Laminate tiles look great in your home. Just make sure they are installed the right way.
There is nothing worse than spending money to upgrade your Tampa flooring to laminate tiles, and then discovering you installed them incorrectly. What’s the fuss, since there is no glue or nails? While laminate tile is relatively easy to lay and can go down on just about any surface, you still must take care to not lay them on carpet. Instead, they typically go on top of a thick, padded layer, which must be placed correctly and trimmed on completion in order to have a nice finished look.
The nice thing about laminate is that no matter what room you want to use it in — the basement, the kid’s rooms, the garage — it always looks good. In fact, it can look like stone or ceramic tiles or even wood flooring, but it isn’t. Rather, the tiles effectively mimic the look of pricey material, which does not stop them from being really durable and easy to maintain.
Want other ideas? Consider interlocking carpet floor tiles. They save time, are colorful, come in a wide variety of textures and are easy to install and take up again. These tiles come with padding under the tile, so installation time is just about cut in half. For a homeowner needing a quick job to upgrade their older wooden floors, carpet floor tiles are an ideal solution, and far less expensive than ripping out the old floor and starting all over.
You might also want to experiment with cork tiles, particularly if you are concerned about the environment. They are noted to add flexibility and a nice cushion to the rooms they are installed in, and they look terrific.
If you are looking for something that is slip resistant for use in a pool area, saunas, spas or showers, think interlocking vinyl tiles. They offer the right kind of drainage to make sure the water sloughs off. No matter what you want to accomplish on your tiling project, there is something on the market that will suit your project specs to a T.
Dean Dupre is with Champion Tile, a Clearwater Flooring, Tampa Flooring, and tile installation company. To learn more, visit Champtile.com.
