Porch tiles: how to choose the most suitable option? (26 photo)

Tiling the porch is a great way to solve the problem with choosing a covering. The wooden porch will quickly wipe away, dry out and fail. Natural stone is heavy and expensive - the same granite requires large investments and a lot of laying work. Plastic is not inferior to wood in the speed of wear and, in addition, it always looks cheap.

In order not to encounter all these shortcomings, it is better to make a porch from paving slabs, but you need to use not tiles, but other varieties.

Types of Tiles

Outdoor tiles for the porch should be resistant to frost and moisture, durable and beautiful at the same time. There are not many varieties that meet all the requirements.

Rubber tile for porch steps

Rubber is a cheap material, and tiles are often made from production waste, but this does not affect its performance at all. Rubber is resistant to frost, is not afraid of moisture, easily tolerates any mechanical impact. Having fallen on it, it is difficult to break something - the coating is too soft. Rubberized, it is flexible enough to fit all potentially sharp corners, and resistant enough to be easily cleaned with a metal scraper. The market offers a huge selection of rubber tiles - they come in a wide variety of sizes and colors. Moreover, you can order to your own tastes and choose the best option for decoration.

Rubber is also easy to cut and can be used for finishing work on the porch of complex shape.

Porcelain Tiles

Porcelain tile is made from a mixture of natural stone and ceramics, which gives the product additional advantages over simple ceramics. It is characterized by high strength and great resistance to moisture - in order to lay it on the porch of the house, cement mortar is not used, precisely because the tile will not be taken. It has a natural pattern, looks like a stone and is resistant to abrasion - for many years of use, the pattern will not be erased, since it is applied to the deepest layers. It does not require special care, it is easy to clean, does not icy and does not slip, which is very important for finishing the porch.

The tile is brick

It is made from high quality clay, which is first strongly pressed, then fired at very high temperatures. As a result, clinker tiles can be used to veneer anything - laying the porch with it is as good an idea as laying the ballroom with it. It does not slip, has frost resistance, does not require special care and easily tolerates temperature changes. Thanks to the processing method, it can be of any color and bear any patterns on it, which increases its aesthetic qualities. Facing it with a porch means getting the most presentable and convenient front door.

A natural stone

If concrete tile for the steps of the porch is a good solution, and clinker tiles for the porch on the street is good, then natural stone is excellent. The tile from it can serve for many years, does not require maintenance, is frost-resistant, resistant to abrasion.It is impossible to erase its natural pattern from a stone - therefore, even years later, marble or granite tiles for the porch will look just as good. But the number of drawings is limited. There is no deep blue granite, there is no bright pink marble. The pattern of the stone can only be natural. In addition, the stone has two drawbacks - its high cost and its severity. For steps for the porch, it may be too expensive option, which also can not withstand the main bearing surface. For tile laying on the steps of the porch to be successful, you need to count a lot and be prepared for force majeure.

Neither vinyl tiles nor ordinary tiles are suitable for outdoor use. Only rubber, porcelain stoneware, clinker or stone will do - and even then not all. You need to look very carefully at the markings that the packaging will be provided with.

What to look for when buying?

First of all, to choose a tile for the porch, you need to look at the legend that can be found on any package:

• Abrasion. The abrasion designation looks like a trace from the sole, and it depends on how quickly the tile will lose its presentation and wipe. It depends on the coefficient how many people will have to go through the facing coatings in order to have to change them. It varies from one to five, and for the porch it will be quite enough the average coefficient - three or, if many visitors are expected, four.
• Slip. Non-slip tiles are a prerequisite for the porch, as falling off the steps is much easier than slipping on a regular floor. The slip is marked with the letter R and varies. It is worth buying a tile with a coefficient of no lower than nine. The anti-slip tiles for the porch should have a rough surface or shallow grooves of the picture.
• Resistance to frost. Frost resistance is indicated not under the letter, but under the snowflake pattern, and can vary from zero to three hundred. You should choose according to the severity of winter in the region - if the temperature barely drops below zero, it will be enough to lay a tile marked twenty-five. If the temperature drops below ten, then a hundred will be needed.
• Resistance to hostile environment. Aggressive environment is indicated by the pattern of a chemical flask and may vary. For home conditions, a high indicator is not needed - ten percent will be enough to make the tile almost insensitive to moisture.
• Hardness. The hardness depends on how tile will be resistant to mechanical stress. The coefficient varies from one to ten, the higher it is, the greater the stability. The symbol looks like a stylized diamond.
• Bending strength. It depends on how flexible the tile is. Frost-resistant anti-slip tiles for the porch, if it is not rubber, usually has a fairly low coefficient. But the rubber ones are almost one hundred percent - they can even make semicircular steps.
• Tile thickness. The strength of the coating depends on this, which will result in the thinner the tile, the easier it is to break, and the lower the coefficient, the thinner it is. For masonry, it is better to buy a tile with average values.
• The area of ​​tiles in the box. It is relevant for any wholesale purchase - and buying a tile even for the smallest porch one by one will not work. It depends on how many square meters you can cover with the contents of the box. And it’s better to always take more than buy it later.
• The mass of the box. In order not to puzzle over not only how to lay the tiles on the steps, but also how to convey it, you need to take a box that is relatively easy to lift. Weight depends on the amount of tile and how thin it is.
• The number of tiles in the box. How much effort it takes to figure out how to tile the porch depends on this indicator.Each of them will be in its place, which must first be determined. The smaller the tile size, the more effort you will have to spend.

Facing the porch with paving slabs implies interest not only in marking on the box, but also following some rules:

1. Inspection Before buying a tile, you should make sure that everything is in order with it. Chips should be even. The surface is devoid of visible flaws.
2. Reading reviews. The best way to choose a good seller is to ask friends or read reviews on the Internet. Even paving stones can be made with flaws - in the case of tiles, this is doubly and triple relevant. Compounded by the fact that a person without education will not see problems.

In addition, it should be remembered that when thinking about which tile to choose, one should not forget about the aesthetic side of the issue.

What should the tile look like?

Putting tiles on the porch is half the battle. Putting it so that it makes the entrance aesthetic and fits well into the overall design is much more difficult.

• Compatibility The floor tiles that the porch is laid out should be suitable for the whole house, for its general style. A staircase in a rubber tile cannot decorate a classic. The porch, lined with natural stone, will look ridiculous in a simple village house.
• Color. The bright color that can be made by buying a rubber tile is not suitable everywhere. To choose - both his and the more muffled natural version - you need to wisely. A good solution is to take a picture of the house and think about what color is suitable, using a special combination table.
• Design. Patterns and drawings allow you to transform the tiled coating completely, but on their own. divorced from the whole, they will look tasteless. Only as part of the overall design can they become decoration.

Choosing a tile, trying to understand how to correctly, why you can’t take a tile, trying to figure out the marking may take some time, but it will definitely pay off in the end. Correctly selected tiles will delight the eye of every incoming person and will last for many, many years.

It is enough to wipe it with a rag from time to time and replace individual parts if problems arise with them.