Glass Tile Flooring

Glass tile is a beautiful and durable option for your flooring needs. It can be combined with ceramic or porcelain tiles as accent glass tiles for a breathtaking and expensive look. You can use glass mosaic tiles and colored glass tiles to create a masterpiece of your floor. The use of accent glass tile and glass mosaic tile is more expensive because of the additional labor, but the look is stunning and may be worthwhile, depending on your style. Selecting glass tiles for use in the kitchen, bath, entry, or in front of the fireplace as a hearth and be satisfied with the results.

Related:  Check out one of our best articles on tile flooring reviews.  We’ve chosen a large selection of tiles and compared them especially for you!

 

Why Choose Glass Tile Flooring?

 

Many homeowners do not even consider glass tile for their homes, assuming that the glass is too fragile for foot traffic. Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

  • Adds beauty and adds value to your home

 

  • While the natural transparency and depth of glass tiles simply creates stunning elegance

 

  • Glass tiles are environmentally friendly

 

  • Impervious to water

 

  • Very easy to clean up

 

  • High durability

 

  • Provide greater health benefits for those who suffer from allergies

 

But glass tiles have a few drawbacks too:

 

  • Sometimes may be slippery when wet

 

  • Expensive

 

  • Glass tiles are cold under foot

 

Glass Tiles – How it is made?

 

Most glass tiles are actually made of recycled glass, which makes them very environmentally friendly. To make the tiles, recycled glass from windshields and bottles are collected and crushed. It is then blended with metallic oxides to give the glass added strength. At this stage, colors may also be added in order to produce colored glass tile or uniquely-hued accent glass tile. Finally, the mixtures are poured into tile molds and fired at high temperatures. Some manufacturers add a glaze in order to make the glass even more durable and make it ready for installing glass tile flooring.

 

How to Select Glass Tiles for Flooring?

 

When it comes to selecting glass tiles for flooring purposes, care should be taken that only glass tiles that are meant for flooring should be selected, as they are strong and they can only handle all the foot traffic and the common wear and tear. Also, the glass tiles should be slip-resistant, as people walking on the tiles should not slip and fall down, especially when the floor is wet.

 

Types of Glass Tile Flooring

 

Nowadays, Glass tiles in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors to suit all kinds of your requirements and can be used in almost every room of your house. One can choose from small one inch tiles to larger eighteen inches in size. Installing glass tile flooring won’t affect the beauty of your home, but only add more value and appeal to your house.

 

Glass Tile Flooring – Sturdy and Durable

 

Glass tile is actually very sturdy and durable. According to tests run by the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) the water absorption of glass tiles is 0.03%, breaking strength is 420 lbs., and the abrasion resistance index is 137.5. The MOH (measure of hardness) rating for glass tiles is between 5 and 6, making them very durable. Glass tiles are also available with reinforced hardness and durability, suitable for commercial and industrial flooring uses and is very easy for cleaning glass tile flooring.

 

Glass Tile Flooring – Used for Decorative Purposes

 

Glass tiles have been used through the years for decorative purposes. For hundreds of years, beautiful glass panes have been used in decorative windows and glass tiles have been used on walls. Glass tile flooring, however, has is a more recent use of glass tiles. Even in the 1990s, glass flooring required lots of explanation and was often misunderstood by customers. Mostly, modern hotels and buildings made use of special glass tiles for floors as accent pieces before homeowners became aware of it as an option for themselves.

 

Advantages of Glass Tile Flooring

 

Glass tile has many advantages which outweigh the few shortcomings of this flooring option. The transparency of colored glass tile, for example, creates beautiful depth and effect that is simply not possible with other tiles. With accent glass tile, homeowners can complement and enhance any style of decor. It is easy for cleaning glass tile flooring as it resists chemicals and stains, and discourages mold growth. This type of tile is also a beautiful and practical addition to rooms that frequently have high moisture or temperature, like bathrooms, laundry areas, and kitchens. Glass bathroom tiles, for example, can be an elegant and durable solution to flooring. Bathroom glass tiles offers a very elegant flooring solution that will look great even after many years. If you decide to install bathroom glass tile, however, you will want to ensure that you have anti-slip glaze or tile surfaces that will help prevent accidents.

 

Disadvantages of Glass Tile Flooring

 

Glass has some drawbacks in tile form. It can be slippery when wet and can be cold on bare feet as well. Non-slippery sealants and in-floor heat can help minimize these disadvantages. Glass tile can be quite expensive as well. Special tiles such as glass mosaic tiles are often made by hand, making them more expensive than other types of flooring options.Removing Glass tile flooring can be a tough task.

 

Summary

 

If you are ready for a unique and beautiful flooring solution, the environmentally friendly and beautiful glass tile flooring choices may be for you. Whether you decide to decorate your floors with glass mosaic tile or colored glass tile, glass tiles can provide surprisingly durable and practical flooring designs and options.

4 thoughts on “Glass Tile Flooring”

  1. I have a landing/entryway for which I have asked an artist to create a few upscale designs tilizind exotic flooring materials. He has provided three very intricate and beautiful design options in smalti, 24K gold and mother of pearl. I was wondering what I should expect as a price per square foot for such high end materials and artist’s labor. I have a feeling I may regret starting this in the first place.
    Thank YOu

    Reply
  2. Hi Ingrid,
    I haven’t a clue what your entryway flooring would wind up costing. Gold is a tad over $900 an ounce now and skilled artesians are costly as well. It sounds like the two of you need to come up with a contract to lock in the price of what your entryway will cost.
    It sounds like a lovely idea, just be sure to seal the area really well afterwards. Another idea – polished brass would probably look lovely too and is far less costly than gold.

    Reply
  3. My husband and I are reflooring our home, and we have been considering glass tile. Thanks for sharing the pros and cons of this flooring option. As you said, the transparency can create a beautiful effect that will enhance the decor. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Thank you so much for your comment and support!

      I’d love to hear what flooring option you and your husband decide on and how it works for you. Good luck and happy reflooring :-)

      Reply

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