– More Than A Gilbert Floor Dressing

Tiles – More than a Gilbert Floor Dressing!

Here are a few more ways that you may want to consider using tile in your home!

Gilbert, Arizona

Tile is an excellent choice for the floors in your Gilbert home. Not only are they beautiful, but they are also tough and durable. Tile floors can stand up to heavy foot traffic and the deluge of rock, sand, and water from the desert landscape and the monsoon season. Most tile floors will make it through without scratching or staining. You just need to keep up a schedule of tile and grout cleaning to keep the floors looking great.

Thanks to all these great properties, tile can be used for much more than floors. Here are a few more ways that you may want to consider using tile in your home:

Kitchen Backsplash

Tile is the perfect choice for a backsplash in your kitchen, whether you want a backsplash just over your stove or you want one over the entire length of your counter tops. You can choose glazed tile like porcelain and ceramic that is easy to wipe clean, or you can choose tile that has a more interesting and textured look, such as travertine or slate. Granite is polished and beautiful, offering the best of both worlds.

You have more options for your tile selection for your kitchen backsplash since the tile does not have to be as waterproof as it would be for the floors. Sure, some water will splash up on the walls, but you don’t have to worry about puddles of water on the tile the way you would with flooring. A good seal should be plenty to keep the tile protected from water damage.

Kitchen Counters

A lot of kitchen counters are cut as one single slab. But you can also create a beautiful countertop out of tile.

Since your countertops will take a lot more damage than the backsplash, you need to choose a stone for your tile that will withstand water damage, scratching and staining. You’ll be cutting, chopping, washing, and preparing a lot of foods on your counter top. Granite and slate are excellent choices for your tile countertop.

Sealing is very important for a tile counter top. Otherwise, you’ll easily get stains and have to invest in heavy-duty professional tile and grout cleaning.

Shower or Tub Wall

Tile is the perfect choice for a shower or tub wall. The constant stream of water leads to the easy formation of mold, which can be hard to clean from a typical fiberglass encasing or from a sheetrock wall.

It is especially important to choose a tile material that is dense and not porous. Travertine, limestone, and porcelain are not good choices since they are very porous and allow water to enter easily. You can get away with porcelain as long as it is glazed and sealed, but you will have to be vigilant about maintenance and re-sealing to keep the tile in top condition.

Dense stone like granite is a great choice for the shower or tub. No matter what tile you choose, you will still need to seal the grout to keep it from staining.

Vanity Backsplash

The area over your bathroom sink or vanity is another perfect place for a ceramic tile backsplash. Water and soap can splash onto the wall, as can personal products like toothpaste, mouthwash, lotions, makeup and more. If these are not immediately wiped away, they can dry hard and be difficult to clean.

By installing a tile backsplash, you can make cleanup a lot easier and you can protect your walls. You have more options for your tile selection since the area won’t get a lot of water, just like for your kitchen backsplash.

Fireplace

The area around your fireplace has to be protected to prevent the spread of fire from an errant ember or flame. Therefore, you can’t leave the wall bare and you can’t surround the fireplace with wooden trim. You have to use a non-combustible material like tile, brick or natural stone to create a buffer between the fireplace and trim or mantle.

Fortunately, you have pretty much open selection for the tile you can choose for your fireplace. Stone is naturally resistant to the heat, and it won’t crack due to its proximity to the flames.

You can create a gorgeous look for your fireplace with high-end stones like granite or marble, or you can choose something more earthy like Travertine or slate.

Accent Wall

You don’t need to be protecting your wall from water or oil to add tile to the wall. Tile can be a purely decorative choice that you can use on any wall of your home. Since tile is much more expensive than, say, paint or wallpaper, you probably won’t want to tile an entire room. (Plus, the look might be a little too much.) But you may enjoy tiling one accent wall in a room.

Your options for an accent wall are unlimited since the environment in your home is temperature protected and moisture isn’t a problem. You can choose tile in any color depending on the stone and the finish you choose. You can also create beautiful patterns or even mosaic pictures depending on the size and color of the tile you choose. Be creative to find just the right options to make a unique look.

No matter what type of tile you choose or where you place it in your home, you need to keep up with regular maintenance and sealing to ensure that your tile looks beautiful and has a long life span. Desert Tile and Grout Care offers professional Gilbert tile floor cleaning, as well as professional tile and grout cleaning for areas like backsplashes, fireplaces, counters, and more. Our tried-and-true solutions can lift years of staining from your tile and grout, restoring their natural beauty. For permanently discolored tile, we provide staining and coloring to restore the look. We also offer tile and grout sealing services in Arizona to protect against future damage and staining. Call us today to learn more about our tile and grout cleaning services for your home.