Floor tiles for new kitchen - advice sought.....

[jhiker]

Hi All,
First time poster in this tiling forum and I'm looking for some advice please.

I need to buy floor tiles for a 3mx3m kitchen as part of a kitchen refit. I'm getting a builder to do the work.
He has an account with Topps and has told me I can use his discount. We want black or grey and I think I'd like to go for porcelain based on what I've read.

I saw some 30x60 Pompeii Black porcelain tiles in a friend's house the other day and they look very nice, if a little expensive at £40/m2.

I checked them out at the Topps website...
( I can't post the URL or I get a 'post denied' message when I submit it(.
..and was baffled by this statement....
'These semi polished tiles have been created using the latest inkjet technology, giving a true representation of a natural stone...'
Ink jet? Are they printed and glazed, or something? It's kinda put me off...

Anyway, I'm looking for 10.5m2 of 30x30, 40x40 or 30x60cm tiles, probably black, with a smooth (satin/matt?) finish but not glossy polished.
I'm not keen on the riven/textured/rustic examples that I've seen.

Quality wise, is there anything in particular I should look for - 8.5/9mm thick?
Any first-hand recommendations would be most welcome - I'm considering Topps/Tile Giant/Walls & Floors, etc. - There seems to be quite a variation in the sq/m prices - It's also difficult to imagine how an entire floor will look based on a 1"x1" thumbnail.

I will go and look, of course, I probably just need to shortlist a few options.
Thanks!

​

 

[Dan]

You'd be able to post URL's once you've got 10 posts or more. It's an anti-spam thing.
Guessing this is the URL?

Pompeii Black | Topps Tiles

Porcelain is man made so any type of tile that's porcelain will have been through a process to make it look like stone or ceramic or whatever.

Inkjet does sound like they print the pattern on before firing the tile. So yeah, basically you're right. But don't let that put you off them as procelain are tough tiles and very decent for floors. Stone can be high maintenance in comparison and often more expensive to buy and install.

I do prefer the look of stone myself though, seems to be something that never gets dated as with most natural materials.

Order some samples and take a look yourself at them to see what you prefer.
Any porcelain will be tough as long as it is fully vitrified (porcelain straight the way through and not just a porcelain glaze on a dust/clay backing). So 8.5mm or 11mm should be about the same strength really.

 

[jhiker]

That's the one. Thanks for taking the time to reply.