The great flooring debate!
It’s the question on everyone’s lips - timber laminate versus tiled floors?
OK, perhaps not everyone’s lips, but it is an important consideration when building a new home. It’s a big ticket item after all and one that you will see and feel every day.
So, which is better: floating timber boards/timber laminate planks or tiles? The question should really be: ‘which one is best suited to you and to your lifestyle?’
Will you have kids running around and toys in the house? Do you have pets? Do you like entertaining? Will there be high heels and possibly spills?
Older versions of timber laminate scratched a lot and there weren’t many options to choose from. Whereas these days there plenty of colours and shades available to suit your preferred style. There is also a new and improved timber flooring called ‘hybrid’ which combines laminate and vinyl and is waterproof, resistant to swelling, scratches and stains and comes in a fantastic range of colours! But it isn’t cheap - around $3000 extra compared to standard tiles. Timber laminate flooring feels gentler underfoot compared to tiles, but you will hear footsteps.
Tiles, on the other hand, have always been considered very hard-wearing, but they can occasionally chip if you drop a glass bottle directly on them …trust me, I learnt from experience! Of course with tiles there are so many colours and textures to choose from as well as many different coloured grouts giving you a lot of flexibility. Tiles can also be laid in different patterns compared to timber, with the brick bond pattern being very popular at the moment. Plus, they’re cool in our hot Aussie summers.
You can now get tiles that look like timber in a 600x300 size up to a 1200mm size which gives you the best of both worlds if you’re having trouble deciding.
The good news is both types of flooring are easy to clean with plenty of vacuum cleaners and mops that cater for these surfaces. #winning
So it really comes down to what you like the look of and how you use your home. Check out our Instagram page to see the flooring in our latest builds.
