Opinions on ceramic tile throughout entire house except....

[1GirlTwinBoys]

bedrooms. We're looking at homes, and we are supposed go view one this weekend that has tile everywhere, even in finished walkout basement. The bedrooms have carpet but that's it. Any thoughts or opinions on this? It seems much cleaner than carpet, but also very cold and hard.:confused:

[Parrothead]

Tile tends to be slippery when wet. I'd be afraid of a fall. I'm not a big fan of tile.

[KnitWit]

I guess it depends upon where you live. I grew up in FL and we loved tile floors! It was so *cool* in the summer. We threw rugs down in the winter.

[1GirlTwinBoys]

I guess it depends upon where you live. I grew up in FL and we loved tile floors! It was so *cool* in the summer. We threw rugs down in the winter.

 

 

Yes, my SIL lives in FL and they have tile floors and love it. I can understand with all the sand etc... I live in KY though and it's not common here. I would much prefer hardwood floors.

[Chris in VA]

I prefer wood, because as Parrothead said, it's not as slippery. Does the tile have any texture? That can help with the slipperiness.

 

I wouldn't mind it, though. Certainly is easy to keep clean! I'd definitely take the carpet out of the bedrooms, as it's the room I spend the most time in, and I don't like breathing in all the yuck carpets hold.

 

I would put down throw rugs or area rugs in some of the tiled areas to warm it up--just make sure they are securely fastened.

[Jennifer in MI]

We had ceramic tile in ONE room in our old house and I HATED it!!! It was HARD. VERY hard. I can't tell you how many times my toddlers tripped and hit their heads on it.

 

And, it's slippery. Heaven forbid water get on it! It's nearly impossible NOT to fall. (and hit your head)

 

And, it's HARD. Have I mentioned that? If I had to stand on it for longer than about 10 minutes, my feet and back hurt.

 

Can you guess what my vote is for having it in the whole house? LOL

[Chris in VA]

You know, it really IS hard. I'd forgotten that I had plantar fascitis really badly when we moved into this house, with its wood floors, after living in a carpeted home.

That is something to think about, certainly.

 

Still like the cleanliness aspect, tho.

[Jennifer in MI]

You know, it really IS hard. I'd forgotten that I had plantar fascitis really badly when we moved into this house, with its wood floors, after living in a carpeted home.

That is something to think about, certainly.

 

Still like the cleanliness aspect, tho.

 

I should say - it really is easy to clean!!! That was about the only good thing I can think of. But, hardwood is just as easy without all those negatives I listed above!

[AngieW in Texas]

I can't stand tile floors. I'd far rather have vinyl than tile. Tile is very hard and really hurts my feet. I have plantar fascitis and have to be very careful about the time I spend barefoot.

[The Girls' Mom]

In Kentucky, those floors will be FREEZING cold in the winter unless you have the radiant floor heat. I too would take hardwood over tile, especially anywhere that had cold winters. It IS easy to clean though and I would take just about anything over carpet :D

[GailV]

I should say - it really is easy to clean!!! That was about the only good thing I can think of. But, hardwood is just as easy without all those negatives I listed above!

 

Well, easy to clean until a toddler armed with a box of crayons decides to color in all the grout lines while you're busy with something else.

[Mergath]

We have a lot of tile in our apartment. It's easier to keep clean, but if I were going to have any more children, I'd never choose to have tile. It's so hard on tiny knees. I still think part of the reason my dd was late crawling was because she didn't want to have to be banging her knees against the tile all the time.

 

Also, our grout gets dirty and is nearly impossible to clean. Even when I scrub for an hour, it's still sort of a grey color.

 

Our tile is textured, too, and once dirt gets into the little grooves and whatnot, the only way you can get it out is to get down on hands and knees and use a scrub brush. Mops do nothing.

 

If I could choose, I'd take hardwood floors any day.

[Kalypso]

Tile is hard. Anything you drop will most likely shatter. It can be slippery when wet depending on the type of tile. Easy to mop, but cleaning grout lines is no fun.

 

Also, there is the noise factor. Tiled homes seem to echo more and 5 kids practicing the piano or having a nerf gun fight can drive a person crazy. Ask me how I know.:) Of course, many rugs can help with the noise, but it's not the same as carpeted rooms.

 

In Arizona, it is very common for the entire house to be tiled or just the bedrooms carpeted. It does help with keeping it cool in the summer.

 

Tile wouldn't stop me from purchasing a home unless it was really ugly or in bad shape since it is a huge job to remove it, but I live in AZ.

[HayesW]

My sister lives in COlorado, and it seems to be the norm there. As much as my boys jump and fall, I would worry about concussions!

[MaMa2005]

Our whole house is tile (except the stairs) and I love it. I agree with the other posters about the negatives (hard, cold, things shatter, etc.), but the positives of knowing that accidents clean up easily (potty training, vomiting, etc.), lots of children running in and out without removing shoes ("Oh, gosh, I forgot!") and truly clean floors with no dust trapped anywhere will keep me loving my tile forever.

[1GirlTwinBoys]

I really didn't like the tile floors all through the house. Definitely not something I want. I'm glad I went and looked at the house just to confirm I don't want all tile or a 2 story.:)

[TXMary2]

We have tile in the kitchen, foyer, laundry and all the bathrooms. On the pro side, they are easy to clean. However, if you drop something on them you can forget about it. Either the thing you dropped shatters or if it is a heavy item your tile can get chipped. Also, if the house settles at all you can end up with hair line cracks. We have a crack in the laundry area.:glare:

[LibraryLover]

I like ceramic tile.

[Lily of the Valley]

The only thing I really, really dislike about tile is the grout. We have tile in our kitchen, hallway, and entryway. The grout is white, and it's impossible to keep clean. When we put new tile in one of the bathrooms, we went with a dark colored grout and I love it!

[Lady Florida.]

We live in Florida, and while I love how tile helps keep the house cool, I would not choose it again. It is very hard on my back. I can't walk barefoot at home because if I do, I end up with major back pain by the end of the day.

 

ETA: I'm surprised at the number of things I've dropped on the tile that didn't break, and we've never had a problem with it being slippery (it's slightly textured but still rather smooth). But what it does to my back is just awful.

Edited May 1, 2011 by floridamom

[Twilight Woods]

I would love to have tile on my first floor with the exception of the family room.

 

I have laminate hardwood and I hate it! I use a Shark Steamer for cleaning and it works so well on tile but not on my laminate. With dogs, kids and a husband It would make my life easier if it was all tile.

[Plucky]

I love tile. I hate what carpet we have left. I cannot wait to change it out.

[cin]

Tile tends to be slippery when wet. I'd be afraid of a fall. I'm not a big fan of tile.

 

 

Oh yeah. We still laugh the day that flew into the bathroom, my feet flew out from under me, and I was laying naked at DH feet. :D

 

 

And, as everybody else has said, it's hard, and anything that drops either breaks or chips the tile. And the grout. Seal the grout. No matter what. Blood on white unsealed tile, perfume, cat pee, tomato sauce or brown sauce. Grout is pretty porous, unless it's sealed. And re-sealed every year or so. (dirty feet, mud, etc. also).

Edited May 1, 2011 by cin

[Denisemomof4]

VERY hard. I know people who have ACHING backs due to their tile. When I stayed with my parents for a week in AZ, I was in excruciating pain in my feet, which radiated up my legs, from all the walking on that tile. Wearing shoes did NOTHING. I had to take Advil for a week after I left.

[sewingmama]

Well we live in Australia and most of the houses are done that way now. Our last house had patterned tile and I loathed it because to get it to look clean you had to scrub on hands and knees and there was no way I was doing that for an entire house.

 

Our current house has smooth white tile. I hate that it's white because it shows up all the dirt and I have to mop the entire house 3-4 times a week. I have to wear shoes inside all the time or it kills my heels. It feels very cold and empty in winter but nice and cool in summer.

 

The biggest bonus is that it is easy to clean especially with little kids. We only have carpet in the bedrooms and even then I have to shampoo them every 3 months - I'd be a lunatic if the whole house was carpeted.

 

The grout does tend to stain - we have quite a few spots that resulted from bleeding accidents.

 

I credit our tile floors as the reason all three of my kids were walking by 9 months - none of them were eager to crawl on it for very long :D

 

We've never had any head injuries but I was always extra careful with my kids when they were newly walking because of it. They learned very quickly to hold their heads up when they fell.

 

They are slippery - I have to banish my kids to their rooms every time I mop or wait till after they are asleep otherwise it's like a skating rink in here :lol: in fact whenever my kids see me with the mop they dive for a carpeted area or the lounge and start calling out -Is it dry yet :lol: they have developed a fear of wet floors.