My kitchen currently has 12x12 laminate tiles and they're peeling up and gross. They're next to impossible to keep clean. Since we've bought the house we've wanted to replace them with 12x12 tiles of some sort. I was thinking terracotta tiles because of their rustic/southwestern style look which is somewhat prevalent in the house but I've heard they may not be the best for a kitchen. Does anyone have any experience with them or maybe other suggestions for a similarly colored/styled 12x12 tile?

The t.c. tile I had to deal with in AZ was a p.i.t.a. +5, leveling up appliance's was horrible. Never in my home. Do you have a heated floor ? Aren't they goin to be really chilly there in winter ?

I would concerned they might break easily if something was dropped on them.

Maybe look for porcelain tiles in that color

quote:

Originally posted by petr:
Maybe look for porcelain tiles in that color

This is what I'd do.

They are quaint and pretty but very delicate. You are walking on clay.

Cold, Hard, Loud, and Brittle/Chippy.

I'm not a fan.

Terra cotta as in Mexican tile, an inch thick?
Careful of your appliances especially the dishwasher for removal purposes.

Not good for a kitchen, they chip and crack if you drop heavy things on them like a pot or pan......better off with a porcelain tile.

We have Saltillo (handmade Mexican terra cotta) tile in our kitchen at our vacation house. Never had a problem with it cracking or breaking. I guess if you’re in the habit of dropping cast iron dutch ovens the tile might be damaged, but I think that would damage most kitchen floors. It is somewhat more work to keep Saltillo clean if you’re picky-the grout lines are necessarily wider because the tiles aren’t perfectly uniform in shape, and the tile surfaces are somewhat uneven. This surface unevenness also makes it uncomfortable for me to walk on barefooted. So I wear house shoes. Yeah, it’s cold in the winter months. Like porcelain tile is.

On the plus side, it doesn’t show dirt as much. We’re old people with no grandchildren and we don’t spill food on the floor very often. My wife loves the Saltillo’s appearance and absolutely wouldn’t want it replaced with porcelain tile.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:

quote:

Originally posted by petr:
Maybe look for porcelain tiles in that color

This is what I'd do.

Agreed. When I read "terra cotta floor" my first impulse was HELL NO.

Thanks everyone, I knew the people here would know. Here are some similar ones that are porcelain that I'm currently looking at:

https://besttile.com/tile-coll...rcelain/castle-cotto

https://watertowntile.com/bran.../indian-red-m-30949/

https://watertowntile.com/bran...adic-desert-m-17794/

To me the one from Best Tile looks the most like terra cotta. I like how they put the specs right with it too, class IV and V2.

Definately take the appliances into account if putting in thicker flooring. We had to replace the dishwasher in our last house that had heated slate floors (the entire lower floor was heated). But I had to remove the tiles in front of the dishwasher in order to replace it.
Apparently the flooring & cabinet guys didn't coordinate.

Had them in several restaurants where I worked. The grout is a pain to keep clean. We ended up using a deck brush and bleach, with huge blowers for ventilation. I say no.