Advantages and Disadvantages of Granite Flooring
Granite is a wonderful alternative for flooring, despite being more typically used for worktops and backsplashes. If you’re looking for a durable, aesthetically pleasing, and investment-grade material for your building, granite is a great option.
What is Granite Flooring?
Natural stones called granite are created when molten rock below cools. This lengthy, high-pressure process results in the formation of granite. It is a largely solid and sturdy igneous rock.
Feldspar and quartz are two of the minerals that give granite its brilliant lustre. It may be utilised in almost any room of the house and is available in both honed, matte slabs and brushed, shimmering tiles. Its beauty exceeds that of the majority of other tile materials, and granite flooring oozes wealth. It needs to be installed by experts because it is both expensive and heavy. Its natural stone construction makes it environmentally friendly. If used in a moist-proof setting, it is not as porous as marble and does not require sealing. Including marble, it is stiffer and stain-resistant than any other type of flooring.
Advantages of Granite Flooring
Heat Resistant:
You may walk barefoot on your floor in the summer because of Heat Resistant Granite’s ability to resist heat. Due to this characteristic, these floorings are excellent for in-floor heating systems.
Extremely Tough:
Due to its long-term durability, granite is a fantastic option. For a variety of reasons, including its longevity, people prefer granite tile worktops. Blades or culinary utensils won’t scratch your granite surface, so you don’t have to be concerned. Granite tiles have been demonstrated to outlast tiles constructed of other widely available materials, making them beneficial due to their endurance. If you want something that will last, granite is an excellent option for your home or office.
Stain and Scuff Resistance:
For maximum stain resistance, consider matching the granite floor tiles to your kitchen counters. Since granite is more stain-resistant than other types of flooring, it is frequently used as a surface for food preparation. As long as the granite is properly sealed, spills on properly sealed granite tiles can be removed with ease. Use Granite Gold Stone & Tile Floor Cleaning before a stain appears if you’re unclear on how to properly clean granite and natural stone floors.
Minimal Maintenance Needed:
Because you only need to sweep and mop your granite floor occasionally, maintaining its lovely appearance is straightforward.
Moisture Resistance:
Tile is a popular alternative for damp places in buildings and granite is a great option for wet spaces. Granite tile creates an almost impenetrable barrier to liquids, so you won’t have to worry about dampness ruining your subfloor if you use it.
Granite Flooring Is Allergen-Free:
By routinely cleaning your granite floors, you might reduce the number of allergic reactions at your place. The positive effects can do much more than only reduce the frequency of runny noses and itchy throats. According to the EPA, poor indoor air quality poses serious health risks such as an elevated risk of heart disease, cancer, and respiratory illnesses.
Different Color Choices:
You don’t have to stick with dark granite, one of the most common countertop options, when it comes to floor tiles. Throughout millions of years, Mother Nature sculpted the form of granite, and each block taken from quarries around the globe has a distinctive character.
Because granite is created naturally through volcanic processes involving a wide range of minerals and temperatures, it can be found in a variety of hues and patterns. The most common colours are red, blue, white, black, beige, and beige-brown. You may select something that matches your style and goes well with your existing décor thanks to the wide variety of granite flooring and countertop options available.
Disadvantages of Granite Flooring
The Weight of Granite:
Choosing granite tiles for your home’s flooring is a great idea. But, you should get it checked by a professional to verify if it can support the weight before putting the floor. Because a slab of granite measuring 1.28 inches thick weighs about 18 pounds compared to a square foot’s weight of approximately 12.8 pounds. The weight of the granite can be too much for some flooring to support.
Not Easy To Install:
Compared to other options, installing granite is the most expensive flooring material. A granite floor is expensive since the stone is expensive and complex to install. You shouldn’t attempt to install a granite floor on your own if you want the best results. Before laying the tiles, your installer must make sure the floor is perfectly level. An uneven floor may cause the tiles to fracture. The weight of the stone makes it difficult to lay the tiles precisely.
Professional Services May Be Needed for Maintenance:
Some people claim that granite can be challenging to keep clean and maintain. The fact that there is so much contradicting information available online about how to maintain granite worktops and floors is not helpful. As clients weigh the advantages and downsides of granite flooring, they typically decide that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. If you don’t mind a difficult installation procedure and frequent maintenance, granite flooring tiles might be a terrific addition to your home or office.
Unsteady:
Granite flooring with a high-gloss finish has a slippery surface that, especially for youngsters and the elderly, can result in catastrophic injuries from slips and falls.
Need for Sealing:
To keep your granite surface glossy and appealing, you’ll need to periodically reseal it.
Granite is brittle:
Although it doesn’t seem to be, granite is not as brittle as other types of stone. While being one of the hardest stones, granite is not as heavy or dense as other types of stone. Installation is difficult because it is still vulnerable to chipping or breaking.
Due to the aesthetic effect, many builders only use granite for worktops, but they utilise it for flooring on their most complicated and expensive projects. This does not, however, change the fact that it is flawed.