Complete flooring information and inspections

I will state right up front that I have inspected less than 100 tile floors in my career, and so can only point out some basic specific issues related to tile.  If you do not already have a tile floor installed, then when you read this you can see things to look for as you plan for the tile installation.

The main issues I see with tile have to do with grout and tile cracking.  Usually it is only in one or two specific areas, and can be in a small installation or a large one.  Aside from something heavy being dropped on tile, the only thing that can cause tile and grout to crack is tile movement.  That means, one (or more) tile is moving, usually very slightly, with certain types of foot traffic - meaning where on the tile the surface pressure comes from.  There are only two reasons I am aware of that can cause this.

One, and the most common, the tile is not sitting perfectly flat on the substrate (the material under the tile).  More than any other floor-covering, tile has to have an absolutely flat (not bumpy) surface to install over.  Again, I have a lack of experience in this, but most installations are over backer board (like a cement board) that is made specifically for tile installations.  There are other alternatives, but be sure and CHECK THE MANUFACTURER'S REQUIREMENTS first, as on any floor installation.  So anyway, if the tile isn't sitting flat, and your brother-in-law steps on a corner that is not fully supported by the substrate, it will move.  Eventually (or right away) you will see grout cracking around that area, and maybe even a crack in the tile itself.

Two.  Ceramic tile is HEAVY, especially along with the thinset adhesive and grout, and needs plenty of floor system support.  In other words, you do not want the floor sagging under the weight of the new tile floor, because that is just not good.  If you are tiling over a concrete subfloor, like in a basement, then never mind - it is NOT going to sag.  But over a wood subfloor over a crawlspace, this needs to be considered.  Just a basic, if it is a small installation in a newer home, probably not a problem.  If you are looking at a large tile installation in an older home, it might be a problem.  There are ways of calculating joist spacing and subfloor/substrate thickness which I am not fully versed on without research.

Ceramic is a very hard surface, as compared to granite, slate, marble etc.  Easy to clean, although the grout can be a problem.

There are basically two types of grout, sand-based, and the most common, and epoxy grout.  Epoxy grout is more expensive and far superior to the sand-based type.  Sand grout can be stained and is only "cleanable" by removing and re-grouting, and is useful to have sealed.  Epoxy grout does not need sealer, and I've never seen it stained either.