Is DuraCeramic better than Ceramic Tile

We’ve actually installed this product in two houses now and I’ve been very impressed with the results. The first how that we used it in I was extremely skeptical. First off I didn’t think it would look like tile, I just thought it would look like another vinyl floor. Boy was I surprised, not only did it look like tile but it’s much softer to walk on. You grout it in just like normal tile so it ends up looking very similar. The two home owners I know that chose this product say that clean up is easier than tile. I think it would be great for kitchens, easier to clean up and softer to stand on.

We are considering Duraceramic tile for the kitchen and bathroom. Has any one had the Duraceramic tile long enough to tell me their true opinion on installation, product dependability and care?

We’ve had Duraceramic tile in our kitchen, hall, family room and bath for 2 years. It is still absolutely beautiful. Ours was professionally installed as part of a major remodel in our 80 year old house, so I’m not sure of the actual cost, but it was far, far cheaper than ceramic tile would have been.

Because our old floors are not perfectly level, it was great to be able to forego the additional cost of subflooring that would have been necessary for ceramic. The flexibility of both the tile and grout make it virtually impossible to see any unevenness in the floor. We have never had any chipping or damage of any kind, except at the time of installation, and it was easy for the installer to come and replace the problem tiles weeks later. Since then – no problems.

We live in North Dakota, and under our family room we just have a crawl space. We thought carpet was our only option for warmth (apart from putting under-floor heating in), but have been very happy – and actually pleasantly surprised – with the warmth of Duraceramic.

I used a sealant recommended by our installer on the grout – purchased at Home Depot, the can sprays upside down so you can stand and spray. Very easy. We have the light grout, and it still looks great. We just mop – have not done any special cleaning of the tile or grout.

Friends who have more expensive homes than ours, who have ceramic tile, have been surprised to learn that ours is not, because it looks so good, and they appreciate the warmth underfoot.

Finally, we were just in AZ staying with friends who have ceramic throughout their million dollar plus home. My feet were sore just walking back and forth on that for several days. It’s good to be home – despite the weather!

I have DuraCeramic installed in my kitchen and main entry hallway. 12″x12″x1/4″, interlocking, groutless. I’m fairly certain mine have been laid as a floating floor, much like normal laminates. I actually thought it was just laminate tiles with a strange veneer at first.
They are printed with a greyish border to give the illusion of grout yet the smoothness of a laminate or vinyl floor. They’re never cold, work excellently as an added sound barrier between floors, and are actually quite impressive in their durability. Probably the most interesting thing about these floors is how well they deal with sand, salt and tracked in snow during the winter. No frosting, no water damage, no scratches. Incredibly easy to clean as well!

Truly, these floors work AMAZINGLY well in an active home!

We had Duraceramic installed in 08/2006 and are still in love with the floor. The cleaning of it is very easy. My wife just uses water. We have a large dog (boxer) who we, sometimes , play ball with and he slides on the kitchen floor and there is absolutely no damage done. We did a combination of the regular (16″x16″) tiles and the options (8″x8″) around the perimeter. The whole thing was grouted with the vinyl grout that it came with. We have had no staining whatsoever. We are getting ready to install it in 2 of our bathrooms. Our kitchen is 16′ x 20′ and to have it installed it was about $2200. They laid it over our existing sheet vinyl. The labor portion was about $800. I would definitely do it over again.

We are thinking of replacing vinyl with duraCeramic. If sub floor and luan is o.k. is there a need to replace the luan?? Installer feels that would be the safe path to follow.

All,
We’ve had DuraCeramic floors for 2 years. I had tile before and stated to my builder I would NEVER have ceramic tile again. I had to scrub the grout with a stainless steel brush to get it clean. The DuraCeramic has exceeded my expectations. They were put in professionally while we were building and I’ve had no problems with them. Ours are in all the bathrooms, mud room and laundry area. (We’re actually considering laying them on a covered screen porch.) This is a very active house with 2 boys, 2 large dogs, and many college co-eds who “hang out”. The floors are very easy to clean. I usually clean it with one of the Swiffer WetJets about every other week to remove muddy paw prints. For especially tough stains, I use a wet paper towel! I’ve had other friends see my floors and install them as well; we’re all pleased with the results.

For those questioning about cleaning the grout, my opinion is don’t use any. We didn’t, they still look good, and I don’t have to be on my knees scrubbing for hours. However, don’t confuse cleaning grout with trying to clean the tiles (ceramic or DuraCeramic)! Also, a properly chosen grout (dirt colored!) and a good sealant goes a long way too.

Ann, I use a water / vinegar solution to clean my kitchen floor, 2 ozs. vinegar to 1 qt water. Just acidic enough to help w/ dirt removal. I am the one who posted bk in Feb about dirt on my MIL’s duracermic. I went out and bought a Hoover floormate. A pricey machine ($100) but I have been soooooooo pleased. You can “flood” the floor (sections at a time) w/ hot cleaning water, let set a few seconds and vacum it dry. I do this once a week or so and I only sweep when needed. The great thing about this machine is……you don’t push dirty water to another area, you put down clean water each time. I’m telling you, I’m a terrible skeptic and a tightwad, but when this machine bites the dust, I will purchase another one. Oh, let me add, no bending over or wringing, just what these 50 yr old knees and hands need.

……..to my knowledge ammonia can strip a surface off of a floor over time, 1/4 c to a gal of water is as strong as you would want to go and then I feel at this strength you need to rinse with clean water. Using vinegar to clean goes back to great grandma’s day. Vinegar is the natural antibacterial, bacteria don’t like the 5% acidity. But it’s really the Hoover floormate that cleans, being able to flood the floor with water and vacum it right up.

We had dura-ceramic installed through out our house except for the bedrooms and we love it. It has had things dropped on it, 3 dogs playing on it, and because of our live style, horses and such, lots of dirt tracked on it. It looks great and is easy to keep clean. I am wondering if anyone has used the steam cleaners on it. Our tile is grouted.

FYI…….thought I should post this here in case you guys have the same problem.
Have lived with the duraceramic for 10 mos. now. Starting at about the 2 month mark thru the 8 month mark, we had pop ups occur. Some staples used on the underlayment had worked themselves up, putting pressure on the tile, giving you a rounded “pop up” in the tile. Yes, 3d, as in you can feel it and in the right light see it. Have had a total of 13 tiles replaced. The staple actually damages the underside of the tile, so just don’t knock it down w/ a rubber mallet. This cost has to be covered by the people who layed it. FYI…….very important one here, 3 tiles replaced on 1 trip due to above problem. I cleaned on day 3 to no avail it seemed. Matte looking finish, dull, no shine. I cleaned more, each time using harshed cleaning. But the tiles around it did not have what seemed to be haze on them. ????? Over a 2 wk period, our tile company and Congoleum were putting the blame on me, without seeing it. “oh, murphy’s oil soap, oh harsh product”….use a stripper and reapply a shine w/ our products….Then the husband gets in on it………….the tile company came out and within 30 seconds saw the problem. duh…..they brought tile w/ them from the same lot and a different lot. Congoleum evidently ran a “lot” of this tile and didn’t catch their mess up. This lot of tile had no shine on the tiles. Now if you had a all new floor installed with this no problem until you might need to replace a tile, then the difference sticks out like a sore thumb. P.S.-someone stated that duraceramic was cheaper then reg. tile, not here in NC, same price.

Hi Jeff,

I live in Milton and we just installed Duraceric tiles in the kitchen & bathrooms.
We went to Flooring Works-in Milton and they charged about $2000 for 200 sq fett installed!

I just received a Shark for Christmas and am affraid to use it on my almost year old Dura Ceramic floor…My contractor says to only us special products, which are difficult to find in the stores around here. I asked him if anyone has ever used the steam cleaner on the floor and he has no response other than possibly it can dull the surface…The contractor’s products are very expensive..So my question is “has anyone used the Shark on their Dura Ceramic floors over a long period of time and what kind of results are you seeing????”. Is it dulling the floor???

We installed our duracermic ourselves two years ago and it still looks like new. I’m very surprised to hear comments about haze and difficulty cleaning. Aside from having to clean thoroughly (on my hands and knees) a few times right after grouting, cleanup has been easy! I use the Shark steam mop (retails at about $79) and it works great. Tiles are still smooth and shiny. We have it in the kitchen, foyer, and bathroom, installed it right over linoleum (vapor barrier in between). Having installed ceramic in a previous house, the process for duraceramic was 10X easier. Our ceramic tile had cracked in 2 places after dropping a heavy vase. The duraceramic has NO cracks, scratches, or anything in two years of tough wear – two kids and three dogs. I would NEVER go back to ceramic tile. Plus it’s warmer and easier on the feet!

I have had my duraceramic for one year and the only thing that I don’t like is I wanted it to be a shiny floor and it is not, but other than that I love it I just use water on mine and mop every week