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Kitchen with large-format charcoal porcelain tile

Tile & Stone

Tile and Stone Flooring That Stays Flat, Tight and Crack-Free

Tile and stone flooring outlasts almost anything else you can put down, but only when the substrate, setting material and layout are right. Here's how to choose the tile, and what sound installation looks like underneath.

Choose Tile and Stone Flooring by How It's Made

Two tiles can look identical in a showroom and behave nothing alike on your floor. Porcelain is pressed denser and fired hotter than standard ceramic, and the ANSI standard defines it by water absorption of 0.5 percent or less. That density makes it the default for kitchens, mudrooms and entries.

Ceramic is lighter, easier to cut and perfectly fine in a guest bath. Natural stone is a different animal. Marble, travertine, limestone and slate come out of a quarry, so every piece brings its own porosity and quirks. Still weighing tile and stone flooring against waterproof wood looks? Our luxury vinyl plank guide covers that route.

Porcelain, Ceramic and Natural Stone Compared

How the three main categories of tile and stone flooring differ once installed
PropertyPorcelainCeramicNatural stone
Water absorption0.5% or less by definitionHigher; varies by clay bodyVaries widely by stone
ChipsBest hidden by color-body linesExpose a contrasting clay bodySame material all the way through
SealingTile needs none; cement grout mayGlazed tile needs noneUsually required and renewed
Acid sensitivityVery lowLow on glazed facesHigh on marble, limestone and travertine
Best fitKitchens, baths, entries, radiant heatLight-traffic baths and laundryRooms where you'll accept patina

Layout explorer

See the joint before you set the tile.

Tile size, offset and grout width change how a floor reads more than color does. Try combinations on a 10 x 6 ft area drawn to scale.

Tile size (inches)
Pattern
Grout joint (inches)
Full tiles
4
Cut tiles
6
Grout lines
1/16 in

Flatness is the job.

Large-format tile needs a much flatter substrate than small tile, commonly around 1/8 inch in 10 feet. Expect leveling work and a leveling clip system to control lippage at the joints.

Read the Ratings Before the Price

Two numbers on a spec sheet beat any sales pitch. The PEI rating grades glazed tile wear from class 0 to 5. Class 3 handles most residential floors, class 4 suits entries and light commercial space, and class 1 belongs on a wall.

DCOF is the slip number. The current ANSI standard sets 0.42 as the minimum wet DCOF for level interior floors walked on when wet. That's a floor, not a goal, so a polished marble that tests below it has no business in a shower or mudroom. Browse finishes in our tile and stone collections.

Then check the edges. Rectified tile is ground after firing so every piece measures nearly the same, which allows tighter joints. Tighter doesn't mean zero. Most manufacturers set a minimum, commonly 1/8 inch for rectified porcelain.

Match the Tile to the Room

Narrow the field by the room's real conditions.

It's a shower floor or wet entry
Use smaller tile or mosaics for more grout lines and grip, rated at or above 0.42 wet DCOF.
You want large-format tile in a kitchen
Budget for substrate flattening first. Big tile demands a far flatter floor.
You love marble but cook with citrus and wine
Pick a honed finish so etching blends in, or choose marble-look porcelain.
The floor sits on wood-framed joists
Confirm deflection meets L/360 for porcelain and ceramic or L/720 for natural stone.

Build Tile and Stone Flooring From the Subfloor Up

A tile floor is a system. When a layer gets skipped, the failure shows in the grout, but the cause sits lower.

  1. Stiffen bouncy framing with blocking or an added layer of plywood.
  2. Flatten the substrate with patch or self-leveling underlayment to the tolerance the tile size requires.
  3. Add an uncoupling membrane where the base is prone to movement, such as wood framing or a cracked slab.
  4. Spread thinset with the right trowel notch and back-butter large tiles. Industry standards call for 80 percent coverage in dry interiors and 95 percent in wet areas and under stone.
  5. Place soft movement joints at the perimeter and through large fields per TCNA guidance.
  6. Plan finished height against adjoining rooms, especially next to new hardwood floors, so the threshold isn't a trip edge.

Pick Grout for the Way You Clean

Grout is where most tile floors start to look tired. Cementitious grout is porous, inexpensive and forgiving. Sanded versions fill joints 1/8 inch and wider; unsanded suits narrower joints and polished stone that sand would scratch. Plan on sealing it, then resealing.

Epoxy grout costs more and needs a skilled hand, since it sets fast and hazes if it's not cleaned off in time. In exchange it shrugs off stains and skips the sealer. For a white kitchen floor or a dog-heavy entry, that trade usually wins. Settle it during planning, a step in our installation process, not on install day.

The bottom line

What You Get When Tile and Stone Flooring Is Done Right

Surface
Flat underfoot, with lippage inside industry tolerance and straight grout lines.
Bond
No hollow-sounding tiles, because mortar coverage meets the standard for the location.
Upkeep
A grout and sealer plan you can live with, chosen before install day.
Traction
Wet areas finished with tile at or above the 0.42 wet DCOF minimum.

Bring photos of your rooms to a tile and stone estimate.

Tile & Stone Flooring questions

Is porcelain tile better than ceramic for floors?

For most floors, yes. Porcelain absorbs 0.5 percent water or less, so it handles kitchens, entries and radiant heat better than standard ceramic. Ceramic is lighter and easier to cut, and a glazed ceramic with a PEI class 3 rating works well in a guest bath. Choose by traffic and moisture, then check the PEI and DCOF numbers.

How often should natural stone floors be sealed?

There's no fixed calendar. It depends on the stone's porosity, the sealer and how hard the floor gets used. Put a few drops of water on the stone and wait several minutes. If the spot darkens, the sealer has worn and it's time to reapply, following the sealer manufacturer's directions.

Can you install new tile over an existing tile floor?

Sometimes, but it's rarely the best move. The old tile must be fully bonded, flat and crack-free, and the added height affects doors, appliances and transitions. If any tiles sound hollow when tapped or the grout is cracking, that problem will carry through, so tear out and start from a sound substrate.

Do I need an uncoupling membrane under floor tile?

Not always, but many floors benefit. An uncoupling membrane lets the substrate and tile move slightly independent of each other, which helps over wood subfloors and cracked slabs. It doesn't fix a bouncy floor, so deflection still has to meet L/360 or L/720 for stone. Follow the membrane and tile installation guides.

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Your dream space starts here

Stone and tile, set to last.

Tell us about the room, the way you live in it and the look you're after. We'll come back with materials that suit it and a clear estimate.

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