What is everyone's opinion on wood-look tile? We'll be moving into an old house that needs updating soon, and all else equal, we'd prefer hardwood. However, we have a big dog and messy kids, and the durability of wood-look tile is appealing. Is it viewed as tacky and/or a fading trend (if it ever was trendy), or is it acceptable when done right?

Sidebar: The house in question needs a bit of foundation work in one corner. We were quoted $3k for 6 exterior, pressed piles (supposedly ~1 day worth of work). 1) Is this a reasonable cost given the scope of work; and 2) Are pressed piles a lasting fix? Did a bit of searching online and found this company's website which claims pressed piles are inferior and not a permanent solution. Obviously, if a repair comes with a warranty, that helps, but if things start moving again a decade later, it might mean another round of costly interior repairs. Also, could just be the company trying to scare people into paying more?

Local to Aggieland, highly expansive clay soils we trust these guys - lots to read
so I tend to agree NOT pressed piles
https://anchorfoundationrepair.net/

NOT a fan of Angi (refers only their "members" aka advertisers)
but their opinon for dog claws extends to the newest vinyl tiles that do well with a wood look.
https://www.angi.com/articles/luxury-vinyl-flooring-good-choice-pets.htm

"The Money Pit" radio DIY show seems to lean toward eng. wood that floats on a pad, so no foundation movement issues to boot.

Tile:
https://www.nationalfloorsdirect.com/learn/articles/The-Pros-and-Cons-of-Installing-Tile-Floors

We're building and wanted something durable. We're going with LVP because it's easier on the feet/legs. I don't want to stand on tile in the kitchen anymore.

I can't answer the side bar question.

But after having to redo our wood floors twice, ( dogs and Harvey) we really liked the idea of wood looking tile in our new house.

We also got a mat for the kitchen.

Here is why we got them.

Double post

I wouldn't say it's tacky or looked down upon.

But I'd prefer LVP over wood like tile if I was going for something more durable with big dogs.

There are just so many good LVP and wood-look tile products these days. You're going to get lots of different opinions, and they're all likely valid, so some of it comes down to preference. I've not had good experience with engineered hardwood and will stay away in the future. We've really liked our wood-look tile. Regardless, you'd want to take care of your foundation repairs first.

Here's ours - It's got a nice texture, so even the sheen gives the impression that it's a wood surface. IMO, you've got to look at it for a minute before you realize it's tile. No dogs, but a lot of kids and holds up great:

Thanks for sharing. Your floor looks great, and yeah, I don't know that tile would have been my first guess judging from those pictures. A few follow up questions if you don't mind indulging me...Do you happen to recall which tile you used and how much it cost to install per square foot? And how important is having a rectified edge to getting a seamless look like that?

No problem indulging. I think the dark grout color helps a lot with the look. I probably would have gone just slightly darker grout if I had to do it again, but I'm not unhappy with what we picked.

Here's the tile we bought: Shaw - Hacienda (Macadamia). At the time (June 2020), we paid $3.43 per sqft for the tile only. I'm not sure if it's not being made anymore, or if you could find it cheaper elsewhere, or if tile prices have just exploded like everything else. All in, we paid $7.70 (Tile, grout, thinset, labor, taxes).

Believe it or not, that's a pressed edge tile with 1/8" grout lines. I'm no expert on rectified edge vs pressed edge, and I know the risk with pressed edge is that that variations make it hard for thin/no grout lines, but these seemed to work great. My in-laws put in a rectified-edge wood-look tile at 1/8" spacing, and the harsh corners combined with low grout joints were hard on their feet in certain spots. They ended up having their installers go back and raise the grout elevation to flush with top of tile, and it helped a lot. Their floors do look really nice, but ours was much more comfortable right off the bat. Somehow the rounded corners add to the wood-look affect, as well.