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Tiles are one of the most integral materials used when building a house or planning Interiors. The basic composition of tiles is of clay, sand, and water. These are baked and a top layer of glaze is applied to make them non-porous. With porosity being taken care of, tiles are used in areas where water is used, namely toilets, kitchens, terraces, etc. This is functionality, to merge it with aesthetics, tiles are available in numerous sizes, thickness, designs, details, composition, etc. These can instantly make space convey the right message through their designs, details, and application.
Wall Tiles v.s. Floor Tiles: Which One is Better?
Pankaj Poddar, the co-founder of Hipcouch, an Interior Design Company shares, "A huge range is available in the market to cater to the huge demand to fulfil functional and aesthetic needs. Tiles are used on floors and walls of toilets. When out in the market to select, there are certain basic pointers to remember. Floor and wall tiles are different in their compositions, sizes, and thickness, which defines their application surface."
Here are some differences so we can judge for our next remodel.
1. Size
Aesthetically, larger tiles are preferred on floors as it gives less number of joints and hence looks seamless. But the same when done on walls may look overpowering. Hence smaller size tiles are preferred for walls and larger sizes for floor.
2. Thickness
The thickness of a tile is dependent on the function it is supposed to be performing. By that logic, since floor tiles are meant to take wear and tear of human traffic, and also be load-bearing they are thicker. As opposed to this, wall tiles serve a protective function from water seeping in walls and do not require any load-bearing capacity. Hence walls tiles are usually less thick. It must be noted that floor tiles can be used on the wall, but wall tiles should not be used on the floor.
3. Friction
Every tile has a level of friction. This is meant by the resistance to movement, which in normal terms would determine if the surface is too smooth to walk on. Floor tiles are determined safe to use if they provide a level of friction to walk on, which means it won't be too smooth to walk on and avoid skidding or slipping. The same need not be considered for Wall tiles for obvious reasons.
4. Durability
As stated earlier, floor tiles are meant to be load-bearing, as such, they need to pass levels of Durability and hardness. This is determined by a rating called PEI (porcelain Enamel institute). These range between 1 to 5, 5 being extremely durable and 1 being the least. Maximum the rating, greater the durability, hence is it safe to say, 1 to 3 can be used for walls, whereas 3 to 5 must be the rating to choose floor tile.
5. Aesthetics
Aesthetics are the primary reason why a tile is selected. It has to sit with the sensibilities of the rest of the house. Floor tiles come in every color, design, or can be cut in any pattern to install. Wall tiles, too come in such a huge variety, and since smaller sizes can be used, there is the scope of introducing mosaics, intricate details, etc.
6. Installation
The installation of floor and wall tiles is more or less the same, but since the thickness of floor tiles is more than that of wall tiles, cutting these to shapes usually takes longer. Wall tiles, on the other hand, can be cut quickly due to less thickness.
7. Cost
Both tiles can cost the same depending on many factors like size, thickness, material composition, and pattern. The cost of both can be very close since, cost point of floor tiles depends on size and durability, whereas for walls, it depends on aesthetics.
8. Life
Wall tiles and floor tiles have the same life span if installed correctly. If properly installed tiles do not sustain any damage for years to come and only get changed when the user wants to go for a different look over time.
Overall, wall tiles and floor tiles both have their uses and aesthetics. It is just a matter of knowing what's best for space in terms of use and look.