There’s no denying the beauty of natural stone. Incorporating natural stone in our home, whether it be on our floors, in our bathrooms or on our kitchen benchtops creates quite a statement. However natural stone is expensive and can be a pain to maintain.
Natural stone requires annual sealing as it is porous and without adequate sealing, becomes vulnerable to moisture and stains. Due to its porous nature, natural stone requires special cleaners as everyday cleaners can damage it.
Porcelain stone look wall & floor tile.
Natural stone is not only expensive to purchase, it costs more to freight due to its weight and generally costs more in labour to lay as it is heavier, thicker and more difficult to cut.
Thankfully tile manufacturers in recent years have finally managed to create a natural stone look alike porcelain range of tiles that beautifully mimic the character of natural stone. While natural stone look alike tiles are far from new, tiles from the past did indeed look fake and lacked the depth that true natural stone offered as each tile shared an identical design and colour.
Porcelain stone look feature wall in shower recess.
These new glazed porcelain stone look-alike tiles have many advantages compared to natural stone and thanks to innovative technology, each tile is printed with a unique design recreating the texture, colour and depth that is found in natural stone. These tiles imitate the perfect imperfections of natural stone even right down to the veining of marble.
- Extremely hard and durable, scoring higher in hardness rating than natural stone. Porcelain tiles are considered one of the hardest materials available for residential homes.
- Are more resistant to scratches and stains than natural stone.
- Does not require annual sealing.
- The glazed surface is resistant to water and store bought cleaning chemicals making them easier to clean than natural stone.
- Perfect for use in wet areas (including showers) due to their hard glaze. Natural stone is generally not recommended in shower recesses due to its porous nature.
- Lighter than natural stone therefore cheaper to freight and labour to lay.
- Comes in a variety of sizes suitable for walls and floor.
- Available in a large variety of designs and colour to imitate quartz, marble, limestone, granite and travertine.
Related Articles:
How to Choose Tiles for your Bathroom Renovation
How to Renovate your Bathroom on a Budget
Why people are turning to Quartz for their Kitchens
Master Bathrooms & Kitchens have been renovating bathrooms in the Hills District & Hornsby area since 1995. Be sure to peruse our website for more renovation inspiration or call us on (02) 9899 9330 for a quotation.
See just some of our beautiful bathrooms in our video below:
