Tiles really are a wonderful innovation in the area of home improvement. They have been around for a long, long time but it is only recently that they have become so commonplace. Now that people have discovered the joys of under floor heating tiles are pushing carpets further and further out of the home. Many people used to think tiles were cold and uninviting but in recent years tiles have made a massive comeback in the home and can now be seen everywhere. Before you would only really have tiles in the bathroom, because old fashioned paints could not cope with the condensation related to hot water. These days, even though it is no longer necessary people are tiling their bathrooms from floor all the way to ceiling.
This rise in popularity of tiles has been matched by a rise in price. Tiles used to be pretty much uniform, but no more. One can now spend a small fortune getting your kitchen or bathroom tiled. Tiles are being imported from places like Italy and the domestic market is lapping it up. There is something about imported goods that make South Africans automatically assume quality and this why companies like CTM are expanding at such a rapid rate. Kitchens were the next room to experience the tile revolution. It used to be just that area behind stove that got tiled, because it was easy to just wipe off any grease that may have splashed up during cooking, but now like the bathroom, floor to ceiling tiling is now the rage.
The last area to get caught up in the tile frenzy was the floor area and this was for purely practical reasons, tiles are slippery when wet, so some very clever person thought of texturing the surface of tiles. At first the non-slip tile was achieved by painting on some kind application they gave the tile surface some texture and grip, but people being who they are soon grew dissatisfied with this method. This is why these days you buy your tiles with the textured surface built into them and it saves all that hassle.