Tiles suitable for kitchen floor

[curium]

May be getting a new kitchen around Easter.

Considering tiling the floor but leaning towards lino as it wont damage as easily (although I've never laid lino so would rather tile).

I'm not keen on replacing a tile every 6 months because my kid has dropped something on them from a great height.

This must be a common problem so surely there are tiles suited for use in a kitchen.

What characteristics should I be looking for in a tile suitable for kitchen use?

Cheers!

EDIT - Also, do people have skirting boards in a kitchen with tiled floor? How exactly is that area usually finished?

 

[Richard C]

It’s not a common problem as far as I’m aware & I've never had any issues on the jobs I’ve done! If you select the right tiles (not cheap crap), they are correctly laid & fully supported on a thick solid adhesive bed (no air gaps underneath) they will not be easily damaged from day to day accidents such as dropping saucepans, plates & dishes etc. Dropping a 2lb lump hammer on them may be another story though! Whatever tiles you pick, they must be suitably wear rated for use in a high traffic/load area such as a kitchen; glazed only & never use light coloured grout. I’ve had glazed porcelain tiles in my own kitchen & conservatory for 6 years (laid by me) & although they’ve had a few knocks from us & our 3 grandchildren, there is only one small chip on the edge of a tile where, you guessed it, I dropped a hammer about 5 years ago ; a touch of varnish & you can’t even see it. Porcs are harder than ceramic & are usually a better bet for such areas but they are more expensive & more difficult to cut.

I assume you mean vinyl; you won’t break so many plates when you drop them but it will be more easily damaged than tiles & it definitely doesn’t like point loads (high heels or chair legs etc.). Proper Lino on the other hand is very hard wearing (but also very expensive) & pig to lay. I used to specify Lino for high traffic/operational areas in the previous industry I worked in but it would look rather agricultural in a domestic kitchen.

Always remove the skirting if you want it to look good, lay the tiles leaving around a 5mm gap to the wall, refit skirting over the top of tiles.

 

[jctilingservices]

Cheers!

EDIT - Also, do people have skirting boards in a kitchen with tiled floor? How exactly is that area usually finished?

you could tile the floor and have a tiled skirting board, this is achieved by cutting 2 x 4" (or whatever height skirting you require) pieces, 1 piece from 1 end then the other strip from the other end, done correctly it does look nice