Are you thinking of changing the floor of your home, but you hesitate between laying a wooden floor or ceramic parquet? The Ceramic wall and floor tiles that imitate wood It is a trend that has been in the market for a long time. Without a doubt, it brings elegance to any room although, like any other material, it has its advantages and disadvantages. Read on to meet them.
Changing the floor of a home or the covering of the bathroom or kitchen requires good planning and the correct choice of materials, as Reformas Barcelona explains on its website. There is no doubt that it is a process in which a bad decision can be quite expensive. For this reason, if you hesitate between laying a wooden or stoneware floor, this practical guide will help you assess the advantages and disadvantages of ceramic parquet.
In fact, in the last decade the characteristics of stoneware floors that imitate wood have changed a lot. I still remember those square tiles that had parquet boards drawn on them and that seemed horrible to me. Now, the tiles that imitate wood reproduce with great realism both the design and its format, texture and finish. They recreate different typical effects of wooden floors, making it difficult to differentiate the imitation from reality:
- Matt and gloss polished
- Pickled and aged
- All kinds of hardwoods…
Advantages of ceramic parquet
The advantages of ceramic parquet There are many, as you will be able to check below:
- Its main advantage over wood is his great resistance. Ceramic parquet resists water, humidity, heat, fire, a large part of cleaning products, shocks… There are even special outdoor flooring.
- It does not need waxing or polishing, its maintenance is practically non-existent and it can be cleaned with almost any cleaning product.
- The ceramic parquet is not altered by solar radiationdoes not lose color, does not age, does not become darker or lighter, does not lose brightness.
- The same format can be use as cladding and flooring.
- The format in slats allows different and creative forms of installation, just like wood.
Disadvantages of imitation wood tiles
On the other hand, if we compare ceramic parquet with a wooden floor, we find the following disadvantages:
- If you are looking for a quality product with a realistic finish, the price can be a drawback. Typically, a good quality wood-look tile outperforms other wood-look options such as laminate and vinyl flooring. Sometimes the price per square meter can even exceed that of natural wood, especially in the case of cheap pine flooring, for example.
- Its placement requires the completion of worksIn addition, qualified personnel must be sought since this type of stoneware is not easy to install. The floor has to be well leveled, the pieces usually have a large format (some up to 1.20 meters long) and also the grouting has to be more precise as it is a rectified material (the edges are straight).
- Ceramic parquet offers visual warmth but is still porcelain stoneware, it will never offer the same warmth to the touch as wood. In addition, wooden floors retain heat better than other types of flooring.
- The resistance and durability of this type of stoneware can also work against it since there is a risk that we end up getting tired or that the chosen model becomes outdated. You just have to remember some coatings that were a trend in the past and today horrify us.
When to lay faux wood tiles
Finally, these tips will help you know in which cases it is more appropriate to install ceramic parquet:
- It is ideal both for the home and for work and commercial areas with heavy traffic of people or machinery.
- It can be easily installed in wet areas such as the bathroom or kitchen backsplash. You can even request a non-slip finish so that it can be used as a shower tray, for example.
- When the budget does not reach us to place certain types of solid wood platforms.
- Bet on a wood-effect porcelain stoneware with a classic and timeless design. You will avoid getting tired of it in a short time.
- Ceramic has a higher heat conduction than wood. For this reason, so if you have or are going to install underfloor heating, ceramic parquet will help distribute heat much better.
Personally, after weighing the pros and cons of ceramic parquet, I chose to cover the bathtub wall with it and I couldn’t be happier. Not only have I gained warmth, but it has also allowed me to stop worrying about the inconveniences of placing wood in the bathroom.
If you liked this post, you will find more practical guides and DIY projects at , as well as the latest trends in ceramic tiles.
Images: PAR-KER Porcelanosa
