If you don’t want mud and mess in the outdoor areas of your house then tiling them up is the best option. Now, there are different types of outdoor floor tiles available in the market, but the question is, which one you should buy? Now, every tile has its own characteristics and to understand which one is your best option, you need to know a few basic features of the tiles.
Hardness and Rigidity – Outdoor floor tiles should be dense and hard because light and soft tile will not be able to handle the everyday abuse. Objects like tree limbs, branches will fall, people will drop stuff, etc. will happen regularly. So, the tile has to be hard and rigid.
Durability – Outdoor tiles go through every weather condition. Naturally, if they are not durable enough then they will not be able to manage the sun, rain, snow, moisture, damp, etc.
Porosity – This is a very important point to keep in mind while choosing floor tiles for outdoor. You have to choose a tile option that is not too porous because a tile with higher porosity will absorb water and moisture, stains, dirt, etc. This will damage the tile and eventually lead to cracks.
Non-slippery: After rain or snow the wet outdoor surfaces tend to be slippery. But if you use smaller tiles with more grout lines, these lines will provide grip. But in most of the cases we see people use large blocks of tiles, this means lesser grout lines and less grip.
Now, let’s look at the options for outdoor tiling.
- Marble: Undoubtedly the most popular choice. Marble is durable, resilient and not very porous but has to be sealed. Marble is available in a variety of colours with natural design and textures.
- Granite: Probably the hardest among the natural stones available. Granite is the least porous among the natural stones also. It is also very hard, resilient and durable. It’s also available in different colours.
- Slate: A very unique material compared to other natural stones. Slate is known to be durable and strong but not like marble and granite. The biggest advantage of slate is its looks; if you like the sort of dark colour and finish then it is a very good option for you.
- Limestone and Travertine: These two stones are very alike. Both of them are very porous so they must be sealed and both of them are available in various colours.
- Ceramic: Apart from the natural stones, ceramic is a great option here. Ceramic is a clay-based product prepared by mixing clay with synthetic elements and then hardened them in the oven and finished off with a glaze coating. Ceramic tiles are strong, durable and that glaze coating makes it non-porous.
- Porcelain: This is also a clay-based option. Porcelain and ceramic tiles are very similar, but porcelain tiles are hardened at a higher temperature than ceramic tiles and that’s why they are harder than ceramic tiles.
Both the artificial options are available in a wide range of colour and design options.
Hopefully, this article will give you a clear idea about the outdoor tiles. But before you finalize a product do your own research, compare different prices, installation costs and factor in the maintenance costs too.
