Wood effect tiles vs hardwood

4 years ago

I have just bought a new property in Wandsworth and the whole first floor is open plan... kitchen into living room. A great wide space. Currently the kitchen is tiled and living is carpet and we want to have the same floor throughout in either hardwood or wood effect tiles - so we get clean lines from the front of the house all the way to the back (garden). Wood effect tiles are certainly more durable but could make the living area very cold... where as hardwood may look magnificent throughout but may not withstand a family with kids approaching their teens! Thoughts?

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PRO

OnePlan

4 years ago

This client of ours used ceramic wood effect tiles - it’s very family friendly and looks awesome ! Surprisingly easy to keep clean too !

https://www.houzz.co.uk/projects/1684950/client-photo-shoot

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Comments (11)

PRO
At No 19
4 years ago
Wood effect tiles are certainly practical and you can easily warm up the living room with large area rugs. Two examples of wood effect tiles below
Barton on Sea kitchen and Orangery · More Info

Highclifffe refurbishment project · More Info

Wood too always looks fantastic, particularly when new, but it is not practical in a kitchen. Your other option is high quality laminate (e.g Quickstep). The example below is a driftwood effect but it comes in a wide range of more conventional wood grains too. Lay it and forget about it, other than a quick wipe over with a microporous mop routinely.
Barton on Sea refurbishment project; open plan kitchen/diner/lounge · More Info
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Thank you Ironwood Builders. I did not want to appear unappreciative of Studio M's advice, but the one thing i hate on a floor are wood effect tiles.The person i was buying the kitchen off thought that a contrast to Maple eg. terracotta,slate or any darker tile would be effective with Maple.Sorry for the misinformation.
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Kitchen's suffer from extreme humidity variation, so you should fully adhere the solid or engineered flooring to avoid a bowing/warping floor in a few months time However, here's another viable option; luxury vinyl tiles (LVT). Generally, LVTs are 2.5mm thick, made from 100% pvc (therefore waterproof), come with a thick polyurethane wear layer that normally is backed up with a manufacturers warranty, with a wood or stone effect finish. LVTs are great with underfloor heating and unlike ceramics, they don't break when heavy objects are dropped on them and unlike wooden floors, once laid, LVTs need no further maintenance other than regular vacuuming and washing. LVTs are almost indestructible! There are many options available but us Flooring Gurus recommend going for a recognised brand. The whole idea about an LVT is for it to look authentic. They need to genuinely look like the wood or stone flooring they are mimicking. Cheap alternatives, when installed, look ... well ... awful! Try looking at Polyflor's Colonia and Camaro. We sell these products online at www.flooringmegastore.co.uk and if you made contact with us, we'd be happy to despatch a few free of charge samples to you, plus a glossy catalogue, to help you research the products a bit more. We're the Flooring Gurus!
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Have you considered luxury vinyl planks? Waterproof, damp mop, easy to replace, and softer on your feet. I have tile in half of my house and wish I could replace it. It's hard on your feet, especially when you're standing for long periods of time in the kitchen. If it cracks, it's a pain to replace. You have to keep plenty of extra on hand for replacement because cracks are inevitable, either from something dropping on them or from settling. The flooring person I spoke with told me they're selling vinyl in even high end installations. He said they just installed 2300 square feet in a million dollar penthouse condo. Hope this helps!
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And also there is some original tile left and I was toying with the idea of tiling over that strip all the way to the wall to create a small corridor of tile as you come in the front door for the 'hallway' that once was, to add interest and a sense of separation between kitchen and hall because the door opens into the kitchen directly which isn't ideal (we had to do away with a small pocket door and partition wall there.) and then do the rest in marmoleum. Would this look weird or should I just do the marmoleum throughout?
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Sonia
4 years ago
My step daughter has wood effect porcelain tiles in her living room through to the garden room and it looks lovely. Not cold at all, but she does have underfloor heating!
PRO
Italian Design Ltd
4 years ago
Hi Jason,

Modern engineered hardwood flooring are designed to withstand residential use. Some engineered floors are even designed to withstand high traffic and come with abrasion resistance certificates. Realistically, under normal condition of use, quality hardwood flooring will last a lifetime in residential environments.

As always, it's a matter of priorities. If you are looking for a practical floor can can be thoroughly cleaned with household cleaning products, then I would strongly recommend porcelain tiles. As you pointed out, tiles can be a bit cold and will be cold from day 1. If you are looking for that "magnificent look" that you mentioned then you should look at hardwood flooring, that are less practical and do require more care but will look great for many years.

Alternatively, laminate and LVT are a good compromise between look and durability and tend to be the inexpensive choice.
PRO
House 2 Home Design
4 years ago
Wood effect tiles are lovely and easy to clean however like other people including yourself have noted, they can be cold with no underfloor heating. What is your subfloor. Below a pic of grey wood effect tiles of a recent flat renovation i did, but thank goodness for underfloor heating (sadly there had to be carpet involved in living area due to lease restriction). Engineered wood is a good option but for a kitchen I would definitely go for lacquered preferably matt lacquered which will be both more hard wearing and more stain proof. Solid wood definitely a no go due to humidity levels in kitchen areas even if its open plan. Hope this helps.
PRO
Brandler London
4 years ago
I would confirm what Italian Design has to say as the technology of floor lacquers has improved dramatically over the recent years and these days you can buy floors with the thickness of the natural wood being on a few mm thick that come with a 10 year plus guarantee.

Having said that I am a purist and if you can afford it I would always go with the solid hardwood floor with the right lacquer having been applied! :-)
PRO
House 2 Home Design
4 years ago
@ brandler. would you not worry on expansion and movement if solid wood floor is used in areas of high humidity?
PRO
Brandler London
4 years ago
@ House 2 Home Design - The simple answer to that question is no. If the floor is installed correctly with the necessary expansion gaps at the perimeters then there should be no problem.

Problems do occur when an expansion gap is not installed and this can causes the floor to swell upwards as the wood expands. It should be noted that the size of the gap differs from product to product and is concealed by the skirting.

Another mistake which causes problems with solid wood floors is where the skirting is fixed to the wooden floor without leaving any tolerance and this prevents the wood from expanding and again causes the floor to swell upwards.

It should also be noted that even with an engineered wooden floor an expansion gap should always be allowed.

With regards to humidity, it is not that great in a kitchen area on a constant basis and I have installed solid wood flooring to rooms that are adjacent to swimming pools; now that is a high humidity situation! :-)

In the case of very high quality solid wood floor installations I have often stuck the floor to a plywood sub-floor, however this is not a common requirement for standard residential projects.

I hope that this helps.
PRO
House 2 Home Design
4 years ago
Comprehensive thank you!
minipie
4 years ago
We are in the same area and have recently made the same decision. In the end we have chosen wood effect porcelain tiles (as large and realistic as we could find). We will have UFH to take any chill off. No pics yet as they are being laid in a few weeks...!

We do prefer wood aesthetically but we have two young and lively children and will have pets, we knew wood would be scratched within days, and there could be wet patches or pens/playdoh etc left on it which could cause discoloration. Yes wood floors can be resanded but realistically that would only get done every few years maximum and in the meantime we would have to live with the marks.

Ultimately it depends on how careful your family is and how much marks will bother you. If you’re happy with a lived in look with a few marks then go for wood. If you want something more bombproof then go for tiles with UFH.
Jason Keane
Original Author
4 years ago
Much appreciated everyone. Some incredible detail here. Friends of ours just laid wood effect tiles across their entire ground floor, and I'll report back on the look and their opinion.

Wood effect tiles vs hardwood

OnePlan

Comments (11)

At No 19

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Wood effect tiles vs hardwood

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