How to Choose the Right Tile for Your Home in Nepal

Tiles have been an important part of the decorations in a house. Anyway, choosing the right tiles for home is kind of confusing; especially given that there are many variations available in the market these days.

 To help you with that, we provide you essential tips to choose the right tile for your house in Nepal.

First thing: Where are You Placing the Tiles?

You will probably need to put different tiles in different areas of your home. Moreover, there are tiles specifically made for the walls and the floor. Well, floor tiles can go on walls, but it is not true vice-versa. So, the first step is exactly knowing the areas where you want tiles.

At the same time, you need to assure that tile is the best option rather than other floorings like marbles.

After that, you need to consider these things.

The Material of the Tile

The first thing to consider is the material of the tile. There are Ceramic (porcelain), slate, glass, mosaic, pebble stone tiles, and others.

The material of the tile influences its looks, hardness, porosity, and slip resistance.

Anyway, you don’t need to worry a lot about it. You can just continue reading the coming points in the article, and you will choose the right tile for your home, regardless of the mineral that makes it.

The Hardness of the Tile

This is another thing to consider while you choose the right tile for your home in Nepal.

After the material comes the hardness. It mostly depends on foot traffic in the room. Moreover, it also affects how much scratch the tile gets.

For tiles, we talk about the Moh’s scale. It measures the relative hardness of a mineral by its resistance to scratching.

The scale gives five classes of tiles.

Class I: It is the softest one. It easily gets scratched, so is only preferable for walls.

Class II: Class II tiles are good options for places with less foot traffic. For example, say attach bathrooms.

Class III: They are common in bathrooms and walls. These tiles can handle moderate traffic, but anyway, they still are not recommended for the kitchen or other spaces where there are a lot of people.

Class IV: Class IV tiles are the best options for every area in the house including kitchen, bathroom, basement, etc. Scratches are not very common in them. 

Class V: They are mostly for commercial spaces. For example, shopping malls with extensive foot traffic use this class tiles. They are the strongest and don’t get scratched easily.

After going to the store, you can ask about the class of the tiles that you like. This will help you make the most effective decision.

Slip Resistance

Many people consider slip resistance to be the most important factor while choosing tiles for their homes.

How much you slip on a tile slip depends on the material and its size. As a rule of thumb, smaller the tiles, lesser the slips occur in them. This because smaller tiles have more grout lines.

For houses, you should avoid anything more than 6X6 in area. We recommend sizes smaller than 4X4.

Here are the slip profiles of the materials used for tiling:

Ceramic (Porcelain): They tend to be more slippery than the others. Anyway, they tend to look shinier and attractive than others, so people still opt for them by installing slip-resistant coatings.

Slate: They are very slip-resistant.

Pebble Stone: They don’t get slippery. They provide unique aesthetic, which, however, isn’t liked by most consumers. Anyway, they are the best option for shower rooms where the floor is in constant contact with water.

Glass and Mosaic: They are small in size so don’t slip. Anyway, like the pebble stone, many use them only in shower areas.

Understand the Porosity

Tile porosity means how many small pores (holes) the tiles have. It affects how much water the tile absorbs.

It is different from the slip resistance. More the water a tile absorbs, damper it gets, and more easily it degrades over time.

Depending on the water in the room, you need to choose different porosity classifications.

Ask the store owner about the classification of the tile while buying it.

Impervious: Impervious tiles don’t absorb a lot of water (less than 0.5% absorption). It suits in kitchen and bathroom.

Vitreous: Vitreous tiles have a water absorption of 0.5 percent to 3 percent. You can use it for the kitchen and bathroom, but of course, it is not as recommended as the impervious ones.

Semi-Vitreous: Semi-Vitreous tiles have a water absorption of 3 – 7 percent. We place them on floors which don’t have a lot of contact with water besides when cleaning them. For example, in commercial space.

Non-Vitreous: They absorb a lot of water. We use them on walls but not on the floor.

Tile Design is another Factor to Consider While You Choose the Right Tile for Your Home in Nepal

First off, tiles are the most recommended for darker spaces, as they reflect a lot of light. Anyway, after all, as beauty

is an objective thing, you can place any tile on any place in your home, as long as it looks good to you.

It will be best if you picture the area first in your head with tiles and imagine what looks the best. You c

an then visit the store and then match your interest, For materials, ceramic and porcelain are cheaper, shinier and go to the bathroom and kitchen floors. Anyway, as they are slippery, and in the shower spaces, you can look for smaller glass mosaic, pebble stone, or slate.

On the other hand, stone tiles are expensive, but they provide a different level of the premium feel. In Nepal, mostly hotels and spas use them on swimming pools and in their compound (that’s what we call the area between the main gate and the door of the house here).

Well, you don’t need to be confused about the designs, just go to the shop and for the one you like, consider all the above things before buying it.

Well, those were some tips to help you choose the right tile for your home in Nepal. You can directly contact us if you still have confusion. Also, visit our website for houses and land for sale in Nepal.