Floor tiles are the present, but hardwood flooring is the future - What you should consider before choosing the ideal flooring

Most people consider floor tiles as an easy and safe choice when renovating their home, but they don't realise how wrong they are.

In this blog post we will explain, why professional interior designers and decorators vote for real wood flooring rather than for ceramic tiles in their newly designed buildings.

What are the differences between the tile and wood floorings?

The essence of any design is to know what your options are and what criteria you need to decide on, so the first step is to get to know the basics of the different types of floorings.

Essentially all stone, ceramic or concrete tiles are cold. These tiles, due to their material, draw heat away from their environment, for example from our body or other objects. Just think of how it feels to step onto a cold stone surface on a warm spring day. In addition, a common feature of tiles is that they are usually rigid and almost always have to be installed by gluing.

In contrast, floor coverings made of real wood, carpet and all types of elastic materials do not draw significant heat away from the environment.

The best alternative to tiles is the real hardwood flooring

One of the biggest challengers to tiles is the real wood flooring. No wonder, as this environmentally friendly flooring type meets, and in some cases exceeds, all the requirements for tile flooring, both aesthetically and functionally.

Here's a detailed look at why it's worth replacing tiles with real wood flooring if you want a quality and environmentally friendly solution for your home.

Climate-appropriate design - is tile floor really what we need?

Tiles do mean an obvious solution in certain climates, but is it what we need?

When designing a house or apartment, we need to consider not only personal preferences, but also the more general environmental factors. These include, for example, the sunshine duration or the average rainfall. In case of the former, the facade, in case of the latter, the drainage needs to be designed to suit the conditions. We may not think about it much, but the climate in which we live gives us the same challenge.

As long as tiles are an excellent choice in a house designed for a Mediterranean or temperate monsoon climate, this is hardly true in the temperate zone. Why? Let's recall how we defined tiles in our first paragraph. While the heat removal is particularly pleasant on a hot day on the coast of the Aegean Sea, it is very unpleasant on a cool spring or winter day. In Germany of Hungary, there are only three such hot months in a year, while the rest are typically chilly and cold. Therefore, we have to ask ourselves: is it only three months a year that we want to plan for? And in the other months of the year, will we enjoy the "warmth" of the home with cold feet?

Real oak flooring installed on underfloor heating is a competitor of tiles in winter

Ten years ago, it was easy to argue for tiling because of the underfloor heating. Today, however, this privilege has disappeared. Thanks to our technological advances, EDELHOLZ Triplex real oak floors can be laid on underfloor heating with complete safety, just like ordinary ceramic tiles. In addition, as wood flooring is a warm surface, you can walk on it in autumn and spring without having to switch on the underfloor heating. It goes without saying how much energy this saves, while the children can still play in peace and quiet, sitting on the floor.

All in all, we can see that Triplex straight planks or parquet are a much better choice than a tile floor in terms of climate suitability, comfortable heat and energy savings.

You can hear every step in your room? Tile floor is the problem.

Going back to more personal design preferences, tiles may cause a problem in terms of acoustics. Cold, hard surfaces reflect much more sound than wood floorings. As a result, every movement on the floor will have a sonic impact, and a sense of emptiness will define the room.

Compared to tiles, real wood floors, carpet floors etc. have the advantage of absorbing much more sound, giving a more homely feel. You'll be especially grateful you didn't choose tiles if you'll be living with young children or have pets.

The design disadvantages of the tiles’ periodicity

Most manufacturers of tiles try to follow current and short-lived trends in both pattern and colour. Choosing a trendy piece may seem like a good idea at first, but after a few years these trends will fade. In this case, the type of tiles you buy will quickly become outdated and it will be easy to identify exactly when you bought them. Many times, when we walk into an older home, we can see exactly when that particular tile was installed in the 2000s. Not very elegant, is it?

Unlike tiles, a real oak floor is totally timeless. In fact, in some cases, we even consider a parquet more special if we know it's been in that property for over a century.

Matching covering on the walls and stairs – is it possible with tiles?

Tiles are limited in both size and function due to their manufacturing technology. Most types of tiles do not have the same size for floor and wall, and most people would not even dream of having floating stairs made of the same material with the same design.

Fortunately, unlike the tile manufacturers, we in Zalalövő can afford much greater flexibility. Due to decades of development and our high-end production technology, we can offer a complex system. We can produce wooden floors, wall coverings and staircase elements from the same material, in the same colour and surface structure, with the same size ranges, whatever the specific interior design.

Cleaning of tiles and wood floorings

Undoubtedly, cleanability is a big advantage of tiles, especially when it comes to ceramic products. That is why it is worth choosing tiles for wet rooms or hallways, where we often leave our wet things and umbrellas. However, the cleaning of an average wooden floor covering does not require more attention in our living spaces than that of a tile floor.

We treat our EDELHOLZ straight planks and parquets with the finest plant-based oils, ensuring a long life for the wooden floor. These human and environmentally friendly oils form a natural protective layer on the surface of the wooden floor, while leaving the pores of the oak wood open so that the living material can breathe freely. Apart from vacuuming, they do not require special cleaning.

The future of oak floors - how to switch from tiles to oak floors?

Realising the benefits of real oak wood, many people switch from tiling to engineered wood flooring. Few people know, however, that they don't need to break their existing tiles if they are still of good quality and not crumbled.

Our EDELHOLZ straight planks and herringbone parquets can be laid directly on top of the previous tile flooring using a special floating technology with ELASTILON. Click here to read more about this installation method, which can save considerable amounts of money.

Have an unanswered question? Contact one of our experts by clicking here!

Did you find the answer to all your questions in our post? Come and experience the wonder of real wood in one of our showrooms! Book an appointment online by clicking here.