I have two small bedrooms (11’ x 12’ 11" and 10’ 7" x 11’) that I want to put wood look tile in with 1/8" or 1/16" grout lines. The tile comes in two different sizes: 6" x 36" and 9" x 36". I also plan on staggering the rows in 1 foot increments (one third increments) so that it will look more like real wood. I am not sure which size would look best for the rooms. Another option would be to use both sizes by alternating the rows with the two different sizes (i.e., a row of 6" x 36" tile followed by a row of 9" x 36" tile). Anyone have any ideas (pros and cons) with the different options?
"wood … look … tile … "
I’m having a hard time picturing this. Do you mean what’s usually called parquet floors? (Pronounced “par-KAY”) as shown here.
If so, that stuff doesn’t involve grout, although if you meant actual ceramic-tile-and-grout like you’d use in a bathroom, then a.) I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that for a bedroom, and 2- I’ve never seen it look like wood, and #3 I don’t think you’d have success staggering it.
I’d go with the 6" it’ll look more like wood flooring that way.
That makes sense about the 6" tile. Thank you MikeG!
+1 on most of this.
I wondered if you were talking about what I’d call a floating floor (or laminate flooring), which is similar i concept to parquet flooring but looks more like normal floorboards, rather than checker type of pattern you get with parquet. Again you don’t use grout on floating floors, so I’m not 100% on the type of product you’re using. If you are talking about laminate flooring, my only advice is to go with one or the other widths, don’t mix them.
I have seen wood look ceramic tiles, but they are just that, wood look, No one will mistake them for anything but ceramic tiles with an interesting/cool pattern on them. The ones I’ve seen are wall tiles though, not meant to be walked on. If it is ceramic tiles you’re talking about, I would question using them in a bedroom, seems an odd design choice to me.
This no about a 45 degree angle for the tile as well. You get a bit more waste but it looks great.
The tiles are porcelain that are made to look like wood. And you are right that no one will ever think that they are made out of wood. I used one brand, Provenza Lignes (Urban Timber), in my kitchen, living room, dinning room, utility room and hall (and really like it). However it has been discontinued. My house is one level on a concrete slab and I simply don’t want to use real wood floors (though it can be done). I also am tired of carpet (trying to clean it, wearing out in high traffic areas, etc.). So my thought, right or wrong, is to go with tile floors when the carpet needs to be replaced in a room and use area rugs on the tile floor. The tile I want to use for the two bedrooms is Ragno - Cambridge Oak.
Fair enough. Personally I like tiles or timber in the living spaces and high traffic areas, and carpet in the bedrooms.
I’m not sure where you’re located, but if you get cold winters I would recommend investigating some underfloor heating for the bedrooms tiles, otherwise that’s going to be an awfully cold floor on a cold winters morning when you step out of bed 
And personally I wold definitely stick with one width of tiles throughout. If you’re not concerned about them appearing to be real floor boards, a larger tile will tend to make the space it is in look larger as well.
WARNING!
Ceramic tile comes in 3 very VERY different grades:
WALL
COUNTERTOP
FLOOR
The crap sold in big box stores is very low grade wall tile. It is too soft and thin/fragile for any use other than decoration.
Somebody remodeled this house - put in a pool and spa with solar heating. They did replace the original cardboard kitchen cabinets with decent cabinets. They then installed Home Depot tile on the counters* and floors.
The floors a shattered, chip, cracked. The counters are pitted.
If you put ceramic tile on a floor, it will be cold and uninviting as a place to sleep.
The grout must be sealed with a quality sealer that you wiil NOT find in a big box or it will crud up with mold/mildew.
Please reconsider your decision.
Yes I am aware that not all tile is created equal. There is a good website, www.artwalktile.com, that actually rate the tile that they sell. Listed below are their ratings from 1 to 10 (some of which are quite funny). The tile that I bought has a rating of 10 and the additional tile I want to purchase (because the previous has been discontinued) also has a rating of 10. So I guess I can pass the quality check (smile). Also want to mention that one of the bedrooms I want to put the tile in is being used as an office. So I guess I can get a pass on that one also (smile). However the other bedroom is being used as a bedroom (by me!). As I mentioned before, I just am not a fan of carpet anymore. Decisions, decisions …
Joe Ventura’s Flooring Rating
I wanted to share the knowledge I have gained from working in the flooring industry over the last 30 years. So I established “Joe Ventura’s Flooring Rating” Rely on this guide to help you select the best value/performance combination when selecting your flooring.
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