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snicks0513

HELP! Wood-Look Tile Dilemma

5 years ago

Hi! I am hoping someone can tell me if these horizontal markings on my wood-look porcelain tile are a flaw or not. If not, can someone explain to me why? Thank you!!


MSI / Caldera Grigia Porcelain Tile / 8x47



Comments (30)

  • 5 years ago

    Looks flawed to me.

    snicks0513 thanked Anne Duke
  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Looks like they are mimicking distressed or hand scraped wood plank floors.


    snicks0513 thanked Jennifer
  • 5 years ago


    Hmm. Seems like a lot of distressing? I have more photos at this link. Wood-Look Tile


  • 5 years ago

    I like them and don’t see anything wrong with them.

    snicks0513 thanked eld6161
  • 5 years ago

    Not a defect, the marks are intentional to the design and help to lend authenticity.

    snicks0513 thanked chiflipper
  • 5 years ago

    looks fine to me. nice looking tile

  • 5 years ago

    I can see where you might think so, but it is intentional.

    snicks0513 thanked decoenthusiaste
  • PRO
    5 years ago

    Did you look at samples before making the selection?

  • 5 years ago

    @mark Yes, I and the builder ordered samples. Theirs was a full plank and mine was just a small square. It almost looks like the machine attempted to rectify the wrong side? But again, this is all new to me and why I'm asking here. Really appreciate your and everyone's help!

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    They are intentionally made to look like wood

  • 5 years ago

    I haven't seen this tile. it's one of the few wood-look tiles that actually look good.

    do you have a larger pic of the area?

    are those marks on every single plank,,? doesn't appear to in the picture.

    Don't forget, when you get your furniture in, a rug, other elements, you won't even notice it.

    what color is going on the wall?

    snicks0513 thanked Beth H. :
  • 5 years ago

    @Beth H. Thanks for the continued help!

    It's hard to see in the photos and the marks are definitely not on every plank, but those that have really stand out. I understand that they are supposed to look like wood. Again, this is new to me and I'm trying to understand the why. Especially when the marks go down the entire length of some of the tiles.

    Definitely thought about the furniture, rug, etc aspect, and going to take that into account before raising this with the builder.

    The wall and ceiling color will be SW Snowfall #6000.

  • 5 years ago

    I predict there will be a LOT of "wood look" tile being ripped out of homes in about 10 years.

    Though popular now, this product will look horribly dated within a decade or so.

    People will be asking..."What is all this goofy tile that is trying to mimic real wood?"

  • 5 years ago

    @booty bums People should just really stop decorating their homes. It's all going to be 'dated' in 10 years anyway. :)

    snicks0513 thanked mscsangel
  • 5 years ago

    Thank you, @kudzu9! Your explanation is exactly what I needed in order to understand.


    My thanks to everyone for their feedback! Especially @Beth H. : & @mscsangel : )

  • 5 years ago

    @booty bums People should just really stop decorating their homes. It's all going to be 'dated' in 10 years anyway. :)

    Not true.

    Real, site-finished hardwood flooring has been around for a few centuries and still looks great.

    Tile that does a bad job of impersonating the real thing isn't going to stand the test of time.

  • 5 years ago

    @booty bums 100% disagree. 3 1/4" inch yellowed hardwood is considered very dated. Lots of people rip it out and replace it with wider planks (oh my heart). Everything is dated at some point. Even the beloved "never go out of style" subway tiles were out of style not long ago.

    snicks0513 thanked mscsangel
  • 5 years ago

    @booty bums 100% disagree. 3 1/4" inch yellowed hardwood is considered very dated. Lots of people rip it out and replace it with wider planks (oh my heart).

    Real wood floors are easy to refinish, without the need to rip them out and replace.

    If you don't like the "yellow", you can simply stain it a darker tone.

    Real, traditional site-finished wood flooring looks great in both 200 year old homes and new construction homes.


    There are always people who want/need to pursue the latest trends.

    These are the people who would rip up beautiful original 3 1/4" flooring to install trendy pre-finished, hand-scraped, wide-plank ebony-colored floors (that can't be refinished).

    That floor will then be ripped up in 10 years to chase the next new trend...wood-look tile flooring!


    Both of these trendy products will go out of style LONG BEFORE the product they are trying to mimic...true hardwood flooring, which has been around for centuries.

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    @snicks0513 your space looks beautiful, once everything is in you will love it!! Enjoy:)

    snicks0513 thanked LilDesignWorks
  • 5 years ago

    @booty bums Of course you can refinish hardwood floors. You can also rip out tile even though it's more work. The point is, contrary to your statement, everything becomes dated. Let people enjoy their homes and do what they want. You don't have to live there.

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Congrats on your new house, snicks, I really like how the flooring looks.

    Re: booty’s comments ... I remember hearing in ‘99 (on various popular home decor boards) how SS was a fad and would be out in a few years, ditto granite, ditto engineered wood flooring. People got very worked up over it. How dare someone choose something they wouldn’t choose! The gall.

    I had wood-look tile in my last house, built in ‘04. Loved it. Miss it.

    For some climates, applications, just plain liking it, etc ... it’s a great choice. And definitely here to stay. There‘s plenty of room for both types. No one is insulting real wood floors.

  • 5 years ago

    Mine don’t have horizontal lines, but some wood look tiles do have them as part of the look.

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    The point is, contrary to your statement, everything becomes dated.

    I simply disagree.

    Contrary to your statement, true site-finished hardwood flooring doesn't become dated and need to be ripped out in 10 years.

    Real hardwood flooring has been a popular flooring option for hundreds of years.

    You can't possibly say the same thing about pre-finished "hand-scraped" ebony floors (that fad lasted what, maybe 5 years?) or the recent trend of fake wood tiles (which will have a similar time span).

  • 5 years ago

    I have “real” engineered wood floors and can show you every plank that has a flaw. Your floors will look great.

    And don’t worry about 10 years from now. (Sorry guys, I think that whole argument is moot and not helping @snicks0513.)

  • 5 years ago

    To answer the OP's question...

    This isn't a defect/flaw in the material. It is simply the manufacturer's poor attempt at making porcelain tile look like natural wood flooring.

    The problem is, these imitation band saw/planing marks mimic the look of very rough-sawn lumber used for barn siding, which doesn't appear to be the look you are going for.

    If this were real hardwood flooring, these marks would be sanded out after the floor was laid. You obviously don't have that option here.

  • 5 years ago

    I don’t know, I think they look incredibly realistic on my new laundry room - mud room floor.


  • 5 years ago

    Floors look great. The entire space is wonderful!

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Very nice, high-end tiles with REALISTIC chatter/saw marks. In a mill, the saws can have some wiggle room when they cut. That play (the bands start to stretch = movement of the saw blade) causes the saw blade to jump a little bit. They are called "chatter marks". You have them on your planks but not on everyone. That is a sign of a WELL DESIGNED high-end tile.

    The 'authentic' look of 'barnwood' recycled wood has been 100% achieved with your tile. It is a rustic look because barnwood was created in mills 150+ years ago...and chatter marks were EVERYWHERE. Why? Because they were the only mill for 100 miles AND no one could transport that amount of wood to the next mill...because they didn't have the big horses needed to move it that far (I'm not kidding....2-4 HEAVY draft horses needed to haul logs of out the bush = very expensive). So the locals used the local mill.

    Your tiles mimic that BEAUTIFULLY. Remember: authenticity is EXPENSIVE to reproduce in a man-made product such as yours. Be happy/proud your tile does a magnificent job reproducing that effect.

    Your builder has access to some EXPENSIVE products. And your builder has done a FANTASTIC LOOKING job installing them. I know many homeowners who would give their right arm and LEFT LEG to be able to afford your tiles.

    Relax...you are doing just fine.

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    That is grout on the floor that needs to be washed off ASAP