What is Engineered Stone Tile?

An Alternative to Natural Stone

Engineered tile features a factory-made composite using crushed stone, often quartz or marble, with an adhesive or resin. So, if you have quartz countertops in your home, you use engineered stone tile.

That stone core provides equivalent durability to natural stone. However, the composite materials add a level of resilience that adds even greater performance to the flooring.

Resilient flooring also provides some bounce versus a hard surface like stone or hardwood flooring. So the flooring is more comfortable underfoot, a significant plus for rooms where you stand a great deal, like kitchens.

Advantages of Engineered Tile Flooring

Engineered tile isn’t a radically new product. It started in the early 1960s, mainly gaining favor for countertops. Today, however, it’s gaining popularity as a flooring option.

Armstrong Flooring® was one of the first manufacturers to sell engineered stone flooring with its Alterna brand. Other manufacturers like Bruce® have entered the picture with its Comfortstone™ collection.

Its growing popularity largely stems from the traits that make luxury vinyl tile attractive to homeowners as a hardwood alternative. Here’s a rundown of those traits and the benefits they offer.

Engineered Tile Offers Durable, Lifetime Performance

Engineered tile offers the same level of durability as natural stone. However, it eliminates many of the concerns associated with the performance of natural stone.

For that matter, it eliminates concerns with alternatives like natural stone ceramic or stone porcelain. For example, ceramic tile can crack and absorb liquids.

Engineered stone offers better scratch and stain resistance. Because natural stone is porous, it can absorb liquids and stain easily. It’s also susceptible to scratching. So, to protect stone floors, you need to reseal them every few years.

That’s not the case with engineered stone tile, as it resists scratches and stains. And there’s no need for resealing, so once installed, it requires no significant upkeep.

Engineered stone tile is so durable that manufacturers like Bruce back it with a lifetime limited residential warranty.

No Water Worries

Engineered tile is 100% waterproof, so that you can install it anywhere, even in bathrooms.

Stone is susceptible to water damage and can stain, crack, or chip when exposed to water. Moreover, natural stone flooring can get slippery when wet, even with sealants.

Easy Replacement of Damaged Tiles

Repairs are complicated when stone, ceramic, or porcelain tile floors suffer damage, like cracking. It’s a challenging task to remove a single tile and replace it. Sometimes, you can repair cracks with epoxy and match things to make them less noticeable.

You can simply replace the damaged tile with engineered tile for a brand-new look. Most engineered tiles come in similar sizes to traditional tile, including 16″x16″, 12″x24″, or 8″x16″.

Realistic Stone Appearance

Just as luxury vinyl flooring delivers super realistic aesthetics, so does engineered stone flooring. Typically, you can find engineered tile to mimic slate, travertine, marble, terracotta, and quartz. You can also select from broad color ranges.

You even have the option of using grout during installation. So, the flooring’s realistic appearance extends to grout lines.

Comfort & Safety

Natural stone is naturally cool, so it often requires radiant heating. Otherwise, you wind up with a cold, especially chilling floor in winter. And because it’s a rigid material, stone floors aren’t terribly comfortable.

Stone also poses a greater risk if you fall. Its non-resilient, hard surface is more likely to cause injury.

Engineered stone flooring’s resilience provides an infinitely more comfortable surface.

Engineered Stone Flooring Installs Fast & Easy

As mentioned, installing natural stone flooring requires meticulous attention. As a result, installation is time-consuming and expensive. Professional installation is a must.

Engineered tile is a reasonably simple install for any DIY enthusiast. You can install the flooring in a day with much less mess than natural stone flooring. If you own a utility knife and trowel, you can be ready to install engineered stone.

Easy Maintenance

Like most resilient flooring, maintenance is as simple as vacuuming and dust mopping. Using a product like Bruce’s Hardwood & Laminate Cleaner Spray, you can use a wet mop for a deeper clean.

Best of all, you’ll never have to worry about resealing the floors for added protection.

Engineered Tile Offers Realistic Stone Looks for Less

According to Forbes, the total costs of stone flooring range from $8 to $47 per square foot. It places the average total cost of luxury vinyl tile at $3 to $13. The price for engineered tile is comparable to LVT.

You can save even more money by installing engineered stone flooring yourself instead of hiring tile installers..

Bruce® Has You Covered for Flooring

Bruce is your go-to source for natural flooring products. We offer 100% real hardwood flooring and wood-look vinyl flooring like LVT, vinyl sheet, and rigid core. Our latest offering, Comfortstone, captures the look of natural stone.

Use our floor visualizer to see how our flooring looks in your room. It’s easy — just take a picture of your room and select the flooring collection. You can find Bruce products at national and local retailers throughout the U.S.