Hardwood floors have been around for a long and are still widely used. Their antique factor plays a key role in this phenomenon, as these floors enhance the look of your house, add strength and value, help with better air quality and bring along an element of classic and timelessness.
However, when it comes to maintaining them, they are a bit of a pain, especially in winters and monsoon. Enter wood-look tiles or wooden tiles. Wooden tiles are unique in their appearance and are made of ceramic tiles instead of real wood, making them immensely durable and long-lasting. In fact, they are also far less expensive than actual hardwood.
With that in mind, let’s have a look at some of the advantages of wooden tiles and how they fare when it comes to choosing the flooring of your home.
Advantages of Wooden Tiles
Affordable
As compared to actual wooden flooring, wooden tiles are much more affordable and cost-effective. This is made possible due to a combination of the entire end-to-end costing right from sourcing the materials, buying, installing, and even the maintenance of the tiles. And while these factors vary by manufacturer, you can still save a hefty sum with wooden tiles.
Another significant advantage here is that you don’t necessarily have to stick to using them just on the flooring. You can very well use them on walls without fearing leakage and other issues that crop up during the winters and monsoon.
Sustainable
If anything, the pandemic has taught us that living a healthy lifestyle goes way beyond what you consume, involving factors like how you live, the origin of your food, carbon footprints, and so on. Using actual wood, in such cases, is pretty harmful to the environment and contributes to the rising climate change.
Wooden tiles, on the other hand, are made from sustainable materials like ceramic, clay, and sand that are out of participation in deforestation and can be recycled wherever required. For instance, the chips of tiles can be used in art, accent walls, road construction, etc.
Resistant To Moisture
One of the biggest issues that homeowners face after installing hardwood for their flooring is its maintenance, especially in humid and cold weather. Even after spending considerable funds, energy and time, you can still expect a lot of add-on expenses in their upkeep. This is so because wood is easily damaged by spills, standing liquids, and humidity. So while you may admire that wooden look, your options for installation places are actually pretty limited. Spaces having high moisture and humidity like bathrooms, swimming pool lounge areas, or even cities having weather replete with moisture and rain are, thus, crossed out.
On the contrary, wooden tiles instantly eliminate all these unfavourable aspects and provide an affordable, durable, and all-year-round flooring option for you. Be it bathrooms or your patio, you can install them without any hesitation. No add-on expense of their upkeep – they require as much cleaning as any other tiles would.
Safe Option
If the demographic of your house is quite dynamic, right from senior citizens to millennials to toddlers and pets, opting for wooden tiles would be your safest bet. Wooden flooring carries around a risk of chips and pointy edges that might cause a safety hazard for everybody in the house, especially the toddlers.
This potentially threatening aspect is subdued by the wood look tiles or wooden tiles that are a hundred times safer and more durable in this scenario. As they resist chipping, they generally stay free of sharp edges that can hurt people. They also steer clear of germs, as any stains on them can be easily wiped off with a clean and damp cloth. In fact, they go one step ahead by being hypoallergenic in nature. This means that you or your toddler won’t be triggered by an allergic reaction.
Easy To Clean & Maintain
While wooden flooring can easily give in to damage when exposed to cleaning routines and chemicals, wooden tiles are just the polar opposite. Wood requires a special cleaning procedure – the floor can’t be too wet and usage of harsh acids or chemicals deteriorates its quality and lifespan.
On the other hand, cleaning and maintaining a wooden tile is as simple as brooming and mopping with lukewarm water. Nevertheless, it is always best and advised to stay away from harsh, abrasive cleaning agents that can seep through the tiles due to their strong and acidic nature.
While the advantages are aplenty, a few cons are also associated with such tiles.
Few Disadvantages Of Having Wooden Tiles
Turn Cold
As tiles retain cold during winters, this could be a slight disadvantage. However, this is something that you can manage pretty easily. Throw in a warm rug, and you are good to go!
Slightly Difficult To Install
As tiles are quite precisely cut and manufactured, every flaw after installation will be visible. Hence, utmost care should be taken to avoid scratches, cuts, and gaps. Again, this is pretty straightforward to handle by ensuring that you get these tiles installed by professionals for avoiding any mishandling.
Some genuinely good information, Gladiola I found this. “The beauty seen is partly in him who sees it.” by Christian Nestell Bovee.