Choosing the perfect tile for your home or business can be a challenge. Understanding the different styles available will help you in this decision, as will our experiences sales team at Okanagan Tile Company. Here is a brief overview of the different styles available:
Ceramic Tile:
Glazed ceramic
- Coated with a layer of liquid glass and/or minerals and ceramic stains.
- Typically have a matte, semi-gloss or high-gloss finish. Matte finishes are typically harder than semi-gloss or high-gloss finishes.
- Lighter glazes are generally harder than dark glazes.
- Offer better stain and moisture resistance than unglazed.
- High gloss finishes tend to be more slippery and show scratches.
- Matte or textured finishes help with traction and resisting scratches, dirt is less visible.
- Slip resistant coating can be applied after installation.
- Some manufacturers apply slip resistant coatings during production.
- Wide variety of styles and colors.
Unglazed ceramic
- Tiles are denser and thicker.
- More slip resistant in moist and high traffic areas
- Better scratch resistance than glazed tile.
- More vulnerable to staining.
- Natural coloring.
- Can be coated with finish or wax after installation to seal and give more protection from moisture and stains.
- Less slippery than glazed tile, good choice for kitchens and laundry rooms and well as high foot traffic areas.
- Suitable for outdoor applications in mild climate.
Porcelain Tile:
- suitable for heavy foot traffic
- for use in both residential and commercial applications.
- harder and denser than most ceramic tile.
- highly resistant to moisture, scratches and stains.
- wide range of colors, textures, designs and patterns, including wood and marble looks.
- less susceptible to breakage.
- easy to maintain – no waxing or polishing needed.
- Certified porcelain tile has a low rate of water absorption. To be certified, stringent tests are performed to verify that it is waterproof and suitable to be used in wet areas.
- More expensive than ceramic tile.
Recommendations on usage:
ASTM International developed a test to determine how waterproof a tile is. Based on this test, the following usage recommendations have been determined:
- Non-vitreous tile – for use on fireplaces and walls
- Semi-vitreous tile – for use in dry areas like backsplashes with minimal water contact
- Vitreous tile – for use in showers on both the floor and walls, outdoor areas where freezing does not occur
- Impervious tile – for use indoors and outdoors, including wet locations.
Suitable for in-floor heating:
- both porcelain and ceramic are good heat conductors, will not expand when heated or contract when cooling.
Sizes:
- priced by the square foot
- mosaics come in 1”x1” standard, 2”x2” supersized and 1”x2” subway blend
- classic subway tile is 3”x6”
- standard size tile is 12”x12”
- plank sizes are available in 4”x24” sizes, used for flooring only
- bigger tile sizes are the most popular – 12”x24” and 24”x24”
Gradings for color shade variation:
- V1 – Uniform: Minimal or no difference in each tile as it is manufactured with the same glaze and texture.
- V2 – Slight: Slight differences in pattern and/or texture.
- V3 – Moderate: Overall color of the tile may seem similar, but each tile varies.
- V4 – Random/Dramatic: Tiles may have a completely different look from each other.
