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FAQ's
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1. What is Porcelain? |
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Porcelain consists of a spray dried body of selected clays, kaolinitic minerals, quartz and feldspar, shaped by dry pressing to form a ceramic material that is then fired at temperatures up to 1250 degrees centigrade. A key element of porcelain is its extremely low level of water absorption which is below 0.5%. As a result of new innovative processes new porcelain bears a striking resemblence to natural stones such as marble, granite and poryphyry.
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2. Where can procelain be used? |
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Porcelain is ideal for interior and exterior floors and walls and also facades of buildings. It is available in natural, smooth, polished and structured finishes. Porcelain is an ideal material for use in the creation of dynamic waterjet designs which can be viewed in the Project Gallery section of this site.
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3. How do you know which adhesive to use when fixing your tiles? |
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The type of adhesive you use depends on a number of factors: Where are you tiling? What are you tiling on? How much tiling experience do you have? Adhesives can be split into 2 main categories: THINSET and ORGANIC MASTICS. THINSET adhesives come in powder form and must be mixed with either water, liquid latex or an acrylic additive depending on the type. Thinsets are considered harder to work with because they must be mixed to the right consistency before using. Thinsets have a stronger bond and are more flexible than Organic Mastics (see below). They can also support a lot of weight so they are often used for floor installations. Thinsets can be used in wet areas as well as those exposed to heat. ORGANIC MASTICS are probably the most commonly used adhesives by DIY'ers. As they are pre-mixed and ready to use, they are considered easier to work with and less time consuming than thinset adhesives. Mastics are good for setting wall tiles because they start gripping the tile even before it has fully cured. Mastics should not be used in areas that will get wet or will be exposed to extreme heat. Be aware that if you are using a solvent based mastic the fumes can be potentially explosive and dangerous when inhaled. Always wear a charcoal filtered mask when working with this and keep it away from any naked flames.
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4. How are the Anti-Slip ratings of tiles calculated? |
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The various working areas are classified in five groups, according to the danger of slipping up in them. To determine in which of these groups a material should be classified, it is applied on a surface that is gradually sloped. A person wearing shoes walks up and down the slope until he starts slipping. The value in degrees of the slope reached before he starts slipping determines the classification of the material in class: R9 slip start value less than 10 degrees (mimimal friction) R10 slip start value from 10 to 19 degrees (normal friction) R11 slip start value from 19 to 27 degrees (good friction) R12 slip start value from 27 to 35 degrees (high friction) R13 slip start value more than 35 degrees (very high friction)
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5. What is the performance of ceramic tiles exposed to frost ? |
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Frost damage affects the materials exposed to water in areas where the temperature is liable to fall below zero. Water can penetrate tiles - and therefore a tiled surface - through their pores. If the temperature falls below zero, the water freezes and becomes ice. As every schoolchild knows, ice occupies a greater volume than liquid water, so tensions are created inside the pores. These tensions may become so high that portions of the tiles break off. Frost resistance of tiles can be measured in accordance with current standards. Some kinds of tiles are frost resistant whereas others are not. When designing an external floor or wall covering in a location susceptible to cold winters, it is obviously essential to choose frost resistant tiles.However, the choice of frost resistant tiles is not in itself sufficient to guarantee protection of a tiled surface against frost damage. It is also important to use suitable materials for the bedding layer and the grout joints, to choose a suitable inclination of the floor to prevent water from pooling, etc. To avoid frost damage, which is often caused by a combination of factors, great care must be taken in the design and installation stages and when choosing materials, whether tiles or installation products.
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6. Is it preferable for tiles to be installed with open or closed grout joints? |
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With closed joint (or butt-jointed) installation, adjacent tiles are in contact. The thickness of the joint is minimal so it has a very low visual impact. Installation is quick since each tile placed in position provides an immediate reference for the subsequent tile. But this is where the advantages end. The risks (which correspond to the advantages of open joint installation) are certainly more significant. With closed joint installation, the tiled surface is more rigid and considerable mechanical stress can arise. This is particularly marked in external tiling exposed to high temperature variations, especially in certain climatic areas. These stresses can pose a risk to the integrity of the tiled surface. Furthermore, with closed joint installation it is much more difficult to ensure that the joints are straight and uniform. Every small difference between tiles, even if within the tolerances established by standards, is accentuated. With open joint installation the opposite is the case. Last but not least, the grout is unable to penetrate properly between the tiles if they are touching. In closed joint installations, there is a high risk of cavities forming in the joint and these will inevitably harbour dirt, germs and bacteria. So it is certainly not true that a closed joint installation is recommended for hygiene reasons, quite the opposite. This is further demonstrated by the fact that open joint tile installations are obligatory in factories where foodstuffs are processed or treated. In short, open joint installation is the most reliable method, which is why installation standards in various countries make open joint installation obligatory.
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7. Can I use any kind of tile for interior floors? |
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Interior floors certainly do not require characteristics such as frost resistance that instead are essential for exterior surfaces. So specifying frost resistance for interior tiles (unless inside a cold storage room) would itself be unjustified. Having said this, it is important not to draw hasty and incorrect conclusions. The first such hasty conclusion could be expressed as follows: "Frost resistant tiles must be used solely for exterior applications". So why is this conclusion wrong? It's wrong because frost resistance is a characteristic related to the composition and structure of ceramic materials, in particular its porous structure. This in turn affects other characteristics such as load resistance and resistance to mechanical stress. A product with a highly compact structure such as porcelain tile (which has virtually zero porosity) therefore has both a high mechanical resistance and a high frost resistance. High mechanical resistance is required for floor covering applications in many interior areas. This requirement is met by products such as porcelain tile that also have a high frost resistance. It is good practice to choose porcelain tile on the basis of mechanical considerations, even if the product's frost resistance is not necessary for interior applications. Second incorrect conclusion: "Any tile will do for interior floors". This is simply not true. Interior floors may be subjected to extremely varied degrees of mechanical or chemical stress according to their application, so they may require tiles with correspondingly different characteristics. A tile with suitable characteristics for the conditions of use on a bedroom floor will not necessarily be able to withstand the stresses that are likely to occur in a kitchen or an entrance hall with direct access to a gravelled outdoor area. In short, it is incorrect to say: "any tile can be used for any interior application". Even for interior applications, it is important to choose "the right tile for the right place".
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8. When tiles are marketed, and therefore displayed in showrooms, are they recommended for a specific application or area of use? |
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Even though certain types of decoration appear to suggest certain settings (such as for a bathroom), it is not true that tiles are designed and specified (either explicitly or implicitly) for any given application. For example tiles are not specifically designed for use on a kitchen floor or on balconies. Any given kind of tile can be used in a variety of different areas with satisfactory results. So for the vast majority of tiles, specifying just one application would be not only restrictive but also quite unjustified. On the other hand, the conclusion that "any tile can be used in any area and for any application" is definitely false. Each tile may be properly used only in areas where its technical characteristics are suitable for the relevant conditions of use and chemical, physical and mechanical stress. So the choice of the "right tile in the right place" must be made with great care, matching the technical characteristics of tiles with the expected stresses in the area of use.
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9. Is it risky to choose tiles based on photos in a catalogue rather than on tile samples? |
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We have all seen how photographs reproduced in printed publications such as catalogues provide an image of an object (in our case a tile) which is faithful but not identical to the original, detailed but not necessarily complete. In other words, if we place a tile alongside a photograph and observe closely, we will see that the printed colour, although very similar, is perceptibly different. Even more importantly, the surface may have a gloss finish or texture that is not effectively conveyed by the printed reproduction. For this reason, it is advisable to use a catalogue to make a preliminary selection of several tiles, then use samples of the tiles to make the final decision. Another important point concerns the fact that the batch of tiles you receive will have a given colour tone as specified on the box. It is important to check that all the tiles in the batch you have purchased have the same colour tone. In their warehouses the manufacturer or dealer will have batches of tiles of the same type that you have chosen but with slightly different colour tones. These differences in tone are an inevitable result of the technological characteristics of the production process. This has no adverse consequences for the user provided a batch of tiles with the same tone is used for a specific installation. It doesn't matter if the tone of the batch is not identical to that of the sample used for choosing the tiles as the differences in tone are so small that they are visible only when two tiles are placed alongside each other.
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10. What is meant by the term 'calibration' when used by tile manufacturers to refer to tile sizes? |
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Although a tile size may be stated as 30cm x 30cm the nature of the manufacturing process means that it is impossible to ensure all tiles are of an equal size. It is for this reason that tile manufacturers produce a number of calibrations for the same tile. The specific calibration provides an indication of the variance from the stated size of the tile. When calibrations are indicated at the outset of a project, the tiles will be as close to a uniform size as you are ever likely to achieve. If this is not done however, there can be problems with the grout lines not running straight as a result of the variance in the tile sizes used.
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