Painting Tile Floors: Pros and Cons

Your floors looking dull doesn’t mean that you have to go through with ripping out the old tiles to retile your floors. You can just make it new by painting the tile floors instead.

Retiling the floors will incur huge expenses, but the comparatively cheap alternative is painting the tile floors. For some more reasons, painting tile floors is the better option. 

Painting tile floors is more cost-efficient than retiling floors. It provides more freedom for homeowners to select floor designs. But painting the tile floor may need frequent repairs and show more dust and dirt than before. 

Keep reading the piece to know every necessary information you may want to know about painting tile floors. 

Should I Paint Tile Floors?

Yes. If you are looking for a cheap solution for your old, worn-out tile floors, painting the floors should be your choice. Moreover, painting tile floors saves you from the struggle and expense of retiling.

But you should be aware of the high traffic or moisture-prone areas because it is more likely that the painting may wear away with time. For example, the bathroom and kitchen floors are more vulnerable.

So, if you want to paint your ceramic floor, you must do that with the proper steps. It may require proper prep work, and you must use all the correct products to paint properly. 

Which Tiles Can You Paint? 

You can apply paint to all tiles, but the paint does not hold up well in all circumstances. For example, prolonged exposure to moisture may cause the paint to peel away over time. This is why you should avoid painting such in such areas.

However, if you must paint highly-moisturized areas like a bathroom, paint only the portion of floors away from the splash zone.

Painting Tile Floors: Pros and Cons

Painting tile floors is comparatively a faster, simpler, and cost-efficient option compared to retiling the floors of your house.

Pros

• Simple to do: Painting tiles is simple enough if you are already well prepared. It shouldn’t take more than an hour.
• Cost-effective: Painting your tiles is more economical to modernize your bathroom or kitchen than completely replacing them.
• Design Flexibility: Painting gives you the freedom to change your mind while also providing a wide range of color options. Painting your tiles can be a satisfying DIY project if you enjoy making house changes.
• Sustainable: Painting your tiles is a sustainable way to save waste compared to a complete redesign.

Cons

• It Requires Frequent Repair: You will need to replace or repair your painted tiles regularly and repaint them in 6 to 12 months.
• Delicacy: Painted tiles are a little more delicate than sealed; the tile can crack and deteriorate and may wear off over time.
• There are Chances of Imperfection: When painted tiles are a DIY project, they rarely have the original tile’s flawless polish.
• The Existing Tile Should Be High-Quality: The tiles must all be in excellent condition, to begin with in order to achieve a coherent, slick finish.
• Loss of Old Patina: Painted bricks lose the existing tile’s textured finish and profile, which can be challenging to recover.

Which Paint to Choose for Tile Flooring?

When it comes to choosing paints for a tile floor, you should choose among these three: Chalk paint, Latex paint, and Oil-based paint. 

• Chalk paint: Without primer, chalk paint can be used to give the tile a shabby-chic solid color. It can also be used as a base coat for patterned finishes. Select a color for your base coat of chalk paint that will contrast visually with the color of the design you plan to overlay.

• Latex paint: Both solid and patterned tile floors can be painted with latex paint; use high-gloss latex paint for patterned tiles and semi- or high-gloss latex paint for solid tiles.

• Oil-Based paint: Since latex paint is more prone to chipping and damage, oil-based paint lasts longer. Oil-based paint, on the other hand, dries more slowly and is becoming difficult to find due to environmental concerns. High-gloss or semi-gloss paint should be used if utilizing oil-based paint.

5 Best Paint for Tiles

Here is some suggestions for which paint you should go for when it comes to painting tile floors.

Are There Any Floor Painting Alternatives?

Yes, there are some options for you to choose from if you don’t want to paint the tile floors of your home.

Rubber Flooring

Industrial rubber flooring, which is frequently used in commercial settings, may also be a stylish and practical option for homeowners.

Rubber is an excellent material for an entrance, a mudroom, or a laundry room since it is cozy to stand on, simple to clean, and strong enough to withstand lots of muck and abuse.

From a design standpoint, it lends a space a hint of an industrial edge in warm, subdued colors that nonetheless gives off an aura of friendliness. 

Cost: Usually, rubber flooring is quite inexpensive, 12 dollars per square foot.

Bamboo Flooring

In many respects, bamboo flooring is like wood flooring, but it has a Zen aesthetic that gives a space a calming feel.

Additionally, it is often more durable and resistant to moisture than wood. Nevertheless, not all bamboo products are equally considerate of the environment.

For sustainable purposes, you can buy products from overseas to save carbon footprint costs. This is why, bamboo is a fantastic alternative to take into consideration if you’re searching for a strong natural floor that was grown sustainably.

Cost: Bamboo’s price range is compared with hardwood- 2-8 dollars per square foot.

Parquet Flooring

These patterned wood floors give a home a sense of life and richness that regular straight-laid planks can’t match.

They also add visual appeal and a sense of dynamic energy. Installing wood in a parquet pattern also offers cheap local timbers with uninteresting grain and a lot more personality.

Cost: Although the cost of the material can be as low as a few dollars per square foot, installation costs may be slightly higher than for straight flooring.

FAQs      

When will the floor be usable after painting? 

Your paints won’t start to cure until several days after they have completely dried. Oil-based paints will cure in around seven days, although taking longer to dry. Sometimes it can take up to 30 days for latex paints to fully cure.

Should you paint grout lines?

Colorant, commonly referred to as grout paint, is always an option. It may make the grout look as good as new or altogether change the color. A particular paint designed for grout is used to paint the grout between tiles.

Is painting tiles a long-term solution?  

No, it isn’t a long-term solution; it is a quick response. It can look fantastic, but it is not particularly reliable to maintain that appearance over time.

If you don’t necessarily require a long-term solution, it might be better for you to stick to a budget; alternatively, you can accept the necessity for touch-ups in the years to come.

Conclusion

Painting tile floors are an excellent option for your old tiles. It allows you to showcase your creativity and provides enough flexibility. So we hope choosing this option will be a great one.

Amos Christen

Amos Christen graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Interior Design from Drexel University — Philadelphia, PA. Since 2003, Amos has worked with top interior design professionals in this area, including architects and interior/graphic/lighting designers. As a skilled interior designer, Amos Christen is highly versed in fine arts and crafts and uses that to supplement his main area of expertise. He often publishes articles related to home décor on several websites, including Sprucetoilets.com, Sprucebathroom.com, and Mybesuitedhome.com. He also contributes to leading interior design magazines.