Are you looking for the most durable flooring option for your home or a specific project? Chances are you may be considering high pressure floors or ceramic tiles. Fortunately, our flooring expert is here to help you decide by explaining the differences between these options. All you have to do is choose which features are key to achieve your goals.
Sturdiness, scratch-resistance, water-resistance, and durability. High pressure floors offer plenty of benefits, because they represent one of the strongest and most durable flooring options available. Even though their design is similar to that of laminate flooring, they outperform the latter in terms of structure and quality.
The top layer of high pressure floors is extremely sturdy and reliable. This is exactly why this flooring option is not just used in residential settings, but can also be found in airports, hospitals, shopping malls, veterinary practices, and many more high traffic areas.
By contrast, the quality of ceramic floor tiles will of course depend on your selection. Generally speaking, cheaper tiles will be of lower quality. That being said, you can definitely find high-quality ceramic floor tiles that will last for years to come.
High pressure floors and high-quality ceramic floor tiles share a price category with parquet flooring: in other words, a little bit more expensive than laminate and vinyl flooring. But ... you’ll enjoy peace of mind for years to come. Which of these two types of flooring lasts the longest? This is where your lifestyle plays a key role.
High pressure floors are extremely scratch and wear resistant. So are ceramic floor tiles, albeit up to a certain degree. For example, if you drop a cast-iron cooking pot on a ceramic tile, it will often cause the surface to dent or crack. This will not happen with a high pressure floor.
Replacing a broken tile can be done, but it is challenging. High-pressure floors will not easily be damaged thanks to their thick and extraordinarily sturdy surface but, should an accident happen, damaged boards can be replaced.
Do you share a home with active children or pets and do you require soundproofing? High pressure floors are designed with a sound-absorbing underlay. Ceramic tiles are glued, which helps you to dampen any transient noise. They do, however, exhibit poor sound absorption for footstep noise.
Ceramic tiles are grouted, which enhances their water resistance beyond that of the already water-resistant high pressure floors. In other words, both provide you with a perfect fit for your bathroom. But in showers, ceramic tiles will be a better match. Pay extra attention to the joints of ceramic tiles. After a while, you will have to replace them to keep benefiting from their excellent resistance to water.
The maintenance of ceramic tiles is comparable to high pressure floors. They are easy to clean using water and mild detergent.
High pressure floors present you with many possibilities in design: wood, stone, concrete... the choice is wide and lets you create a warm atmosphere. Ceramic floor tiles also come in a wide variety of shapes and colours. Depending on the hue and finish, they may look a bit cold. Ceramic tiles with a natural stone look will give off a warmer feel than sleek and shiny tiles. Generally speaking, ceramic flooring is quite common in southern countries, where all the floors will be tiled. In northern regions, tiles are mostly used in kitchens and bathrooms. In other rooms, you will find flooring designed in a warm wood theme.
High pressure floors are easy to install on your own thanks to the useful aluminium locking mechanism. Simply lock each floorboard in place, and that’s it. They also come with a sound-absorbing underlay attached underneath the floorboard, so no need to install an additional one. Moreover, you can opt for floorboards with very large dimensions, which means your floor will be finished even faster.
Want to lay your own ceramic floor tiles? It’s possible, but you need to be quite handy. After all, glueing the tiles together and finishing the joints does require some expertise.
It goes without saying that you can always call on a flooring expert to install either type of flooring. If you opt for a high pressure floor, laying the flooring will take less time because no gluing or grouting is required.
Are you looking for a new floor during your renovation project? Keep in mind that the choice of flooring option depends on the underfloor, which has to be sufficiently level. In this scenario, high pressure floors are a bit more convenient than ceramic floor tiles, because the underlay helps to get rid of imperfections in the subfloor.
In times of climate change you most likely wish to invest in a flooring option that is both high quality and sustainable. Depending on your preferences, both types of flooring can be the right fit.
High pressure floors are manufactured in Norway in an ecologically responsible manner, using sustainable resources.
Ceramic floor tiles require baking at high temperatures for a long time, and are therefore not an ideal choice in terms of sustainable energy use. When choosing ceramic tiles, we recommend reflecting on the following questions:
The material
It is best to opt for floor tiles that are made of natural, mineral resources.
Recycling options
What happens if you decide to remove your floor tiles? Can they easily be reused? Can you bring them to a recycling centre or grind them down?
Longevity
The longevity of floor tiles plays a key role as well. High-quality tiles will last about 50 years. Cheaper ceramic floor tiles of lower quality won’t last as long.
| Ceramic floor tiles | High pressure floors |
| Scratch resistant | Scratch and wear resistant |
| Absorbs less walking noise | Sound-absorbing underlay for reduced walking noise |
| Suitable for bathroom and shower | Suitable for bathroom |
| Requires expertise to glue tiles and finish joints | Quick and easy to install |
| Sustainable options available (depending on manufacturer) | Produced in an environmentally responsible manner |
