http://starcraftcustombuilders.com/porcelain.or.ceramic.htm
They say to ignore "porcelain" or "ceramic". They are basically the same thing. In European use, porcelain means lighter color, in US usage, porcelain means higher quality. But one manufacturers "higher quality" may be another's rejects.
The real information is in the ratings and icons, if the box has any (if not, they recommend avoiding it).
The "Grade" is how well it does in visual inspection. Grade 1 is best, Grade 2 has visible inspections, but may be fine for use.
The PEI is the wear test. III is about the minimum for flooring, IV or V is better, especially for outdoor or commercial use. Should be at least 3/16 thick and 1/4 is better.
Water penetration...Impervious is best with 0.5 or less, especially desireable where it might freeze.
Also look for the snowflake frost icon.
C.O.F is coefficient of friction. 0.5 or better required for kitchens, 0.7 is better, for wet aread 0.85.
Tone is how well tiles match, V1 is best, leave V3 and V4 to professionals.
Here's a quality tile from Home Depot, with PEI IV and COF 0.6.
Porcelain tends to be more impervious and have the color all the way through. Get porcelain.
ReplyDeleteYes, thank you. But if you read the first article linked, the upshot is that the word "porcelain" has no legal meaning, it simply means whatever each manufacturer wants it to mean, and all ceramic and porcelain tiles are fundamentally the same thing: fired silica earth. Granted, the better tiles are generally called porcelain, so in practice it means "the better stuff." Yes, of course that's what I want, and if getting tile I will zoom right over to the porcelain section, and skip the cheap stuff. But to be really sure it is good enough, you need to read the fine print details I listed, and not just go with anything that calls itself "porcelain". There are specific grades for imperviousness, for example.
ReplyDeleteSee next post (in progress) I'm thinking I may go back to polished/coated concrete floor.