Choosing tiles in Melbourne

A tile is a hard-wearing surface for a floor or a wall, made from ceramic, porcelain or natural stone. Each of those goes through a different manufacturing process, and that process is what decides the texture, the appearance and — most importantly — what the tile is actually suitable for.

People have been tiling for centuries, and the reason has not changed: tile takes traffic, water and cleaning better than almost anything else you can put underfoot. Today that makes it the practical answer in wet areas like bathrooms, laundries and kitchens, and an increasingly common one in living rooms, hallways and outdoor entertaining areas.

The three families below cover nearly everything you will see in a showroom. Knowing which family a tile belongs to tells you most of what you need to know before you look at a single colour.

Ceramic tiles are made from clay, pressed and fired in a kiln. They are the most affordable of the three families and the most versatile, which is why the colour and pattern range is enormous compared with anything else.

Glazed ceramic has a layer of liquid glass baked onto the surface. That glaze does two jobs: it protects the body of the tile, and it carries the colour or the gloss. Glazed ceramic is highly resistant to stains and moisture, which is why it turns up on so many bathroom and kitchen walls.

Unglazed ceramic leaves the natural, earthy appearance of the clay on show. It reads as more rustic, and because there is no glass layer it is generally less slippery — a practical choice where you want grip rather than shine.

Where ceramic is happiest: walls, splashbacks, and floors that see normal domestic traffic.

Porcelain starts from a more refined clay and is fired at a higher temperature. The result is denser and more durable than standard ceramic, and it absorbs very little water. That water resistance is why porcelain is the default answer for high-moisture areas, and why it is the family we point people at for outdoors.

Full-body porcelain carries its colour and pattern the whole way through the thickness of the tile rather than just on the surface. The practical consequence: a chip or a deep scratch shows the same colour underneath, so damage is far less noticeable. On a commercial floor or a busy hallway, that is worth paying for.

Glazed porcelain has a glass-like coating applied over the body, which opens up a huge range of colours and patterns — including the stone and timber looks that have taken over the market. It is easy to clean and easy to maintain.

Where porcelain is happiest: floors of every kind, wet areas, commercial jobs, and outdoors.

Stone tiles are cut directly from the rock — marble, granite and travertine are the three you will see most often. No two pieces are identical, which is the point of using them and also the thing to plan for: order the whole job in one go and dry-lay before fixing.

Marble is the one people picture: distinctive veining and a genuinely luxurious finish. It is also the one that asks the most of you. Marble needs regular maintenance and sealing, and it does not forgive acidic spills.

Granite is exceptionally hard and durable, and highly resistant to scratches and stains. If you want natural stone in a kitchen or a high-traffic area, granite is the sensible end of the family.

Travertine comes vein cut or cross cut, in greys, creams and silvers. It has a rustic charm and excellent slip resistance, which makes it a favourite around pools, on patios and anywhere else outdoors that gets wet.

Start with how the room gets used, not with the colour. Colour is the easy part and the part you can change your mind about in the showroom.

High-traffic areas — entries, hallways, kitchens, anything commercial — want durability and easy maintenance above all. Full-body porcelain is the safe answer.

Wet areas — bathrooms, laundries, around a pool — want slip resistance and moisture protection. Glazed porcelain or unglazed ceramic both work; the deciding factor is usually the slip rating rather than the family.

Living areas and bedrooms are where warmth and appearance can lead. Natural stone and full-body porcelain both give you a floor that looks considered rather than merely practical.

And bring the room to us. A photo of the space, the benchtop offcut, the paint swatch, the plan — any of those makes the conversation ten times more useful than a description.

Format changes the feel of a room as much as colour does. A 600 x 600 floor reads calm and modern; a 75 x 300 subway reads traditional; a plank format in a timber look stretches a narrow room the way floorboards do; a finger mosaic turns a splashback into the feature of the kitchen.

The practical trade-off is this: the larger the tile, the flatter the substrate has to be. A floor that is slightly out will not show under a mosaic sheet, but it will show as lippage — one tile edge standing proud of the next — under a large-format tile. That is what levelling systems are for, and on large format they are not optional. We stock them.

You will also see the word rectified. It means the edges have been mechanically ground square after firing, so the tiles can be laid with a tighter grout joint and a cleaner line. Cushion-edged tiles have a slightly rounded edge and want a wider joint.

Mosaics come on mesh sheets and are fixed with a thin-set mortar. A modest splashback is a realistic weekend job if you are patient. Larger runs and complex patterns are better handed to a tiler — the fiddly part is always cutting the sheets around power points and taps.

Slip resistance in Australia is tested to AS 4586, and the result is the P or R rating you will see on our collection pages. The short version: the higher the number, the more grip the surface offers underfoot. A polished tile that looks superb in a showroom can be the wrong tile entirely for a wet bathroom floor or an outdoor step.

For internal dry floors you have a lot of freedom. For bathrooms, laundries, external areas and anything with a fall to a drain, the rating matters and is often specified for you — by a builder, an architect or the plans themselves.

Every collection page on this site lists the slip rating for that range. If you are unsure what your job needs, ring us before you buy. It is a two-minute conversation and it is a great deal cheaper than lifting a floor.

Melbourne gives you a genuine four seasons, sometimes inside one afternoon, and that has a real bearing on tile choice.

Underfoot, tile holds whatever temperature the room is. In winter, a floor over a heated slab stays warm long after the heating goes off — which is a large part of why hydronic and in-slab heating and tile go together so well. In summer, that same thermal mass is what makes a tiled floor feel cool when the rest of the house does not.

Outside, the swing between a 40-degree day and a frost matters more than the average. Look for tiles rated for external use — porcelain, generally — and check the slip rating for wet conditions, because our wet conditions arrive without much warning.

For a finish you will still be happy with in ten years, use a professional installer. Two things to check before you hire one: that they are licensed, and that you have actually seen their previous work. Photos of finished jobs tell you more than any quote does.

If you are doing it yourself, the basics are tile layout, cutting and adhesive application — in that order, and none of them should be rushed. Set out the room first so you are not left with a sliver of tile in the most visible corner.

The tool list is short: a tile cutter, a notched trowel, a level, spacers and a sponge. We stock all of it, along with the adhesives, levelling systems and waterproofing that go with it.

Surface preparation decides the job. The substrate must be clean, level and free of debris before anything is fixed to it. Almost every failed tile job we get asked about traces back to preparation, not to the tile.

The tile is the part you see. Everything that decides whether it lasts sits behind it.

Waterproofing comes first in any internal wet area, and in Australia it is done to AS 3740. It goes on before the tiles, it is not something that can be corrected afterwards, and it is the single most expensive thing to get wrong. If your job involves a shower, a bath or a laundry, this is the conversation to have with us before you choose a colour.

Adhesive is chosen for the substrate and the tile, not by price. Concrete, sheet flooring, render and existing tile all behave differently, and large-format porcelain asks more of an adhesive than a small ceramic wall tile does. Tell us what you are fixing to and what you are fixing down, and we will match it.

Grout changes how a tile looks more than people expect. A matching grout makes a floor read as one surface; a contrasting grout draws every joint and turns the layout into a pattern. For commercial floors, wet areas and anywhere that has to be cleaned hard, epoxy grout is worth the extra work at installation.

We carry Ardex, Mapei, Bostik, Sika and the rest by name, and all of it is in the catalogue.

Tiles are low-maintenance, not no-maintenance, and the wrong cleaning product will do more damage than the traffic will.

Use mild detergents and avoid harsh chemicals. A soft cloth or a mop is all you need — abrasive pads take the finish off a glaze and dull polished stone permanently.

Day to day: sweep or vacuum regularly to lift the grit that scratches, then mop with warm water and a mild cleaner. Deal with spills quickly, and quickly matters most on porous natural stone, where a spill left overnight can become a stain you cannot lift.

For the cloudy film left behind after grouting, use a proper grout haze remover — Aqua Mix Grout Haze Remover is the one we recommend. Do not attack it with something acidic and hope for the best.

Most tile problems are grout problems. Discoloured or crumbling grout can be cleaned, and where cleaning does not get there, it can be raked out and replaced without touching the tiles.

A cracked tile can be swapped without redoing the floor. Remove the grout around it, lift the tile out, clean the bed back, apply fresh adhesive and set the replacement. This is the argument for buying a box more than you need and keeping it in the shed — matching a batch three years later is not always possible.

A tile that has come loose but is otherwise sound can usually be re-adhered rather than replaced.

Outdoor tiling asks three things of a tile: slip resistance, weather resistance, and the ability to cope with Melbourne's swings. Porcelain is usually the recommendation, for its durability and how little it asks of you afterwards.

Pay attention to falls and drainage, to the slip rating in wet conditions, and to the adhesive and waterproofing system — outdoors is where a shortcut on preparation shows up fastest.

If you are tiling a patio, a pool surround, a balcony or a set of steps, tell us that first. It changes what we put in front of you.