Floor tiles under the floorboard: examples in the interior

Natural wood is a material that is environmentally friendly, aesthetic, reliable and durable. Floor coverings of such material have always been very popular, but not everyone can afford them, because wood is quite expensive.

A remarkable alternative to such coatings was floor tiles under the floorboard. After reading this article, you will learn what advantages these materials differ in and will be able to see successful examples in the interior.

Distinctive features

Tiled materials for parquet produced using purified clay. It has a very high quality. This material is exposed to high temperature, resulting in it being baked.

During production, you can get various textures of ceramic coatings, which imitate wood very precisely (you can choose a walnut or oak texture or some other variant). However, the tile does not need to be protected with special coatings, like wood, because it is already wear-resistant and durable. Clay is safe for human health, environmentally friendly, like wood.

Wood surfaces may be damaged by sharp objects, but tile is more resistant to it.

High-quality tiled materials under the floorboard in appearance is not easy to distinguish from wooden surfaces, while lower prices are set on the tile. There are a lot of similar coatings on the modern market, so everyone who wants it has the opportunity to choose such an option that will be ideal in each particular case.

Advantages and disadvantages

Tile coatings under the floorboard are in great demand, because they have a lot of advantages.

Among the most important advantages are the following:

The tile is resistant to sunlight, its color remains the same, not erased with time.Such materials are more durable than wood.
Tile coatings are resistant to high temperatures and are fire safe.
Such materials for the floor are suitable for a variety of rooms.

It is very easy to remove various pollution from tiles. It is not necessary to restore the lacquer layer, to carry out surface treatment using waxes and impregnations. With wood in this regard is much more difficult.
The tile is suitable for use in a floor heating system, and wood is not recommended for such surfaces.
Tiled materials are resistant to liquid, they are very well suited for rooms with high humidity (for example, for bathrooms). Wood surfaces should not often be exposed to moisture. Exceptions are some exotic trees, larch, oak.

The tiles that mimic the floorboard, there are some disadvantages:

The complexity of installation. It is better to entrust the work with such materials to specialists.
Cold surfaces. Standing on such a floor barefoot is not very pleasant. Such coatings are not as pleasant to the touch as wooden surfaces.However, this disadvantage can be easily figured out using them for heated floors.

Species

The cost of tiles that mimic the floorboard depends on what type it belongs.

Options may be:

Ceramic coatings. They are produced using high quality clay. It is roasted in the oven. Such materials are usually chosen for residential premises.
Porcelain stoneware materials. When creating such coatings, manufacturers use semi-dry clay, they also burn it, but the temperature is higher. Porcelain tiles more resistant to wear and durable. Such materials are suitable for places where people often go, so they are often chosen for shopping centers, office space, and so on.

In addition, the tiles have different surfaces. On the market there are glazed, waxed, polished materials.

Tiles are also divided into several types depending on the form:

hexagonal products;
rectangular tiles (they are especially strongly similar to parquet boards);
square elements (usually they are quite large, a common option - 60 to 60 cm).

When laying tiles of considerable size, the seams are smaller. This allows you to achieve a feeling of solidity.

Piling

Imitating floorboard tiles can be laid in different ways. Each way of laying differs in certain features.

Here are some of the most popular methods for laying such tiles:

"Network". This method is the most difficult. Products of different colors are commonly used, and a beautiful pattern is made from them. Laying, which is carried out so, is particularly expensive.
"Vietnamese". Squares are created from individual elements. In each square tile is laid in different ways.
Herringbone. With this method of laying products are located at right angles to adjacent elements.

Such methods as diagonal laying and masonry are also very popular. There are many options, for the most part it all depends on your imagination. To choose the most suitable way of laying tile materials, you can use a computer program. However, you can simply draw various options using paper and pen.

Remember that the result of the installation works largely depends on how carefully you prepare the surface on which you are going to lay the tile.

On the basis there should be no defects, irregularities. It is recommended to apply a primer on it so that the tile is better laid on the surface. If irregularities remain, they will be very easy to see after laying the tile covering. It is very likely that with time the tiles will begin to crack.

How to choose?

Selecting the most suitable materials, you should not consider only the cost of products.

It is recommended to pay attention to the following characteristics:

Indicator that allows you to find out if the coating is slippery. It is called the friction coefficient. If it is less than 11, the surface is very slippery.
Resistance to chemicals. Chemically resistant surfaces can be decontaminated with a variety of detergents.
The degree of wear resistance. Products with high wear resistance are usually quite expensive, so they are most often purchased not for residential premises, but for public places.

If you want to visually make the room more spacious, you should opt for large sizes and light shades of tile. In such rooms, bright contrasts should be avoided.

Manufacturers

In the modern market, tiles that mimic floorboard, offer different manufacturers.

Among the most popular are:

Italon. This domestic manufacturer offers a variety of colors imitating floorboard tiles. Both in appearance and in touch, such products very much resemble natural wood.
Rondine group - a manufacturer from Italy, whose tile is also very similar to the floorboard. Such coatings are very resistant to wear, durable.
Kerama marazzi - manufacturer from Russia, which offers tiled coverings under the floorboard of light pastel colors.
Colorker - a company from Spain, which specializes in the production of tiles under the floorboard with the effect of aging. These materials are durable, durable. Such coatings are not slippery.