You have decided to install new flooring & you are not sure If you should use ceramic tile or porcelain.
To start with you should know that generally both product are known as ceramic tile, & they are processed the same way & they consist of Clay & Quartz & Ferrous Sand material plus water, However the main differences between the two is when it comes to producing porcelain tile they use a clay that is more purified & highly refined,Therefore the porcelain tile becomes a denser product opposed to ceramic tile.
Because porcelain is a Denser product you could use it in much tougher environments & because of its density they generally absorb less moister, and they are much stronger & resistance to staining so you can use it out doors as well as indoor.
Now that you know the general differences between porcelain & ceramic tile you need to decide the type of application you have in mind so you can use the right product. To start with porcelain is generally 10 to 15 % higher price oppose to ceramic tile, however that really doesn’t come out to be much depending on the size of your project.when it comes to any project & installation your job outcome will always have to start with the right ingredient.
All porcelain & ceramic tile have a (PEI) Rating so the higher the rating the better & stronger the material becomes. For Example if you are installing tile on the wall you really don’t need any more than a PEI of 1, & If its going to be on the bathroom floor or even the kitchen we recommend a Rating of 2 & for the rest of your home you should use a product that has a PEI rating of 3 & if you you are installing it in a very high traffic area or a commercial application then its best to use a PEI rating of 4 & 5.
One other thing to consider when you are ordering your tile, you should always allow a 5 to 10% waist factor & most importantly make sure when the job is done you have 2 to 3 boxes of tile left over for future repairs. From personal experience as a contractor & designer I have come across a lot of clients that were forced to rip out an entire area of tile simply because the did not have any left over material to fix few broken or damage pieces ,& since tile distributor & manufacturer will phase products out every 4 to 5 years to make room for new product the client is not able to purchase what they had originally installed.
For more advice on maintenance of your flooring please go to our web site: urbanhomedesignllc.com & go to our floor care page .For Free estimate & design ideas please email us at info@urbanhomedesignllc.com or contact us by phone 949-588-9300. you can also visit our beautiful show room.
Good Luck with your project,
Sami Behzad, Designer
Urban Home Design llc,
Urbanhomedesignllc's Blog 