Man installing floor tiles

Why You Would Want to Avoid Tile Lippage

Nothing makes you feel more comfortable and at home than smooth flooring. Whether it is in your own house, a business establishment, or on the streets, you pass by every day, having a smooth surface to walk on is guaranteed to make anyone feel much better as they do so.

This is why having a proper floor tile leveling system during construction is important. Without one, your floors could be prone to excessive tile lippage, which refers to flooring having an uneven surface as a result of the tiles not being laid out to a uniform level. Although lippage is normal and acceptable due to varying thickness of tiles, excessive warpage can affect the aesthetics and integrity of the flooring and is not something you would want to have. Hence, it is important that your tiles be set properly to avoid the consequences of excessive tile lippage.

Here is why floor tile lippage can mean bad things for your home or business:

1. It is not visually appealing.

Excessive tile lippage is clearly visible even from a distance and disrupts the smooth flow that you expect to see in flooring. If your floor has additional patterns or designs on it, the aesthetic value that you are hoping for will also be compromised. This is not good, especially if you are going for a clean, smooth look.

Not only does it objectively look displeasing to the eye, but a floor with an uneven surface also looks cheaply done and paid minimal attention to. There will be serious doubts about the quality of the tiles used as well, which will make people want to avoid passing through these areas. Hence, this makes your place less enticing to be in, which is the exact opposite of what you would want in a business establishment or a home.

men installing wooden tiles

2. It is less accessible to people with disabilities.

People who have difficulty walking or who are handicapped will have to use crutches, walkers, or wheelchairs to get around. Having an uneven floor surface could make it harder for them to move around, as the wheels or lower ends of these may get stuck from bumping into the edges. Even worse, the constant contact could lead to damage of not only the wheels but of the tiles themselves as well.

If you own a business, it is all the more important that your flooring is smooth. There might be times where your deliveries will come in carts, which are difficult to navigate around an uneven surface. You may even be sending out orders on carts, especially if these are numerous, large, or heavy. Hence, it is best to have good quality flooring that would be conducive to having a well-run business, and household as well.

3. It can lead to more accidents.

When it comes to an excessively warped and uneven floor, safety is not a concern only for those with handicaps or disabilities, but even everyday people as well. The uneven surface could lead to people tripping over the flooring quite frequently, which could lead to accidents and injuries, especially among children and the elderly. This is the last thing you would want to deal with either at home or at work, so it is best to have a smooth floor that will surely not pose any hazard to those walking on it.

Preventing floor lippage and warping is very much possible as long as construction is done responsibly. Hence, when working on your flooring, it is important to take tile leveling into consideration to ensure a perfectly smooth floor to your liking.