If you’re in the process of updating your floor coverings, you might be asking: Are floor tiles better than timber? While there are advantages and disadvantages to all flooring types, including vinyl, the ultimate choice is up to you and your lifestyle.
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Durability and Lifespan
There’s no denying that floor tiles rank highly when it comes to durability and their possible lifespan. With their hard coating, ceramic tiles, like these eco stone hexagon ones, resist a lot of damage, such as scratches and dents. Plus, if a tile does happen to become cracked and chipped, it’s fairly easy just to replace one tile rather than an entire section of flooring.
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Maintenance and Cleaning
Tiles, like these Venice cloud bathroom floor tiles, are well known for their low-maintenance requirements. Thanks to the impervious nature, all they need is a sweep and a gentle clean with a mop. While both timber and vinyl are relatively easy to clean, these flooring types can become dull over time and, especially in the case of timber, will need sanding and resealing at some point in the future.
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Style and Versatility
With tiles, you have a plethora of styles, designs and colours to choose from, which means you can easily match them to the rest of your interior decor. While timber flooring does provide a sense of warmth to a home, if you adore the look, you can always opt for timber look tiles, like these pine wood oak tiles, which have the same aesthetics, along with the durability and low-maintenance requirements of standard tiles.
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Cost Consideration
Of all the flooring types, vinyl is most likely the cheapest, followed by tiles and finally, timber. However, vinyl does have a limited life and will need to be replaced well before tiles and timber flooring. This means that tiles are a better investment, since they’re reasonably cost-effective and certainly not as expensive as real wood flooring. For example, our Rockway terrazzo look tiles are only $27.99 per square metre.
Melbourne Lifestyle and Climate
If you have a busy lifestyle and you want a flooring solution that doesn’t require too much care, tiles are your best bet. For active households with children and pets, tiles offer an easy care solution that can handle muddy paw prints and shoes without losing their appeal. It’s under these situations that you’ll find tiles really shine thanks to their resistance to water and staining.
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Climate Section
Anyone living in Melbourne knows that there are climate extremes throughout the year. While tiles can be lovely and cool in summer, they can also be quite cold in winter, unlike timber, which has insulating properties and will provide some warmth during cold weather. But, there’s always the option of investing in some lovely large floor rugs, if large format tiles, like these Q-stone ones, are your flooring of choice.
Final Word
If you’re looking for durability, low-maintenance and a flooring solution that’s going to last for years to come, then tiles are your best option. With our extensive range, you can choose stylish kitchen tiles, eye-catching bathroom tiles and highly wear-resistant floor tiles for your living areas. If you need help deciding, give us a call on (03) 8360 8889 or visit our showroom.