Porcelain tile

Hand-painted Chinese porcelain tiles on the floor of a Jewish synagogue in Cochin, Kerala, India

Porcelain tiles are ceramic tiles with a water absorption rate of less than 0.5 percent that are used to cover floors and walls. They can either be unglazed or glazed.

The hardness of the tile is rated from zero to five according to the ASTM C1027 (or ISO 10545-7) test for surface abrasion resistance of glazed tile. This rating, (sometimes mistakenly called the PEI rating) determines the tiles suitability for various end use conditions.

Large scale production of porcelain tile is undertaken in many countries, with the major producers being China, Italy, Spain and Turkey. There are also countries undertaking small scale production, such as Australia and strong growth in developing countries such as Brazil.

Porcelain Tile is also a very common trend in tile installation. There are many different styles of porcelain tiles on the market and they have proved to outperform ceramic tile in durability and looks.

It is important to note that the differences of the body of the porcelain tile, as it relates to ceramic tile, has caused many "job failures" of tile installations. Tile setters that are self trained and novices to the industry will often use cements or mastic to install the impervious body of the porcelain tile to a substrate only to have delamination occur rather quickly. Highly Modified cements are necessary for installation of this material due to the very qualities that make it such a durable long lasting decorative surface. Those specifications are determined by and dictated as industry standards by the Tile Council of America, and supported by the Tile Contractors Association.

See also

• Ceramic tile cutter
• Diamond drilling porcelain Page explains how to drill this very hard material
• Porcelain tile