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The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

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CelticRambler
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The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#1

Post by CelticRambler »

The chicken-shed kitchen will need a nice tiled floor, hopefully sooner rather than later, and I've started looking at options ... and other people's floors. There's one point on which I'm struggling to make a decision: slightly textured, or totally flat and smooth?

For context, this is a 3x3.6m room, of which 0.6m will be lost to cabinets on two sides; and with a door that opens into the cobbled courtyard. I'm toying with the idea of continuing the tiles out the door into that corner of the courtyard to create a mini patio of a couple of square metres, but that depends on getting a suitable tile at the right price. Kitchen is intended to be relatively modern in style, especially compared to the bed-sit area; it'll be finished mostly in cream and oak, a mix of painted surfaces, natural wood and exposed stone.

The pros and cons I've gleaned so far are:
- that textured tiles are harder to clean, but don't show dirt/footprints as much as the smooth ones;
- that smooth ones can be more "clinical/modern" versus the "shabby/rustic" feel of the textured surface;
- that it's easier to lay and grout smooth tiles if you can get them laid perfectly flat; textured require more attention at the grouting stage but are somewhat more forgiving of irregularities.

Any thoughts from those who spend time contemplating what's under their feet?
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Memento Mori
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#2

Post by Memento Mori »

Slightly textured... hides dirt and prints, can be a bit more grippy, and a bit more forgiving of scratches or chips or longer-term discoloration.
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Diamonds of Frost
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#3

Post by Diamonds of Frost »

Textured tiles are lovely and can be really nice in a modern space because they bring a warmth and softness. You will have that anyways with the wood and if you do decide on the smooth then there are other ways of bringing that softness in. If you feel comfortable doing so send me a pic if you like. I have a decent eye.

Think about it in terms of aesthetic vs practicality and can you have both. I believe you can but textured tiles are more difficult to keep, so a bit more work involved in the cleaning. They may hide dirt better but does that mean you are ok knowing they aren't very clean?

Depending on their composition some tiles require to be cleaned in a particular way straight after laying and then throughout their lifetime. Bog standard cleaning products aren't advised so bleach and the likes is out.

Personally I would put a smooth easy to keep porcelain in the kitchen. It doesn't have to be glossy, just matte and flat. I want to be able to swirl a mop with any auld cleaning fluid around the kitchen floor.

You could pick out tiles that you like in both textured and smooth and then get as much info from the manufacturer as to their upkeep.

May the Gods be with you :P
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#4

Post by kadman »

Just remember smooth glossy wet tiles will have you skating around the kitchen like torville and dean...
CelticRambler
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#5

Post by CelticRambler »

Diamonds of Frost wrote: Sun Jan 01, 2023 6:09 pmIf you feel comfortable doing so send me a pic if you like. I have a decent eye.
Thanks for the offer, but there are no relevant pics to show or send at this stage. :) The space to be tiled is still in a very raw state, and full of other materials; and the tiles are still on a merchant's shelf somewhere.

As far as possible, I like to take plenty of time to get my thoughts in order on subjects such as this, so as to know roughly what I want without being too specific. That allows me to keep an eye on various ranges and styles, and to grab the best one at the best price when the opportunity arises.
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#6

Post by CelticRambler »

Coming back to this topic, I've decided to go with the rough. Beyond the comfort of this cyber-bubble, the real-life verdict - especially amongst the mop-wielding members of my inner circle - was that textured is the only surface worth considering in a non-showroom household.

So on to the next question: a nice panorama of perfectly homogenous rectangles, or a mix of sizes and shapes? The visible floor area will extend to about 7.5m² with an additional 0.5m² disappearing into a doorway, and as mentioned at the top of the thread, I'd like to extend the pattern out the external door into the courtyard. I'll definitely be choosing from the cream/beige part of the spectrum.

On a recent tour of local suppliers, I found several ranges that were "yeah, grand" and one that leapt out and said "buy me, buy me, I'm the One!"

By way of example, the homogenous style I'd be thinking of is this (exterior and interior from different ranges) 30x60cm each tile.
Image

The pick-n-mix would be something like this (of which this particular range comes in matching interior and exterior variations, sizes from 25x25 to 80x80 and rectangular variations in between):
Image

What say ye?
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isha
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#7

Post by isha »

I like the 16.95 top left hand corner ones best.
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#8

Post by CelticRambler »

Thanks, isha. Do you mean for themselves, or that you'd choose a plain rectangular pattern for this relatively small space (rather than the mixed sizes) ?

For reference, the rectangular display boards are each about 1m² ; the mixed sizes are on 2.5m² displays, although both are slightly clipped in the pics.
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isha
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#9

Post by isha »

Sorry I just mean the colour. Maybe uneven sizes would be most interesting.
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#10

Post by CelticRambler »

Interesting is good! :mrgreen:
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isha
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#11

Post by isha »

Now I have two tile questions, and I need to ask because my head has enough thinking about this for today...

The tiles in front of my stove are damaged and need replacing. (Not showing yiz! They should have been fixed ages ago.)

There is a wood effect trim surrounding the tiled space. (My kitchen floor is wooden.)
The tiled space measures 138 cm side to side to inside of wood trim along front.
Then back to walls on either side of stove is 89cm. (I'm not that bothered about the tile arrangement at the back in these two spaces as they are usually full of fuel and stuff.)
Back from front of tile space to front of stove is 40 cm.

I like these tiles - https://www.besttile.ie/product/antique ... -x-22-5cm/
And they have a matching blank tile for I suppose awkward spots, like I'm gonna ask ye about..
https://www.besttile.ie/product/antique ... -x-22-5cm/

The tiles are 22.5 cm x 22.5cm. Awkwardly what's there already is 15 cm x 15 cm. They are a plain terracotta. So the new ones will not fit in the space easily and be balanced.

First question - I calculate that 6 x 22.5 full tiles will fit in an even display along the front. Equals 135 cm. What do I do about the 1.5 cms on either side of this ? Plain tile strip cut from the plain matching tiles? Bigger trim? What do ye suggest? I think the rest will be okay with cut tiles but what about this awkward extra 3 cms? It seems incredibly awkward to try and cut 1.5cm strips of what would be 8 spaces. Yikes. I have not done this before. The trim is already 4 cm wide, do they make bigger ones, I can't seem to find them? Is it a thing? Would it be the best solution?

And second question - best way to remove floor tiles please? (For a not incredibly strong person, but I can use a hammer.)
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isha
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#12

Post by isha »

Well, forget those cowboys. 61 quid postage to send 22 small tiles from Waterford. I live in Ireland not Timbuktu!!
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#13

Post by CelticRambler »

Well, in the event that you end up with some other 22.5cm tiles, the answer is: don't do it like that!

The "right" way to tile such a space would be to place a whole tile dead centre, then tile outwards from there - so across the front, you'd lay five whole tiles and two tiles cut to fit the remaining 12-ish cm on each side. It wouldn't be a perfect 12.75cm because you'd need to allow some millimetres for the grout line. Obviously this'd leave you then with a whole set of 10-ish cm offcuts, but in your project, these could probably be laid at the back, out of sight.

As for lifting the old ones? An SDS hammer drill with chisel bit, and possibly an angle grinder to neaten things up afterwards.
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#14

Post by CelticRambler »

Incidentally, I took my tile photos to a family gathering in Ireland last week and the opinion was unanimous: the "pick-n-mix" Monastère range. I don't think so many members of the family have ever been in such agreement on any other topic, ever. :lol:

I'd better start saving - they're four times the price of the others. :(
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isha
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#15

Post by isha »

CelticRambler wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2023 7:05 pm Well, in the event that you end up with some other 22.5cm tiles, the answer is: don't do it like that!

The "right" way to tile such a space would be to place a whole tile dead centre, then tile outwards from there - so across the front, you'd lay five whole tiles and two tiles cut to fit the remaining 12-ish cm on each side. It wouldn't be a perfect 12.75cm because you'd need to allow some millimetres for the grout line. Obviously this'd leave you then with a whole set of 10-ish cm offcuts, but in your project, these could probably be laid at the back, out of sight.

As for lifting the old ones? An SDS hammer drill with chisel bit, and possibly an angle grinder to neaten things up afterwards.
Yikes!!! I'm glad I asked. That of course makes more sense. 😳
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#16

Post by CelticRambler »

The "start in the middle and work out" technique is generally the best way to deal with any space that has a definite mid line that attracts the eye. Depending on the dimensions of the tile, you might have a grout-line dead centre rather than a whole tile. The idea is to have a decent chunk of tile along the edges, which then allows you to hide unsquare angles and the like in plain sight. You do need to take care to ensure that the centre line is properly centred too, with reference to the room as a whole, not just one (or two) walls - stand well back from it when doing your initial marking up, and make sure it looks right.

If the dimensions of the space and the tiles conspire against you so as to leave you with an almost perfect number of whole tiles, you can sometimes make things work by using a wider grout line than first intended (e.g. 3mm instead of 2mm across 10 tiles gives you an extra 9mm coverage plus whatever gap you leave at the edge); but it can be more visually interesting - and easier to hide off-square edges - if you add a narrow band of a complementary/contrasting pattern into the tiled area. That then brings you back to finishing off the job with half-tiles cut precisely to fit the space remaining.
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isha
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#17

Post by isha »

Can't turn back now... the fecken things are coming up in splintery bits. One smooth exit so far. Ferfuxake. I'm bet already!! 😭🥺 Whoever laid them wAs making sure they stayed put.

Image

Image
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isha
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#18

Post by isha »

My tiles took ages to arrive, look at me like a Zen Buddhist, I didn't even complain in the Annoyances thread about it.
Anyway I've started and feck me but it's harder than I expected, and I have not even got to the hard part yet!!!
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#19

Post by Cobham »

Glad you went with the rough finish, think of slipping on damp smooth tiles. Maybe think of a grey grout as white will be unforgiving. I find a steam mop good for clean hard surfaces.
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#20

Post by CelticRambler »

isha wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 4:17 pm Anyway I've started and feck me but it's harder than I expected, and I have not even got to the hard part yet!!!
:? What stage are you at - opening the boxes? :)
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isha
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#21

Post by isha »

CelticRambler wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 7:13 pm :? What stage are you at - opening the boxes? :)
I'll give you a clatter! I have a blood blister on my thumb from trying to use the tile cutter. But I'm getting there.
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isha
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#22

Post by isha »

There are some mistakes. I'm calling my work style "artisanal". It will be a long time before I take on a tiling job again, it was a good deal harder than I expected. The tiles were thicker than what I took out so getting them under the stove and the wood trim was a fecker, not to mention cutting them. But did I know about that in the beginning...? 🙄

Next I'm going to paint the pebble dash. But first I'm going to do nothing for a while and rest afterwards!

Image
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#23

Post by CelticRambler »

They look very nice. Are they concrete rather than ceramic or porcelaine ? If so, that would explain your difficulty in cutting them.
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isha
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#24

Post by isha »

Dry pressed ceramic tiles from Spain. I'd say having noodles for arms might explain my difficulty in cutting them. But I got better as it went on. I never did it before.
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Re: The rough, or the smooth? A kitchen tiles question.

#25

Post by CelticRambler »

The cutting tool should be doing the work, not you (or your arms). :geek:

Was it one of these cutters?

Image

Admittedly, with that style and if you use it as directed, the "breaking" phase of the cutting process can be tough on the arms. Then again, it sounds like you've been working with an extra-thick tile, so this type of cutter probably wouldn't really be up to the job.

Helpful hint for next time: you'd be better off with one of these:

Image
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