ceramic tile Archives - Inspired Remodels

Orange County Flooring Contractor Shares 3 Ways Hard Floors are Better

By Inspired Remodels / Home Improvement / Comments Off

Flooring for your home represents a significant financial outlay. Anytime you spend that much money, you want to know you are getting the best product for your home and health. So what floors are the best? Hard flooring in any form is the healthiest choice. Inspired Remodels, a popular Orange County flooring contractor shares why hard floors make the healthiest homes.

A cat and carpet together are not a good idea

Reason 1 – Hard Flooring Reduces Allergens

Hard floors make healthier floors because they reduce the number of allergens in your home. Place carpets and rugs on your floors and install allergen magnets.

Textile flooring collects dust, pollen, molds, dust, dust mites, and pet allergens. Then, each time a person walks on the carpet or rug, their feet send a cloud of allergens up into the air. Even if you run HEPA air cleaners, you aren’t going to collect all the allergens.

That allergen cloud wafts up to sensitive noses and soon there’s sneezing, wheezing, coughing, and watery eyes. Textile flooring might be a good look for the floor, but it’s not a good look for your health.

And these days, everybody is concerned about health.

Wood, stone, and tile flooring refuse to collect allergens. They just won’t do it. That’s because they are easy to clean. This leads us to reason number 2.

Hard floors and cats are a better idea

Reason 2 – Hard Flooring is Easy to Keep Clean

Hard floors provide no place for dirt or allergens to hide. Unlike textile flooring with fibers, nooks, and crannies, hard flooring offers a smooth surface.

Whether you vacuum or damp mop, you’ll remove the dirt. Where vacuuming carpets sends dust flying, vacuuming hard floors with a horsehair brush dislodges dust without making it airborne.

Carpeting represents multiple layers of textiles. Not only does the carpet collect dirt, but dirt falls between the fibers to the padding underneath. Face it, you are never going to clean that padding. You can pay someone to clean your carpet, but it won’t really be clean. And, the padding stays dirty.

Clean a wood, tile, or stone floor and it is really clean. And it will stay clean longer provided you remove your shoes before coming inside.

Reason 3 – Hard Flooring Improves Planet Health

For the most part, textile flooring comes from synthetic materials. These materials are carbon-based. Oil and minerals are extracted, refined, processed, and spun to create fibers. It consumes vasts amounts of energy and isn’t renewable.

Compare that with bamboo flooring. Bamboo flooring provides the most eco-friendly option in hard flooring. Any Orange County flooring contractor in the know knows that bamboo beats other hardwoods when it comes to hardness. Bamboo harvested from managed farms renews in 5 to 7 years. You can’t say that for an oak tree.

Ceramic tile is also eco-friendly. Yes, it is mined but unlike carpet, ceramic lasts up to 50 years. So you enjoy many years of use when compared to carpeting or other textile floorings that must be continually replaced.

Orange County Flooring Contractor Knows Flooring

Talk to Inspired Remodels about your flooring needs. Inspired Remodels is the Orange County flooring contractor that matches your lifestyle and budget to the best flooring for your home.

Stop by the showroom, call (949) 716-1938, or Contact Us online.

From flooring to fixtures and finishes, Inspired Remodels is Orange County’s premier home remodeling company.

Psst – need a little inspiration? Check out the portfolio of Orange County flooring projects.

Bathroom Contractor Talks Tile

By Inspired Remodels / Bathroom Remodel / Comments Off

Tile is the perfect surface for bathrooms. It is durable, water resistant and available in many colors, shapes, and sizes. The variety is almost overwhelming. Learn about the differences in tile options from the bathroom contractor that’s making Orange County more beautiful, one bathroom remodel at a time.

Marble and Granite

People used marble as a building material since ancient times. Thousands of years ago, marble adorned public and government buildings. Marble meant wealth in Roman homes. That’s because marble was expensive. Costs to quarry and move marble were almost as much as the stone.

Today Carrara and Calacatta marble are popular in the bathroom. And, you don’t need to be a wealthy Roman merchant or senator. Today’s marble is very approachable and affordable.

Because marble tile is worked from stone, no two slabs or tiles are the same. Even marble from the same quarry has slight variations. Both Carrara and Calacatta tiles are from Italy. You’ll find shades from white to light gray. Use this tile on floors, walls, and showers.

Granite is another popular stone tile for the bathroom. You often see granite as a slab for countertops, but granite is versatile.

See how granite was used to contrast with the ceramic tile on the shower floor? It’s the one tile that brings together the tile on the floor and the tile on the shower floor.

Porcelain and Ceramic Tiles

Unleash your inner artist with porcelain and ceramic tiles. Or just hire a very creative bathroom contractor. Porcelain and ceramic tiles come in just about every shape and color you can imagine. So what’s the difference?

Both tiles are made from clay. But, porcelain tile is made with a highly refined clay. That means fewer impurities. Once the tiles are formed, they are fired in a kiln at a higher temperature than ceramic tile. The result is a tile that’s denser and more durable. It’s also a bit more expensive.

Ceramic is fine for walls, but for floors ceramic is the better choice. A special type of thin, glazed ceramic tile is called subway tile. Technically, the tiles used in the Manhattan subways in 1904 were glass. The designers found a surface that was easy to clean and would make New Yorkers feel comfortable in this new underground space. The classic size is 3 x 6.

You’ll find today’s subway tiles in many different sizes and colors. The classic color is white, based on the Victorian-era obsession with cleanliness and hygiene.

Mosaic Tiles

Technically, a mosaic tile is an inlay design created with tiles that are no more than 2″. But in general, mosaic tiles are pieces of art that are made up of small pieces of tile, stone, or glass. They are versatile. You can use mosaics as an accent on the floor or shower walls or create an entire floor from mosaics. Talk to your bathroom contractor about how to use mosaics in your bathroom remodel to embody your own sense of style.

This stone mosaic covers the entire floor of the shower. The stones are smooth enough to make the surface easy to clean but not so slick as to make the shower unsafe when wet.

These mosaic tiles create a decorative backsplash around the bathroom sink. The same mosaic is perfect for shower walls or roome walls. Mosaics are incredibly versatile.

Mosaics were once painstakingly put together, one tile at a time. Now mosaics come pre-designed. A webbed square holds the tiles in the design together. Just apply the adhesive, grout, and clean.

This makes mosaics much more affordable than in the past. That’s one reason they are popping up in bathrooms and powder rooms all over Orange County.

Orange County Bathroom Contractor for Tile and More

Hire the bathroom contractor that knows tile. Hire Inspired Remodels. Call (949) 716-1938 and schedule a consultation today.

General Contractors Guide to Tile

It doesn’t matter if you are thinking of updating one room or the whole house. Chances are you are thinking about tile. With so many types of tile on the market, picking the right tile is tough. Inspired Remodels takes the headache out of picking the right tile. Take our advice as general contractors, decide on the tile material first and then the design of the tile. It makes the job of selecting tile much easier. Here’s a general contractors guide to the different types of tile.

Ceramic Tile

Ceramic tile has been popular for hundreds of years. It is a clay-based product. You’ll find ceramic tiles in the bathroom and kitchen. They are on walls, floors, backsplashes and showers.

Ceramic tile is an easy care material. Like other hard surface materials, you can wipe up spills easily, vacuum and wet mop tile. Glazed tile doesn’t normally stain and it doesn’t absorb water. However, like with all tiles, you’ll want to seal the grout to protect staining, but ceramic tile itself does not need sealing. Because it is impervious to water, it’s perfect for bathrooms.

Ceramic tiles are made in squares, hexagons, circles and more. It is a relatively inexpensive tile. It is also not the hardest clay tile. So, it’s not the best choice for high traffic areas.

Porcelain Tile

There is a difference between ceramic and porcelain tile. Yes, both are clay-based products. But, there is a difference in the clay based used to make the tile. With porcelain, the clay is highly refined and much more purified than the clay used to make ceramic tile. In addition, porcelain tile is fired at a higher temperature. The result is a tile that is more durable and stronger than ceramic tile.

Don’t use the terms ceramic tile and porcelain tile interchangeably. They aren’t the same. Porcelain is more expensive than ceramic because it is more durable. Like ceramic tiles, it is glazed and will not absorb water. It’s equally at home in the bathroom as in the kitchen, hallways, mudrooms or other frequently trafficked areas.

If you pick ceramic or porcelain tile, when choosing the actual tile color or design, make sure it is a through-tile. This means the color is not only applied to the top of the tile but permeates through. This is a very important feature. Surface colored tile shows every chip and ding.

Satillo or Terracotta Tile

When you think satillo or terracotta tile, you usually think of patios and entryways. But it can be used indoors as well. This clay-based tile is not glazed and needs to be resealed every few years whether installed inside or outside.

It’s a warm looking and feeling tile. Satillo tile doesn’t get as cold underfoot at ceramic or porcelain. But, because it absorbs water, you don’t want to use it in the shower. But it’s perfect for sunrooms and transitional spaces.

Stone Tile

Limestone, marble and slate are all popular tiles for use throughout the house. Each type of stone has its challenges when it comes to installation. Installing stone tiles isn’t a DIY undertaking. This is one place where the work is best left in the hands of general contractors.

That being said, stone tiles are popular on bathroom floors, in showers, on walls and backsplashes. Depending on the stone you pick, it may need sealing periodically. Granite floors can be slippery and limestone is easily damaged by the wrong pH cleaner.

Talk to your general contractor about how you will use a space and who will use a space to determine if the stone you have in mind is a good match for your application.

Stone tiles can look warm (think limestone or slate) or cool (think granite or marble). When it comes to cost, stone will be more expensive than ceramic or porcelain. But with the proper care, it will last much longer.

Glass and Metal

These two materials get an honorable mention for their decorative applications. They are not suitable for floors, but make lovely accent tiles on walls, fireplaces, and backsplashes. Glass and metal may be mixed with other materials in a mosaic design. Both materials are easily scratched, so take care when cleaning.

General Contractors Make the Difference

When it comes to new tiles for the floors or walls, the general contractor you pick does make a difference. General contractors that have your best interest in mind will let you know if a material you pick isn’t the best material for the application. Respect their expertise and listen closely to their recommendations. When it comes to making dreams a reality, turn to Inspired Remodels. They will guide you through the design process and make sure the remodel is not only beautiful but functional.

Call (949) 716-1938 or Contact Us online today to talk about your next remodel or renovation. And if you decide to move instead of remodel, we can help with that too. Inspired Realty is our complete real estate brokerage firm.