Of all the floor coverings available, ceramic and quarry tiles are the most durable and hardest materials. Properly laid, a hard tile floor should add substantially to the value of your home and the wide range of styles available leaves plenty of room to express your own personal taste in design.

However, before proceeding, it is good to consider the limitations of using ceramic and quarry tile. Most hard tile raises your floor level considerably, which could mean removing baseboards, trim around doors, and putting in wood ramps with adjoining floor surfaces.

Hard tiles are just as good as permanent tiles, so you should think twice about laying them around built-in structures like kitchen units and islands, as the units are likely to be the first to go, leaving holes you might not want. can match.

Solid floors are better suited to hard tiles than suspended wood floors. It is possible to sheath a wood floor, but only if it is absolutely free of structural movement and properly sheathed with plywood. It is also very important to remember that after laying a tile floor, you will no longer have access to the services that run underneath once the tiles are firmly in place.

When looking for your tiles, DIY stores, building dealers and superstores may have limited stocks of the most popular ranges of ceramic tiles, but your choice of quarry tiles is usually quite limited. For the widest selection of all tile types, visit a specialist tile supplier, as most have panels that show the finished effect which may not be what you might have imagined.

Wherever you buy your tiles, the same supplier should be able to supply you with the adhesive, grout, and specialized tools needed to get the job done.

In terms of its design, there are other important things to consider. If the tiling project is for a bathroom or hallway, the tiles are likely to get wet. Tiles for these areas should have a non-slip surface to prevent injury. Mosaics also come in a glossy or matte finish giving you additional options. And do you have a basic preference for flat or broken color? Flat colors produce a nice clean, streamlined effect, but you may find them too clinical if used over a large area. And if the room you are tiling is long and narrow, laying the tiles in a diagonal pattern will give the impression of greater width.