Choosing Kitchen Tiles

Installing kitchen floor tiles is a clever way to add significant beauty throughout the kitchen. Kitchen wall tiles can inspire and delight counter and cabinet areas with elegant design statements. Essentially precise planning when choosing tile types and patterns can make the difference between a sensational and fabulous appearance and a distorted one. To make the right choices it is good to explore and stretch the imagination a bit. Concentrate on horizontal and vertical patterns. Also visualize diagonal and picture frame illustrations. Visualize the types of colours and patterns needed to quote emotion and excitation in order to bring about warmth and enthusiasm.

Kitchen tiles come in many different types and styles. Ceramic, natural stone, glazed, porcelain, granite, marble and even laminate or slate. However, ceramic is the most common term used when discussing kitchen tile types. Most retail and tile supply stores will help during the experimentation and research phase of tile searching by allowing for a few choice selections of each to help make the right choice before making a final selection. To help the kitchen tile project go along smoothly it will be important to measure the length and width of area to be tiled. Additionally multiplying these measurements together will help determine the total square footage of the area to be tiled and will also help ensure the correct number of tiles to be ordered. It is common to allow for a 2% overage when ordering kitchen tiles. The overage allows room for damaged and incorrect measurements during installation and ensures that enough tiles are readily available to complete the kitchen tiling project.

Other materials will include either thin set for flooring tiles and epoxy type adhesive glue for kitchen wall tiles. However, preference of types of installation adhesives can be discussed during the planning stages. Underlay wonder board or sheet rock is recommended for proper installation of flooring tiles and thin set adheres best to these types of underlay. Underlay also enables floor tiles to not crack and break prematurely adding durability and longevity to the life of kitchen flooring tiles. Epoxy based glues are best used for wall tiles unless sheet rock has been installed in the areas where the wall tiles are to be installed. Sheet rock and thin set can be used instead of dry wall and epoxy glue for kitchen wall tiles however, the drywall will need to be uninstalled and sheet rock installed to use thin set for wall tiling.

Types of grouts to use will also be an important factor when choosing different types of kitchen tiles. Some ceramic is porous and latex grouts leave a film on porous ceramic tile. A chemical cleaner is used during the cleaning process after grouting to remove excess and reduce latex build up on the new tiles. Water based and sanded grouts seem to work best with porous ceramic tiles. Be careful when using sanded grouts on glazed and porcelain tiles to not scratch off the glazing by applying excessive elbow power. Adding tile can add beauty and warmth to any kitchen tile project bringing elegance, style, and enthusiasm through careful selections of different colours, patterns and styles.