Paying tribute to fashion, people use the latest materials for building houses, without thinking about their durability and wear resistance, and if for a number of works you can not be particularly picky when choosing building materials and tools, then what and how the floors in the premises are burrowed, has, if not the most important, then one of the primary values.
Tiles made of natural or artificial stone have been used for this purpose for centuries, it is natural that marble floors are great and beautiful, but the high cost and impressive heaviness of natural stone does not allow it to be used everywhere. As for modern ceramic tiles and porcelain stoneware (and this is far from the same thing), their use is justified one hundred percent. However, many questions regarding what size of floor tiles to choose, what shape and whose production to buy this finishing material, haunt all those who started repairs.
Standard
In today's article we will talk about what are the significant differences between ordinary decorative and floor ceramics, which means the thickness of the tile and its size, whether this parameter has informative value or is only an aesthetic component that meets design needs. So what are the most common floor tile sizes?
For the floor, manufacturers mainly offer square tiles with side sizes from 10 cm to 60 cm. For ease of manufacture and subsequent implementation, the size step in standard products is approximately 5 cm, that is, each element from the collection will be equal to such parameters:
- 1010cm;
- 1515cm;
- 2020 cm etc.
However, it should be borne in mind that the production of ceramic tiles is a rather complex and unpredictable process, and the material in different batches may have some discrepancy in color, shade, thickness. Sizes of floor tiles also sometimes differ, so experienced craftsmen recommend taking them in reserve to avoid problems with subsequent installation.
The average parameter for the width and length of ceramic floor cladding, which is most often found in goods from the middle price category, which is most in demand among buyers, is 3333 cm. These are the optimal dimensions, since such tiles are not affected by too high pressure during operation, which helps to avoid cracking and breakage.
Maxi size
Lasttime shops offer spoiled consumers unique and very original collections of ceramic tiles. The most spectacular examples are those that are huge. Large size floor tiles can be:
- 5050, 5060, 50100cm;
- 6060, 60100, 60120cm;
- 75100, 75150cm;
- 100100, 100200cm;
- 120120cm;
- 150150, 150300 cm.
Of course, these dimensions require ideal space for installation. In addition to the fact that the room itself must be large and spacious, the floors should be prepared for laying with tiles of this size with great care. Any unevenness will interfere with the beautiful joining of the seams of the flooring elements.
Floor tile sizes can be quite small, for example, mosaic also works great as a flooring material, besides, it looks just luxurious. But contrary to popular belief, it is sold not in tiny squares of 22 cm, but in impressive layers, most often 3030 cm, each element is fixed to the mounting grid, which makes it easy to cut the sheet, adjusting it to the original size of the room.
Natural beauty
Dreaming of wood or natural stone floors? The noble and rich texture of wood attracts many, but if this option is acceptable for a bedroom or a hall, then the bathroom, kitchen and hallway will not tolerate such tenderness. Temperature fluctuations, heightened importance and exposurefrequent washing provokes rapid wear of parquet and laminate. Stone paving is too expensive and heavy, which also greatly limits its use by property owners.
In this case, you can go for a trick - use a new type of tile called porcelain stoneware. This is a tile created using a special technology that involves very high temperatures and squeezing the ceramic mass from which the individual elements are formed.
This material has increased strength, which allows you to make floor tiles (porcelain stoneware) larger than conventional samples. In addition, manufacturers offer not only standard square or slightly oblong tiles, but also thin strips imitating wooden boards, marble, granite.
Various tones, magnificent drawings and very realistic execution allow you to create amazing interiors on the verge of fantasy. Pleases and abundance of sizes:
- 1145, 1190 cm;
- 1545, 1560, 1590cm;
- 1960, 19120cm;
- 25100, 25150 cm.
These are indicators of an oblong tile, a square tile is most often the same size as a regular ceramic one.
It happens sometimes
What seems like a battered junk to some is the trend of the season for others. So, many factories have tiles that look like an aged board, each manufacturer brings his own zest to his offspring in order to stand out from the competition.
Some of them offertiles in the form of a rhombus or hexagon. Such options allow you to fantasize with styling as much as you like, creating completely different interiors from the same source material.
The dimensions of the floor tiles in this case are small 14.514.5 cm, 14.324.7 cm, which gives the tiled surface an incredibly noble appearance.
Know-how
One of the most extravagant examples of ceramic tiles on the domestic market is the Venus Chevron collection from Spain. They created and patented a tile with a unique angular shape. Its dimensions are 44.566.5 cm, but despite such massive dimensions, its use is possible in any room.
Great appearance, unique jointing system, low percentage of waste after laying are the main advantages, however, like everything unique, this type of finish has a rather high cost.
Simple ceramic flooring?
In addition to the width and length, when choosing a tile, it is important to consider its thickness. For floors, this parameter is especially important. A simple ceramic cladding, which is used to decorate walls, usually has no more than 1 cm of thickness, more often it is 5 mm at all. For flooring, this is not enough: the tile will be constantly subjected to mechanical stress, it is put under pressure by human walking, furniture, and the fall of various objects. If you choose too thin material, there is a high probability of breaks and cracks.
The thickness of the floor tiles should be in the range of 6.5-11mm. As for porcelain stoneware, which has increased strength, it can be thin, simple and thickened. The first and second options are used in residential premises, shops, offices, their strength allows them to successfully cope with a high level of traffic. Thick porcelain stoneware slabs, which can exceed 15 mm, are more often found in supermarkets, airports, warehouses, some types of sidewalks and garden paths are laid out, their high weight and strength make it possible not to use mortar or tile adhesive as a fixative.
Bathroom
The dimensions of bathroom floor tiles are not critical. However, when choosing, it is important to consider the area of \u200b\u200bthe room. Often it does not differ in scale and it will not work for us to beautifully place huge slabs of a meter.
You always need to take into account the thickness of the tile, and as a result, its ability to resist pressure, if the situation involves the placement of a heavy cast-iron or stone bath, a large sink or household appliances, you need to arrange these items so that their weight is distributed as evenly as possible.
Tiles that are too small can be inconvenient for cleaning: high humidity in the room provokes the appearance of fungi and mold in the tile joints, and the more there are, the more time-consuming and painstaking task their cleaning will be.
Kitchen flooring requirements
Kitchen floor tile sizes require a more critical approach. Important to considerall its parameters: length, width, thickness. Porcelain stoneware will be a more durable and practical material for kitchen spaces due to its strength and resistance to various damages, because it is designed just to replace the more fragile ceramic tiles.
