Your home is your very own personal space where you can give a free run to your creative ideas. Building a dream home takes a lot of hard work to give it the desired finish. Choosing good tiles that look great, can be easily maintained and not easily damaged can be quite a challenging task, especially if you are not aware of the details. Getting all these at the best possible rates without falling into expenses is a must. Granite and Vitrified are the two most common raw materials used.
Many of us are well acquainted with the granite as granite tiles have been the popular choice for countertops, walls, and flooring in every home. But the name vitrified tiles might be unfamiliar to many. Let us first understand what are these and then we will move on to the comparison between Vitrified Tiles vs Granite stone.
Vitrified tiles are the tiles that have undergone a heat process called vitrification. Vitrification is done in order to give the tiles a glass-like look and provide them unique features such as low porosity and very little water-absorption rate. This article entails the comparison between the two types of tiles to make you understand your requirements so that you can find the best fit for your dream home, or commercial building.
Vitrified Tiles vs Granite | Comparison
Affordability
Vitrified tiles are affordable than granite. Granite which is made of natural stone is much more expensive. The cost of granite differs from place to place depending upon its natural availability, while tiles have less cost with a fixed price. The installation cost of the granite is also higher than the vitrified tiles.
Stain or scratch resistance
Vitrified tiles having a glass-like surface are stain-resistant. They are scratch-resistant as well. On the other hand, granite is stain and burn resistant with very few chances to develop scratches.
Porosity
Due to vitrification, vitrified tiles are non-porous and absorb little to no water, whereas granite is a hard and tough natural stone with slightly porous properties.
Maintenance
Vitrified tiles are easy to maintain by any tile cleaner. Even water is sufficient to clean them. Here granite can also be cleaned and are even durable for acid wash and rough usage. But granites need a little more care since they become dull with time, so they need to be re-polished at regular intervals.
Slip Resistant
Vitrified tiles are available with anti-slip finishes whereas polished granite floors are slippery especially when wet. If you have a sufficient budget, you can get anti-skid granite also.
Installation time
Vitrified tiles are easily available in shops in all the areas and are in a ready-to-install condition. These can be easily installed in less than two working days. On the contrary, granite is usually not readily installable. The latter needs customized cutting, polishing, as well as finishing which is a very time-consuming process.
Design Availability
As vitrified tiles are man-made, you get a large variety of trendy designs, colors, prints, and textures. Although you may not get the same color or variety for maintenance purposes. On the other hand, granite has a distinct natural texture for every piece with limited designs and colors.
Appearance
Vitrified tiles lack the natural sheen and luster found in granite. The rough edges and grout lines are wider and easily visible. Also, you don’t get big-dimension tiles like granite with more joints. As compared to the former, the latter looks natural, more classy and opulent with barely visible grout lines.
Durability
Vitrified tiles can withstand harsh conditions and if maintained well can easily last for 10-15 years. However, these tiles are prone to breakage if mishandled and cannot be renovated. Granite, on the other hand, is very strong and durable. When used with care and repolishing, it remains shiny and intact for even a lifetime.
Though vitrified tiles have a slight edge over granite, we can’t draw any conclusion based on this. Granite is most suited for outdoors, pathways, stairs, counters, and wall decorations. Tiles are used for indoor and outdoor flooring, except for pathways that always require specialized tiles.
It is still your personal preference, but it’s better to come to a conclusion by listing down your priorities. Let your budget, design requirement, space location and utility decide it for you. Such decors are not changed very often. Hence, be alert!
Eternal Stones is a granite export firm that provides quality stones such as marbles, granites, slate stones, and sandstones. Its head office is located in Udaipur, India. For more information, please visit our site’s home page.
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