Floors have long been acquainted with ceramic tile. It has been used in the design of buildings for thousands of years. We know this because tile and mosaic floors have been found that date back to 4,000 BC. Mosaic floors in ancient Rome are uncovered in amazing condition thousands of years after they were first laid down. That is a durable material! No matter what you throw at ceramic tile, it is up to the task. Extremely scratch resistant, ceramic tile hardness is often compared to some of the hardest minerals on the planet.
Whether it’s high heels, sand or grit on the bottom of a shoe or the occasional skateboarder gliding across the floor, nothing fazes the durability of ceramic tile.
For this super power in the durability department, you would expect this material to be difficult to maintain. However, ceramic tile is nearly maintenance free! It is unaffected by muddy shoes, laughs off spilt sticky beverages and even fights off burning embers popping from a fireplace. Typically, just a mild detergent and water is all that is needed to keep your tile looking new for decades.
So this wonder tile from the ancient past must cost a great deal to own, correct? Just the opposite. Tile has almost no maintenance cost, increases the value of your home and will practically last forever, making it the best value over all other floor covering options! In the past decade a very detailed study was conducted by an independent research organization that concluded ceramic tile has the lowest life cycle cost compared to 12 other popular floor covering products including hardwood, VCT, carpet and laminates.
After these revelations about ceramic tile, how could any other material compare? We’ve never been quite able to answer that question ourselves – tile is the clear winner in the categories of durability, maintenance and cost. But we are not done detailing the virtues of tile. In our next post, we will let you in on even more reasons to love it!