Hardwood vs. Wood Looking Tile

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GH said:
irvinehomeowner said:
BTW: If you get rectified wood tiles, you can go very thin or maybe even zero grout lines.
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nope, i don't think the builder offers that. we were told grout lines will be 1/8". my wife chose a color closest to the tile as much as possible, but now she's thinking of backing out of the contract because the grout lines are bugging her..our current home has 1/2" grout line..1/8" seems to be negligible to me..but i'm a guy and i don't notice stuff like that...what's scaring her is that it's a big area, entire downstairs - kitchen, great room, den, guest bedroom all tiled
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we have 1/8" grout lines and tried to match the grout to the tile as well. we got it sealed by Groutzilla also.  make sure you seal it so the stains wont set into the grout. our grout lines get dirty but the dirt comes out.

has anyone tried one of those shark steamers for tile floors? do they work well?
 
qwerty said:
GH said:
irvinehomeowner said:
BTW: If you get rectified wood tiles, you can go very thin or maybe even zero grout lines.
Click to expand...

nope, i don't think the builder offers that. we were told grout lines will be 1/8". my wife chose a color closest to the tile as much as possible, but now she's thinking of backing out of the contract because the grout lines are bugging her..our current home has 1/2" grout line..1/8" seems to be negligible to me..but i'm a guy and i don't notice stuff like that...what's scaring her is that it's a big area, entire downstairs - kitchen, great room, den, guest bedroom all tiled
Click to expand...

we have 1/8" grout lines and tried to match the grout to the tile as well. we got it sealed by Groutzilla also.  make sure you seal it so the stains wont set into the grout. our grout lines get dirty but the dirt comes out.

has anyone tried one of those shark steamers for tile floors? do they work well?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the recommendation on Groutzilla. We had Shark steamers before but I sold it on Craigslist. It does clean but nothing beats getting down on your knees and scrubbing with pine sol and bucket of water. Shark steamers leave droplets of water when the steam puffs and you have to go back and mop it again or else it leaves water spots on the tile. Drove my wife crazy, and she didn't like mixing those dirty pads with anything else in the laundry so she ends up running a full wash cycle with just those dirty pads.
 
homer_simpson said:
irvinehomeowner said:
homer_simpson said:
Yes.. Real hardwood feels a little more springy.
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Can't believe qwerter missed this.

And there's another somewhere up there too.
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I'm setting him up.... I think his Qwerty-senses are no good anymore.
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cmon guys its lunchtime, im hungry. its hard to concentrate when one is hungry. ill be back in full effect after lunch
 
homer_simpson said:
jmoney74 said:
yes both hard.. just a little more give with the wood.  Is engineered wood harder than regular hardwood?
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Yes.. Real hardwood feels a little more springy.
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Agree.  Real hardwood is more springy and has more texture than engineered wood.  However in California, weather and other factors, engineered wood will last longer.
 
bones said:
I actually asked my builder about these tile looking wood floors and they said they thought it would be much more popular but barely anyone has opted for it. I think price may have something to do with it. She told me it's usually more expensive than engineered wood bc of the way it needs to be made plus the smaller grout lines makes it pricey. 
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Hmm... never thought manufactured tile would cost more than wood. Maybe it's just the builder's design center cost is more.

An outside contractor shouldn't be charging much more than regular tile (or travertine which also does zero grout).
 
irvinehomeowner said:
bones said:
I actually asked my builder about these tile looking wood floors and they said they thought it would be much more popular but barely anyone has opted for it. I think price may have something to do with it. She told me it's usually more expensive than engineered wood bc of the way it needs to be made plus the smaller grout lines makes it pricey. 
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Hmm... never thought manufactured tile would cost more than wood. Maybe it's just the builder's design center cost is more.

An outside contractor shouldn't be charging much more than regular tile (or travertine which also does zero grout).
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Some of wood looking porcelain tile can be quite pricey.  I found some that are over $12/sq ft just for the tiles.  The wood ring Provenza porcelain tile shown in Mulberry and Mendocino's model home cost about $7/sq ft on internet and about $12/sq ft at Walker Zangers.  With $6 to $7 /sq ft for installation, this can easy be more expensive than hard wood floor.

I guess it's also the perception of value.  Commonly, the porcelain tile is a cheaper material.  When you have porcelain tile, hard wood flooring and travertine tile all cost around $12/sq ft (material and installation),  people more likely to pick the latter two. 
 
lnc said:
irvinehomeowner said:
bones said:
I actually asked my builder about these tile looking wood floors and they said they thought it would be much more popular but barely anyone has opted for it. I think price may have something to do with it. She told me it's usually more expensive than engineered wood bc of the way it needs to be made plus the smaller grout lines makes it pricey. 
Click to expand...
Hmm... never thought manufactured tile would cost more than wood. Maybe it's just the builder's design center cost is more.

An outside contractor shouldn't be charging much more than regular tile (or travertine which also does zero grout).
Click to expand...

Some of wood looking porcelain tile can be quite pricey.  I found some that are over $12/sq ft just for the tiles.  The wood ring Provenza porcelain tile shown in Mulberry and Mendocino's model home cost about $7/sq ft on internet and about $12/sq ft at Walker Zangers.  With $6 to $7 /sq ft for installation, this can easy be more expensive than hard wood floor.

I guess it's also the perception of value.  Commonly, the porcelain tile is a cheaper material.  When you have porcelain tile, hard wood flooring and travertine tile all cost around $12/sq ft (material and installation),  people more likely to pick the latter two.
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Ok, someone need to clarify it with me now.  I was told that the Mulberry model home Provenza was NOT porcelain tile but actual engineered wood.

I told that person it felt like porcelain tile and that person told me I was wrong. 

Some please clarify.  Thank you.

===

Also please also tell me if the Provenza in Marigold Plan 3 is porcelain tile or engineered wood too.  I am so confused when it comes to Provenza.
 
qwerty said:
ZeroLot said:
I am so confused when it comes to Provenza.
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your not confused, you just havent vetted it yet.
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I didn't vet Provenza because Urban caught my eye and they had such good customer service.  Smart marketing on Urban's part.

 
I can see how those Provenza tiles can be more expensive because of the detailing.

The tiles I was thinking of were those ones that look like planks... not ring cut wood.
 
lnc said:
There is a hardwood floor brand call Provenza hard wood, a local So. Cal company.  http://www.provenzafloors.com/  This is the one used in Mulberry plan 2, the wire brushed, oil finished oak wood floor.

There also a porcelain brand also call Provenza from Italy.  This is the one used in Mulberry plan 1 model home.http://www.ceramicheprovenza.com/en/collections/w-age/
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THANK YOU!  So I was RIGHT!  I told the guy the Mulberry Plan 1 Provenza felt like porcelain tile and he said I was wrong!!  8)
 
bones said:
GH said:
Tyler Durden said:
When we were landscaping, i thought about the wood tile for outside, but ultimately chose pavers because i didn't want the area around the pool to be super slippery for people.
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my wife is actually contemplating on that now, using the same wood tile for landscaping so it looks like indoor/outdoor one big area. i'm not sure if it's a good idea though...
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hey GH - if you and your wife wants to see how this looks, one of the Heights models at Baker Ranch does this wood-looking tile in the indoor and then extends it through all the outdoor space/cali room.  Looks nice.
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Thanks bone for letting us know.. we'll probably take a look few weeks from now (after all the opening hype dies down).  We're already pass our cutoff anyway so not much we can do (we went through the builders as the cost difference vs contractor is minimal).
 
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