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Hi I am about to get ceramic tiles down stairs that look like hard wood floors. I have a great dane that has massive claws. How would these tiles stand up to the dog? Would the wood look start to wear off of the ceramic?
Ceramic does not wear well. It's the cheapest tile out there. Your dog is going to chip the edges off of the tile and the red clay core is going to show thru. Porcelain with a tumbled edge would have been a better choice but even porcelain isn't going to stand up to a Great Dane with claws. I'd suggest stained concrete, assuming a slab foundation. But if you are already in the installation zone, use a small grout line like 1/8" or less to limit the space between the tiles so the dog is walking on more tile and less edge.
"Ceramic" is often used generically. The key difference between various kind of hard tile is what is the composition of the "paste" they are made from. Pastes that are made of high quality kaolin and other silica-type stone dust can be fired at very high temps and will be extremely durable, such products are often referred to as "porcelian" . Lower grades of paste often use lower quality clay and inexpensive stone dust like lime. These are not fired at a high temp. Lowest diurability tile is made from clay with additivies including iron oxides and may be attractive / hand painted but low temp firing does not harden them to same degree...
Very unlikely that a DOG would chip any tiles. If you go to a fast food resturant the "sanitary brick" used on the floors in the cooking areas is quite durable. This generally a low cost "vitrified tile" that has a well glazed high traction surface. Becuase the tile is uniform and can be grouted with an epoxy based product it renders the floor impervious to any spills. Huge heavy commercal cookware can be dropped on this floors and they will not chip... Most chips one sees in things like saltillo tile (made with Mexican red clay, generally sun dried...) is caused by too sharp edge in forming / handling, poor installation and folks with slippery fingers and metal cookware...
The surface design will last as long as any other ceramic tile depending on the quality of the tile. Chances are that your shoes will do more damage as sand and grit stuck on them will wear at the surface as you walk the same path every day. Of course this will take years and years (maybe a lifetime), with a good quality tile.
Thanks for the replies! The situation Im in is that I love dark hard wood floors, but they aren't practical with a great dane because wood is the least durable of all flooring types and usually require the most maintenance. So since the wood floors are out of the picture, this is why I was looking into porcelain or ceramic tile that are colored to look like wood.
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