Thanks Darzy. Would you recommend vitrified over porcelain rectified tiles? Also what is the possibility of cracks for porcelain rectified tiles as compared to ceramic or vitrified tiles?

I like rectified tile because the grout lines are soooo small it is barely seen. 1/16th inch (the tile butts up to each other nicely). Plus with the new tile, the color is all the way through, so if there is a minor chip the color is still there so it really won't be visible. I'm thinking heat around the bed and in the bathroom would be sufficient.

Hi,

Being in bangalore i assume you get a lot of dust,hence why you mop every day (have just come back from Chennai and the locals all hate it!) ? Just a suggestion to pick a colour that hides the dust, defiantly not white! I would say your are after underfloor cooling rather then heating also, if only there was such a thing!

I love love love timber floors any day over tiles but as you say this may not work so well in the humidity. Real timber does not like to get too wet whilst mopping also. I think tiles are hard on your feet/legs especially when you have bare feet a lot.

Good luck!

Ahh okay..yes I would like less grouting lines Darzy. Sallywood1, actually I first have the room floors broomed or vacuumed for removing dust and then wipe ( rather mop ) them to have them totally clean. We are slightly better off than Chennai folks due to being far away from the sea of course but understand their trouble. Yes Bangalore has become really dusty over the years :(
Looks like tiling is a better way. The builder prefers to give us vitrified tiles as they are doing for the living areas but I will research into the porcelain tiles and others for the bedroom. As usual, they will raise a stink for a customized demand :D

So what did you end up going with for the bedrooms? And laminated wood is a 'wood look' tile right? Not real wood..?

We ended up going with the flooring provided by the builder. Yes it is a tile that looks like wood but if you want you can also explore using sheets of laminated wood.

Hi tuffkins, I am also under similar dilemma...I love the wooden look but not sure what kindda flooring should I go for, definitely not real wood as it is not suitable for Indian weather conditions ...can you possibly send pic of your flooring ..thanks

Shooty, I am afraid you will have to wait for a while for that as we are yet to get handover. Such tiles are not real wood but you might want to visit any of the tile dealers like Kajaria, Somany, etc to get more info on this.They can help you out in choosing something you need/like. Depending on your liking, you might want to check out Bharat Floorings too.

I lived in Houston, TX, which is reputed to be even more humid than India, and most homes in Houston had tile floors on which area rugs were placed for warmth and comfort. I hope this helps.

Just a little ceramic information to share as a potter. Vitrified simply means the clay has become glass like by being fired to its proper maturing temperature. Usually ceramic tile means it is a lower temperature clay like earthenware or terra cotta. Porcelain is fired to the highest temperature and is more vitrified if you will. This usually means it is less porous to to absorb water and harder. Low fired ceramics with glazes much darker or lighter than the clay body will show chips easier. Rectified has to do with making the edges precise enough to fit smoothly together for less grout lines. So porcelain cost more to produce but it is more sturdy. All clay tiles should be vitrified.

That is very helpful to know sheilaskb and kathleen MK. Kathleen, do you also mean that porcelain, vitrified and ceramic tiles will be successively be better than the other one in terms of less breakage, and being porous. I believe the prices of such tiles must be similarly proportional?

Hi, Did you install "wood look" tiles? How does it look like? Can you share the photos please?