detrimental feature by many homeowners.
Practical Factors That Should Influence Your Decision
Beyond the specific material types outlined above, a few practical considerations are worth serious thought whatever material you’re leaning towards, because these will matter just as much in kitchens, bathrooms and floors as they do elsewhere. A few to take seriously:
- Water absorption level – an important factor in any bathrooms, and worth explicitly checking.
- Slip resistance level – especially relevant in bathroom and kitchen floors specifically.
- Scratch resistance/hardness – relevant for floors more than walls in use, where high foot traffic is likely.
- Maintenance requirements – sealing, specialist cleaning products, ongoing maintenance investment required.
- Suitability for use with underfloor heating if applicable to the project.
Completing a written list of these considerations for any tiles you’re seriously considering, rather than just a quick mental check of aesthetics, will ensure your final choice is one you’ll be much happier with over time.
Slip Resistance and Safety Ratings Explained
Slip resistance Slip resistance is rated and tested in recognised industries, and is generally quoted as an R-rating in the UK and Europe, with lower levels e.g., R9, than are suitable for safe dry areas that are rarely wet, and higher levels for areas that are consistently wet, such as shower floors, or commercial kitchens R11+. Again, it’s well worth consciously checking the R-rating when selecting a tile for an area where water (or other liquids) are generally present under foot, rather than choosing just by appearance or colour without understanding the slip rating. It’s also important to understand that a shiny, gloss, surface will almost always carry a lower slip resistance that a matt or textured finish, so that needs to be consciously weighed against the reflective qualities of the tile for areas that regularly get damp.
For outdoor spaces or semi-outdoor areas such as a conservatory floor, where the areas might be exposed to rain, knowing that your chosen tile is actually rated for these external conditions is a really smart place to start, rather than assuming that a domestic grade product will stand up to the wetter outdoors.
For households with the elderly (or those young enough to think it won’t happen to them), consider that in the case of falls the practical consequences are likely to be much more serious, so you might want to select the safest possible finish and slip rating, even in areas where traditionally the minimum rating is quoted
Balancing Cost Against Long-Term Durability
What is the cost going to do?
Material costs differ by style in the order of: standard ceramic – one of the cheapest porcelain – having a significant but not excessive price premium due to durability and water-resistance natural stone – usually the priciest, both in terms of material and professional fitting Ceramic materials are probably the least expensive area to be strong with, if going for the bigger areas of common use. For the less-used surrounds such as hallways or even areas of obscure use, choosing one of the lower-cost options will ensure overall project cost is not exaggerated without sacrificing quality.
Do think about this cost in terms of useful life of the product, as porcelain, for example, with a lengthy lifespan, is usually a lot more cost-effective than the cheapest options which show wear, tarnishing or other damage after only a couple of years.
Professional fitting also comes into this – natural stone and large-format porcelain both tend to require a more professional installation than standard ceramic, which might be another factor to include within this overall budget comparison.
Getting Expert Advice Before You Commit
No matter how extensive your own research, a discussion with an experienced tiler before selecting a product always throws up details you may have overlooked, specific technical performance data, how it will compare with your existing subfloor or underfloor heating system, or how a certain material compares with others on real-world performance in a similar setting. Seeing real samples up close remains one of the most valuable parts of this process, because it lets you handle and compare weights, textures and finishes of several materials, ask technical questions and see the physical size and weight differences between a handful of porcelain or natural stone samples, for example, are often not obvious from photography and specification data alone. Ask about the use of a natural stone, if that’s what you’re thinking of, in surroundings similar to your own house, or a tiler who has finished several recent projects of the same type, and they’ll have useful information and experience to draw on. Having taken photographs, or bringing samples of your existing fixed elements and worktop surfaces, to discuss this with, means your overall advice will be tailored to your situation.
