Tile and Stone Floors

The most durable of all floorings are tile and stone-materials that, when properly installed, last the lifetime of a house. This toughness combined with the natural beauty of stone and the incredible array of tile types, colors, patterns and textures makes tile and stone the materials of choice where quality and character are most important.

Tile and stone are fundamentally different. Stone is just what it's name implies: quarried slate, limestone, flagstone, granite or marble. Tile is made from slabs of clay that are fired for hardness. A third material, stone tile, is made from real stone aggregate suspended in a polymer binder. This is a relatively affordable alternative to stone.

Tile may be either glazed or unglazed. Glazed tiles have very hard, smooth surfaces that reject water and stains. The glaze, applied between the first firing and a second one, gives the tile color and texture. Glazed tile comes in every color of the rainbow and may be high gloss, satin, matte or dull and may be smooth or textured.

Unglazed tile is unfinished, so is usually the color of the fired clay or an added pigment. It doesn't scratch as easily as glazed tile but, because it doesn't have the hard surface finish, it is more liable to stain. It is generally treated with a sealer or wax for protection.

Tile is made in many different sizes from 12 by 12-inch (or larger) pavers to tiny mosaic tiles that are sold pre-arranged on a webbed backing.

The joints between tiles are filled with grout. The type of grout most commonly used is a very fine, thin mortar that is sometimes colored but epoxy-base grouts are also used on occasion.

Flooring tile should have a nonskid, stainproof surface (if it's only stain-resistant, it should be sealed and routinely resealed for protection). The slipperiness of a particular tile is rated by a friction coefficient and, more than anything, this is a factor that limits where or whether a tile should be used as a floor material.

Because tile and stone floors are heavy, rigid and unforgiving of movement, they are applied over a strong, unyielding base-otherwise they will crack. Wood subfloors are either reinforced with a secondary underlayment of plywood, cement backer board or-for a more durable application-a bed of mortar. Tile may be laid on a concrete slab using a thin-set adhesive.

Conventional mortar bed installation is the method used by most professional tile installers. Tar paper and reinforcing wire mesh are installed over a 3/4-inch plywood subfloor. A 3/4-inch (or thicker) mortar bed is laid, sometimes in two coats, and then the tile is adhered to this base with thin-set adhesive. Last, grout is added between the tiles.

Cement backer board provides an easy-to-install and relatively sound backing for tile. It is applied to a 5/8-inch plywood subfloor with adhesive and screws, then the tile is bonded to the backer board with thin-set adhesive.

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