Ceramic tile vs. hardwood flooring

[sniper7]

I'm looking for advice on the difference between ceramic tile and hardwood floors. We have a nice real distressed hardwood floor in our house now, love it, but between the dogs and kids it has some minor surface scratching, which isn't bad for 6 years, and really is only seen when the light hits it correctly.

for our new house we are looking at the ceramic tile that looks like hardwood floor. It looks awesome, seems like it doesn't scratch, I would worry about water on the floor like I do now with the wood (my wife likes to steam clean it so I'm on her about making sure she drys it immediately after). the biggest concern I have is if something drops on the tile and it cracking.

anybody have the stuff? Goods and bads? It would be about $6 sq ft additional from what we are getting now, I just want to see if it would be worth it.

[J]

You need to re-seal the grout every year or two, with most tile floors. Because of this, we spend more time working on our tile floors than our hardwoods.

[Irving]

$6 a sq/ft installed, or just materials alone.

I wouldn't worry about cracking tiles unless you're droping hammers or typewriters. Washing is going to be easier as far as not warping anything. If tile is in concrete, there is just about zero chance of damage from a water loss. If tile is on a subfloor, a water loss can cause the tiles to "pop" if the subfloor soaks up enough water to swell and dislodge tiles. I've seen a couple floors with the tile like you're referring to and everyone I've talked to loves them. Everyone I've come across is usually in the $2/sqft range as far as materials goes. Tile will feel colder than wood or laminate, so you may end up with area rugs in living rooms or high traffic areas.

[cstone]

Hardwood is not that difficult to refinish. If you sand, stain, and poly it every 15 or 20 years, it will last longer than you do.

I like tile in bathrooms and laundry rooms, so that is what I put in those rooms.

I have no experience with the faux wood tile, but it would have to wear pretty well. Are you going to put it in yourself or have someone do it?

[sniper7]

It is for a new custom home we are building. It's $13 sq ft total installed, I think hardwood was around half that but haven't see what type of floor that actually was and I'm guess that price was for much cheaper hardwood than what we would be picking.

it will be installed by the subcontractor the building is working with.

as far as I know it is on subfloor, it's a ranch home with full basement but I don't know if they put down some type of cement board or anything under that faux tile hardwood.

[Irving]

It's going to be on subfloor if there is a floor below. I'm not a contractor, but I'd shop that price. I pay $13/sqft INSTALLED all day long for oak floors.

[sniper7]

Okay thanks We still have to meet with them to verify that price, just wanted to see from guys if that tile floor is preferable to hardwood. I'm not sure on the grout issue how it is sealed, that kind of maintenance makes me lean toward hardwood.

[Ramsker]

We have the "hardwood tiles" in our entire 1st floor . . . replaced old carpet & tile with that a few years ago. We really like it. We used a darker grout and had a "grout booster" added to it so we didn't have to go through the re-sealing or worry about stains as much. No issues with any of that so far. We haven't seen any cracking or scratching since it was all grouted in. Had a couple spots where some small chips came out before the grout with stuff being moved around, but the guys replaced those before grouting. The stuff has actually been really tough . . . we have 2 teenagers and a 95 pound GSD running around, dropping things, etc. Clean up is nice . . . just vacuum and swiffer or mop. No more stained carpet, if it gets wet, it won't warp, etc. Dog can run around like mad and not a single scratch.

The only downside is that it does get dirty/dusty fast if you have a lot of traffic. Dog tracking in mud/snow/rain and shedding . . . a ton . . . but the cleanup is pretty simple. It's just regular. Outside of cleaning, it has been maintenance free.

[sniper7]

Okay great! Sounds about the same type of traffic we will be dealing with other than 2 young boys and an extra dog but much smaller

[Grant H.]

I laid all the hardwood in our house, and I used Bruce Hickory Pre-finished 3/4" thick flooring from Home Depot.

In the 4 years I have had it down, my work boots, lots of traffic with teenagers from church, and lots of other abuse, I don't actually see any damage.

[SideShow Bob]

The tile will not be as forgiving on your guns, if accidentally dropped. Also the tiles may crack or chip upon impact.

[asmo]

Go for the tile - but make sure to put radiant heat under it. Otherwise that tile feels mighty cold on bare feet.

[buffalobo]

Tile in high use and utility areas, hardwood in low use and living quarters. Radiant heat under all of it.



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[Ah Pook]

I'm leaning toward cork flooring. It seems to have a warmer feel. Second would be bamboo.

Wood floors are easy to install, if you are handy. Not sure about the pre-fab stuff. There can be water concerns.

What are you installing on? Wood or concrete? Any sub-floor heating?

[Irving]

So while we're all chiming in, I've got a few more comments.

Like CStone said, solid wood can be sanded and refinished and the wood will last longer than you. That is a true statement and there are plenty of 100 year-old houses in Denver with original wood floors.
Engineered wood flooring is actual wood all the way through, but it is layered like plywood.
Hardwood:
http://seestedtscarpet.com/Image%20Library/DealerMicrosite/ShawSyndicated/Articles/Description%20Images/hardwood-solid-construction-white-background.jpg?code=d5446ed6-987e-48ff-95f7-8da0e1c88ca2

Engineered:
http://seestedtscarpet.com/Image%20Library/DealerMicrosite/ShawSyndicated/Articles/Description%20Images/hardwood-engineered-construction-white-background.jpg?code=c517c52a-7cd9-4edb-9ba9-a5430e12621d

Installed, they look the same and are similar in price. With engineered, you'll need to consider that you'll have considerably less material to sand and refinish, and depending on the type of engineered, you may not be able to sand and re-finish at all.

This is that same engineered floor installed:
http://seestedtscarpet.com/Image%20Library/DealerMicrosite/ShawSyndicated/Articles/Description%20Images/engineered-wood-kingwood-00405-closeup.jpg?code=ad053e99-40b2-436d-a216-7ba35b34a939

See how the edges aren't flush and there is a faux texture running through the middle of each plank? You wouldn't be able to re-finish this floor because it could never be done evenly and would ruin the look of the entire floor. Even if there wasn't texture running through the field, each piece is still micro beveled from the factory on the edges. Microbeveled flooring can't usually be sanded either because the amount of sanding will not be consistent throughout the entire floor.

Laminate looks good but isn't as durable and is basically just throw away if you have a serious water loss. If you have a pre-finished floor that can't be sanded and re-finished (laminate, engineered with texture or microbevel, etc) even if the manufacturer still makes that exact same flooring material, it will not look the same since one has been sitting in a box, and another one has been sitting in your living room exposed to sunlight.

So if you're going to go wood and are concerned with durability, I'd go solid hardwood as it can be refinished.

Tile will be much more durable and water resistant, but since it will be going over a sub-floor in your case, it is not water proof if you have a big water loss like a dishwasher or washing machine leak. You'll have to ask a contractor, but I've not really seen anyone replace individual tiles, but it seems like that could be done.

I want to point out that obviously my experience with this stuff is from dealing with water loss insurance claims, and it may not be reasonable to select a flooring surface based on how it will react to a catastrophic loss. Like SideShowBob pointed out, some people don't like tile because if they drop a glass, it's more likely to break on tile than on laminate, or more likely to crack a tile than dent a floor, etc. Keep the worst case scenario in the back of your mind, but really you should decide based on every day use. Will it be the most beautiful and durable floor ever, but feel like an icicle all the time? Will it only look good clean, and will be difficult to clean? Is the contractor going to charge you a crazy rate when you could have an equally aesthetically pleasing floor for half the price that will be 90% as durable? Will it be an the most awesome floor ever that will go out of style in five years and no one will want to buy the house when you try to sell it (shag carpet)?

Good luck deciding!

EDIT: I found all those pictures from this site: http://seestedtscarpet.com/
I have nothing to do with them, just found the pictures I wanted from doing an image search.

[Holger Danske]

I put in the wood looking tile on the main level this year withva dark brown grout. Three boys and a Great Pyr and no damage. Stuff gets dropped on it all the time. We went with top of the line tile and everyone that comes in the house cant believe its not real wood. I dont have heated floors but when we run the fireplace the floor really soaks up the heat and retains it for quite awhile. I would definately recommend tile.

[davsel]

Tile over heated subfloor. I used a product called FlexiColor for the grout - premixed kinda poly/grout that never needs sealing and can be dug out and replaced in any size section. Yes, you can easily replace individual tiles - just make sure you have extras since they constantly retire patterns. I've moved 1800lb safes on 2 wheel dolly over the tile as well as all common appliances and never had a chip or crack - good tile will cost a bit more, but it is worth it.

[buffalobo]

+1 on FlexiColor.

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[sniper7]

Great info here guys! Thanks a bunch, hopefully I'll be meeting with the flooring folks soon and can get a good read on pricing for everything and see what we can come up with

[colorider]

I'm in about 5-9 homes a day with my business and see all kinds of the new flooring. Here are some observations and comments from my customers and my experiences.

Tile that looks like wood. Very nice looking. Cold on the feet, the room feels colder, and hard on your feet and back when standing on it long term compared to anything else.
cork. Extremely comfy on the feet. Super duper quiet when walking on it, Softens echos in the room, Dogs can scratch it easily. Biggest plus is how quiet and comfortable it is. Very warm too.
Bamboo. Looks amazing, but everyone I talk to says it can't be refinished. I'm not an expert so I don't know about this. They say the dust is toxic and nobody will sand them. Feels like standard hardwood.