Last phase of construction of a home includes tiles, paint and lighting. Yet, these three are the vital parts of interior designing. Interior beauty of a newly constructed home solely depends on these three factors and bad designing of any one of these factors can completely spoil the interior beauty of your newly constructed home. Normally tile work is done after painting and it’s done using marbles, granites or ceramic designer tiles according to individual preference. Earlier marble and granite were used most. Tile flooring is the latest trend. Wide variety of patters and colours, less expense comparing granite and easily washable makes it everyone’s favourite. Its designs and finishing are absolutely perfect and that’s the reason why tiles are most popular nowadays. Though tiles are available in easily affordable prices, people searching for high quality, high priced tiles are also not rare. Vitrified and ceramic tiles are the most popular ones. Now, days of dark flooring has gone when people used to choose dark coloured marbles and granite stones for their interior. They did so to hide dirt of their interior. But now everyone wants white and cream colour to bring more light and brightness to their homes.

Vitrified tile is super in finish

Glossy vitrified tiles can compete with high quality marbles and granites, in terms of finishing. Ivory and off-white colours have high demand. Dark colours are most commonly used for borders and drawing designs on floor. Glossy, mat, rustic – vitrified tiles are available in three varieties of which glossy type has high market comparing other two. They are also available as slabs of 2X2, 3X2, 4X4 and 8X8 feet pieces. Now its price starts from rupees 50 onwards.

Its defect is stain absorption. Yet, many companies claim that their tiles don’t have that defect. It’s not a nice idea to believe them fully. You can choose vitrified tiles for bedrooms, living rooms and sit out.

Ceramic tiles that resist stains

Ceramic tiles are more convenient to use and can be cleaned easily. It never absorbs stains and gives extra grip while flooring is done. These are the peculiarities of ceramic tiles. So, it is better to lay ceramic tiles in kitchen, work area and bathroom. It’s available not in mat, glossy and rustic finishes. Not only that, they are also available in wooden finish and antique finish. 1X1 feet, 2X2 feet and 16X16 inches – they are available in different sizes according to brands. A ceramic tile is available at around 40 rupees onwards. Ceramic tiles are not as shiny as vitrified ones. They are also available as joint free rectified tiles. They are a bit expensive than smaller pieces. But all vitrified tiles are rectified ones. As 2X2 feet ceramic tile cost is almost equal to vitrified tiles, now it is not produced widely. It may soon disappear from Indian market. Ceramic tile is also known as porcelain tiles. Now semi-vitrified tiles are also available in market. Very often porcelain tiles are sold in the name of semi-vitrified tiles.

Freshness in design

Tiles are used for giving designs to floors. Border designing and button work have already expired. Now, borders are drawn to place furniture like a sofa set and the remaining area is left plain without any design. It is also done just opposite. i.e. designs for entire area except furniture. Designs should be given only to spacious rooms. Otherwise your room may appear small with broad designs on the floor.

Before buying tiles

You may be cheated while buying tiles for your flooring. There are tiles with small defects. Also in the same pattern, colour and designs different quality of tiles are available in two or three grades. Very often, tiles of different grades are mixed and sold.

You may get semi-vitrified tiles in the name of vitrified ones and it’s a difficult task for a normal person to distinguish between these two. So, it’s better to buy from good shops or ask an expert to follow you while you are purchasing the tiles. Before purchasing just visit a few shops and go through their products and prices. Then compare them to choose the best one. You can also ask your doubts to a person who has most recently done his flooring using tiles.

It is always better to buy a few more tiles than what actually required for your construction. During flooring process, some tiles may get damaged or broken and we should keep in mind this factor also. It may not be an easy task to purchase exactly the same pattern in same size and colour.

Always use expert workers for your flooring. Otherwise it may damage whole beauty of your new home and it may cost more to renovate the flooring later. It is better to do work in a perfect manner than seeing a bad floor design everyday, throughout your life.

When tiling is to be done

Tiles are to be spread only after every work of your home. i.e. even after cupboard fittings and whole painting. Otherwise there are more chances for tile damage and getting stains. Also, if liquids which may cause damage to floor come into contact with it, remove the stains as early as possible with a moist cloth. Otherwise it may be difficult to remove stains later. Now stain removers of different types are available in market.

Athangudi tiles

They are also known as Chettinad tiles and they are produced in Karaikudi region of south Tamil Nadu. These tiles are built by villagers manually without the help of machines. It is done by mixing clay, cement and oxides in a special combination. Then they are placed on a mould and pressed using glass to get tiles. It is done without passing air and then wetted and dried later. Drying is done in shady places only. They are available in 8X8, 8X10, 10X10 pieces.

Athungudi tiles are got in 8 basic colours. Flowers, leaves and geometric patterns form a part of their design. In addition to floor tiles, walls tiles and sciatic tiles are also available. Though they are beautiful, they can’t defend stains. Also, colour may fade if exposed to sunlight. Tiles may slightly vary in colours. No polishing is needed and these tiles are to be spread after all construction work is completed.  

While renovating mosaic flooring

For changing old mosaic floor to tiles, no need to destroy the previous floor. Instead you can place old tiles on top of it. Now gums are readily available in market that can be used to stick marble, granite or tiles on the top of old floor. Mix the powder and water in the ration 3:1 and apply in 3mm thickness. You can fix tiles on top and use after 24 hours.

Tiles are suitable for any type of design - either traditional or contemporary. Through this article, I have given a brief idea of different tiles used in modern constructions. Hoping it will help you to make a better decision for your flooring.