Ceramic vs porcelain floor tiles

[wedge69]

We're having our bathroom done and have been looking around quite a few tile showrooms. The latest one we went in said that for floor tiles they will only sell porcelain as opposed to ceramic, as if anything is dropped on ceramic it is likely the tile will crack.

Now, I am sure they wouldn't lie to us, but it struck me as odd that this was the only place to mention it too us.

Are there any other differences between the two materials we should be aware of?

Cheers

 

[lancenotalot]

You can read the differences here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porcelain

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceramic

I would say that the ceramic will crack if the bed of adhesive below isn't solid,if fitted properly they should be fine,porcelain is much harder and less porous and so harder to work with.

 

[jpmtiler]

We're having our bathroom done and have been looking around quite a few tile showrooms. The latest one we went in said that for floor tiles they will only sell porcelain as opposed to ceramic, as if anything is dropped on ceramic it is likely the tile will crack.

Now, I am sure they wouldn't lie to us, but it struck me as odd that this was the only place to mention it too us.

Are there any other differences between the two materials we should be aware of?

Cheers

I would always prefer to use porcelain for floors purely because it is alot tougher as wedge69 says ceramic does crack if anything is dropped hard on them but saying that if they are laid with a good bed of adhesive then cant see any problems.

 

[gcol]

It's not so much the fact that regular ceramic will crack more readily, but the fact that it will chip more easily. If you drop a pan on a porcelain floor you've a better chance of having much less damage than a regular ceramic floor. Also, with heavy wear, the glaze (and therefore colour) can wear off a ceramic tile.
The manufacture of porcelain is such that the colour at the surface is the same all the way through the tile..... so any damage will only reveal the same colour. You don't generally get that with regular ceramic.

 

[wedge69]

Thank you for your replies.

Turns out it could be a bit of a mute point actually, because the floor tiles we like are actually porcelain anyway!

But at least now I know more than I did before!

 

[jefoss]

ceramic or porcelain

which is better

theres only one way to find out......


FIGHT!!!!

 

[gcol]

Porcelain will kick butt all day long.

 

[jefoss]

Porcelain will kick butt all day long.

you dress up as a porc tile, ill come along as ceramic, we could get some made like the big inflatable sumo suits

 

[gcol]

Sure ok. Keep taking the tablets Jef.

 

[DoctorC]

Porcelain all the way

(and it's moot point!)

 

[yizba]

What is the difference between Spanish & Turkish made porcelain floor tiles? &
What do I have to check for when they lay the tiles? Is a laser cutting of the tiles important? Thx Flo

 

[DianaFox]

Ceramic tiles have been around for over 2000 years. They typically have a white or red clay “biscuit” with some form of glaze on top. Porcelain tiles are made from an extremely finely-powdered “clay” tablet that is pressed under enormous pressure and heat – several hundred degrees hotter than ceramics. Porcelain tiles are much harder and more dense than ceramic tiles. This allows porcelain tiles to be made in very large formats that would be impossible to achieve in a ceramic tile. Porcelain tiles will also often have a coloured “biscuit” that matches the surface glaze, or have a colour and pattern that extends all the way through the tile. This avoids the common problem with ceramics where the glaze gets chipped and exposes the ugly clay biscuit underneath.

 

[yizba]

Thx.Is there a differnce in the quality of the tile that the laymen can notice?

 

[gcol]

Thx.Is there a differnce in the quality of the tile that the laymen can notice?

Yes, re-read the last sentence in DianaFox's post. Also the glaze and surface colour on a ceramic tile can quite readily be worn away. My parents have a regular ceramic kitchen floor and they have an iron door stop that generally gets slid about and has rubbed the surface colour of the tile away.

 

[yizba]

Re-phrase. Is there a difference between a tile from Spain or a tile from Turkey that I can see in the store?