From traditional flagstone styles to contemporary modular tiles, stone flooring is a fantastic design choice as you can choose from a range of different looks to suit any room. If you want to get the appearance of stone without breaking the bank, stone effect flooring is a great alternative and becoming increasingly popular. Read on to find out why so many homeowners are opting for stone effect floor tiles.

Cost

Natural stone tiles such as marble or slate look wonderful, but they can be expensive. Stone effect tiles made from materials such as ceramic or porcelain are much cheaper in comparison to natural stone tiles, offering an almost identical look at a fraction of the price.

Maintenance

Stone effect tiles are easy to clean as they can withstand normal household cleaning products. In comparison, porous stone flooring such as limestone or marble is sensitive to abrasive or acid-based cleaning agents so need to be cleaned carefully with specialist products. Porcelain is the clear winner when it comes to an easy to maintain tile material as it is more durable than many natural stone options, not so prone to wear over time and doesn’t require resealing like some other materials.

Installation

Natural stone tiles can include inconsistencies in the stone, and also can have uneven edges. This makes them harder to install as matching the edges up takes a lot of work. Stone effect tiles on the other hand are uniform in their shapes and sizes with neater edges, so are much easier to install compared to their more expensive counterparts. However, you may have to make sure that the existing flooring is even all over before you can install the stone effect tiles; for this, a Commercial Gypsum Floor leveling company could come to the rescue.

Appearance

Available in a wide range of colours and finishes, stone effect floor tiles can look very convincing but still offer the same look, and in some cases, even the same texture- a high quality stone effect tile is almost indistinguishable from the real thing.