Calling in the Contractors

5 Reason to Choose Porcelain Tiles Instead of Natural Stone for Your Bathroom

14 September 2017 by Frank Elliott

Homeowners often go into a bathroom renovation assuming stone tiles are the best flooring option. Sure, stone tiles can be great, but you'll find that porcelain tiles provide advantages above and beyond stone.

If you're renovating your bathroom and still feel unsure about your flooring choice, here are just five reasons why you should use porcelain tiles instead of stone tiles.

1. Exhaustive Design Options

Stone is a natural product, so your design options are dictated by what has already been chosen by Mother Nature. Not that Mother Nature doesn't have a rockin' sense of style, but it's nice to be able to customize the appearance of your bathroom floor more fully, so why not go for porcelain tiles? They're available in pretty much every colour, pattern, and texture you could imagine. In fact, you can pick up porcelain tiles that look indistinguishable from natural stone.

2. Extremely Durable

Stone is certainly strong, but it has a few natural defects. Stone tiles, for example, will often have weak spots, and the tiny fissures that run along its surface can form into cracks under pressure. Stone is actually quite soft, so some varieties, especially marble, can crack relatively easily. As for porcelain, it is made from clays fired at extremely high temperatures, resulting in a much denser material that offers a measure of durability superior that of natural stone.

3. Consistent Quality

The fact that porcelain tiles are manmade might strike you as a disadvantage. However, that only means that they will be produced in controlled plants, where colours and quality are kept consistent. Each tile can look exactly like the next and take on the exact same dimensions, which isn't almost possible with natural stone.

4. Minimal Maintenance

The surface of natural stone is porous, which means it is susceptible to staining. If you drop a bottle of shampoo or some makeup, you could mar the surface for good. This is why natural stone needs to be protected at all times with a penetrating sealer. Porcelain tiles are entirely non-porous, making them impervious to staining without any need for sealing.

5. Reduced Cost

Despite their many benefits, porcelain tiles are a lot cheaper than natural stone tiles. After all, the material doesn't need to be quarried from the ground, cut down to shape, and then shipped to your location. Bathroom renovations tend to be quite costly, so why not cut down on your expenses by using porcelain tiles instead of natural stone tiles for the flooring?

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