Ceramic Tile

Does anyone know if Home Depot has the best prices on ceramic tile or are there other places I can try?

DH owns a tile installation business..according to him Home Depot tile is cheaper but you get what you pay for. It often chips on the corners
(our apartment floor was done with home depot tile, it's white and you can see the brown edges where the tile has chipped..it's only a year and a half old!)

and breaks easily when you try to cut it.

You may pay more at places like Cancos, but the quality and selection are much better!

Old Country Tile in Port Jeff Station (on 347) has a great selection and tiles in all price ranges. They are really helpful too. My company gets all our tile work from them.

How do you know which ceramic tile is good/bad? Is it just based on price? Brand?

DH and I have to put in a new ceramic tile floor in our kitchen and hall (we're the ones who's neighbor drove into our home, if you saw my post on that).

Any suggestions on how to pick the tile? The contractor has options (which we aren't up to looking at yet) but I want to know how to pick it out! THANKS!

From Floorstransformed.com

For a floor tile, PEI 4 & 5 are best suited!

PEI Ratings

Although there are no industry standards, most ceramic tile is rated for use by the Porcelain Enamel Institute (PEI) abrasion test and is recommended by the American Society Testing Materials (ASTM). PEI ratings measure the wear resistance of the tile surface.

Class 1 - No Foot Traffic:
Ceramic tile suggested for interior residential and commercial wall applications only.

Class 2 - Light Traffic:
Ceramic tile suggested for interior residential and commercial wall applications and for residential bathroom floor applications only.

Class 3 - Light to Moderate Traffic:
Ceramic tile suggested for residential floor, countertop, and wall applications.

Class 4 - Moderate to Heavy Traffic:
Ceramic tile suggested for residential, medium commercial and light institutional floor and wall applications.

Class 5+ - Heavy to Extra Heavy Traffic:
Ceramic tile suggested for residential, commercial and institutional floor and wall applications subjected to heavy to extra heavy traffic.

Also, this is how tile is madeFrom Armstrong

CERAMIC TILE CONSTRUCTION

The construction of a ceramic tile is quite simple. The bisque is the body of the tile, made of clay. The glaze is colored glass, which provides the design and surface finish of the tile. These two components become permanently fused together in the firing process.

Looking at the back of a tile, you’ll see that some tiles have darker bisque than others. These are “red body” tiles . . . as opposed to those with a “white body.” They are simply different kinds of clay chosen to produce a certain visual effect; there is no difference in performance.

You may also find some tiles labeled as “glazed porcelain” that have a stronger, denser and less porous bisque than typical ceramic tile.

Home Doctor Self Help Tips
Flooring


Quality Ceramic Floor Tile

How can I tell the difference between a quality ceramic floor tile and some of the rubbish being sold?

It's a good question, one that you don't have much help answering; however, if you are intending to buy a ceramic tile in the near future, it's a question you will be facing and should take a moment to read and consider the following information:



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ceramic tiles are NOT all alike and some may be considered time bombs ready, waiting, and ticking down until conditions are right to cause you problems. Even the ceramic industry does not make comparative advertising with competition products. Why? By law, much of the European community is restricted from this activity. Also, it's often viewed as self-destructive.

'It's cheap and it looks aesthetically the same.' These are often prophetic words. It may sound like just common sense remarks but lower priced materials of any kind normally cost less because there are short cuts in manufacturing them. I am told, 'it is not possible to convince a cheap customer to buy based on quality issues, nor easily convince a customer who is accustomed to quality to buy something based on price alone.'

With ceramic tile, an aesthetically nice looking tile doesn't necessarily mean it is a quality tile. Some dealers will purchase inferior low price ceramic tiles and represent them to be superior quality. Your experienced dealer is their to assist you, but the fault lies in NOT understanding the product and that's where a greater knowledge will better prepare you to make a ceramic tile purchase.

What makes a quality ceramic tile different from the others and how can you tell the difference? The expert ceramists intended design, quality of materials, product, manufacturing processes, kiln temperature, duration of firing time, etc. all determine the differences between one tile and another.

Absorption is the primary key factor in determining both positive and negative factors influencing your ceramic tiles nature, installation and bond, maintenance, durability, and long-term performance.

Floor tiles having a high absorption (7% or higher), perform poorly and are often referred to as RUBBISH. These tiles will chip and crack easily, before and after they have been installed. There is often a condition of stress between the tile body (biscuit/bisque) and glaze. Even while inspecting a selection of these tiles, straight from the carton, there is often chips on corners and the dark reddish or brown tone biscuit is exposed. They may exhibit size differences and dye lot variations. Even if this is controlled with sorting, they often expand with moisture absorption, taken from setting materials, which will adversely effect bond-ability to the substrate. Although the surface glaze appears aesthetically similar in nature to superior quality tiles, their performance is vastly different. Avoid purchasing such tiles.

Floor tiles having a water absorption between 4-6% are more stable and considered the lowest acceptable industry limit for targeted quality and economics of production; however, they cannot be viewed as anything more that daily residential performance tiles. Even then, avoid high gloss surfaces and smooth dull, matte textured finishes.

Floor tiles having an absorption between 0.5-3% (vitrified) are often designed with superior attributes. This is the most desired quality range for ceramic tile selections. They can withstand freeze/thaw conditions, have PEI 5 wear ratings / superior traffic and chemical resistant glazes for medium to heavy commercial use, the compatibility of glaze and biscuit are well designed, and these tiles are good value. They bond well, have consistent size, stress tolerances, are usually well controlled for color, tone, caliber, and finish.

Floor tiles with a lower absorption or 0.5% or lower, often referred to as porcelain tiles, have superior technical properties but are aesthetically limited, compared with 0.5-3% absorptive tiles. In addition, you may be paying more for less. For example, the low absorption means they were kilned longer and hotter, so this means they cost more, but the lower absorption also means that they are harder to bond and may stress to cracking easier than 0.5-3% higher absorption tiles installed on wood composite substrates.

Aside from comparing one ceramic tile to another, quality ceramic tiles are superior in many ways to other materials; although, a consumer is usually predisposed to buying a quality ceramic tile, having been told of the durability, low maintenance, long-term cost saving and maintained beauty benefits.

Here's a short list, from which you can find arguments to favor choosing ceramic tiles over the numerous alternatives of flooring materials:

Glazed or vitrified (low absorption) good quality ceramic tiles are less expensive. Initially, when compared with natural stone tiles, and over the life of the floor; they are easier to install, have low maintenance and maintenance costs, offer an extended color palette, have controlled shade variations, have greater dimensions, shapes, and trims commonly available; they have greater acid, alkali, and chemical resistance, they are usually impermeable and stain resistant; they have harder wearable surfaces with impact and pressure resistance; they have greater bond strength, have a multitude of surfaces and textures, will not decay and are bacteria resistant, weather resistant, fast-fast and won't fade; they are ecologically compatible, environmentally green, with no chemical or toxic substances; they have good heat energy retaining and conducting (conserving); they won't burn and are not inflammable; they are scratch resistant, odorless, non-conductive, time resistant, and slip resistant; glazed tiles never need stripping or refinishing, allow for design flexibility, are easily repairable, UV resistant, hygienic, etc.

Article courtesy of Ceramic-Tile.com

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Posted by Jan05Bride

Home Doctor Self Help Tips
Flooring


Quality Ceramic Floor Tile

How can I tell the difference between a quality ceramic floor tile and some of the rubbish being sold?

It's a good question, one that you don't have much help answering; however, if you are intending to buy a ceramic tile in the near future, it's a question you will be facing and should take a moment to read and consider the following information:



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ceramic tiles are NOT all alike and some may be considered time bombs ready, waiting, and ticking down until conditions are right to cause you problems. Even the ceramic industry does not make comparative advertising with competition products. Why? By law, much of the European community is restricted from this activity. Also, it's often viewed as self-destructive.

'It's cheap and it looks aesthetically the same.' These are often prophetic words. It may sound like just common sense remarks but lower priced materials of any kind normally cost less because there are short cuts in manufacturing them. I am told, 'it is not possible to convince a cheap customer to buy based on quality issues, nor easily convince a customer who is accustomed to quality to buy something based on price alone.'

With ceramic tile, an aesthetically nice looking tile doesn't necessarily mean it is a quality tile. Some dealers will purchase inferior low price ceramic tiles and represent them to be superior quality. Your experienced dealer is their to assist you, but the fault lies in NOT understanding the product and that's where a greater knowledge will better prepare you to make a ceramic tile purchase.

What makes a quality ceramic tile different from the others and how can you tell the difference? The expert ceramists intended design, quality of materials, product, manufacturing processes, kiln temperature, duration of firing time, etc. all determine the differences between one tile and another.

Absorption is the primary key factor in determining both positive and negative factors influencing your ceramic tiles nature, installation and bond, maintenance, durability, and long-term performance.

Floor tiles having a high absorption (7% or higher), perform poorly and are often referred to as RUBBISH. These tiles will chip and crack easily, before and after they have been installed. There is often a condition of stress between the tile body (biscuit/bisque) and glaze. Even while inspecting a selection of these tiles, straight from the carton, there is often chips on corners and the dark reddish or brown tone biscuit is exposed. They may exhibit size differences and dye lot variations. Even if this is controlled with sorting, they often expand with moisture absorption, taken from setting materials, which will adversely effect bond-ability to the substrate. Although the surface glaze appears aesthetically similar in nature to superior quality tiles, their performance is vastly different. Avoid purchasing such tiles.

Floor tiles having a water absorption between 4-6% are more stable and considered the lowest acceptable industry limit for targeted quality and economics of production; however, they cannot be viewed as anything more that daily residential performance tiles. Even then, avoid high gloss surfaces and smooth dull, matte textured finishes.

Floor tiles having an absorption between 0.5-3% (vitrified) are often designed with superior attributes. This is the most desired quality range for ceramic tile selections. They can withstand freeze/thaw conditions, have PEI 5 wear ratings / superior traffic and chemical resistant glazes for medium to heavy commercial use, the compatibility of glaze and biscuit are well designed, and these tiles are good value. They bond well, have consistent size, stress tolerances, are usually well controlled for color, tone, caliber, and finish.

Floor tiles with a lower absorption or 0.5% or lower, often referred to as porcelain tiles, have superior technical properties but are aesthetically limited, compared with 0.5-3% absorptive tiles. In addition, you may be paying more for less. For example, the low absorption means they were kilned longer and hotter, so this means they cost more, but the lower absorption also means that they are harder to bond and may stress to cracking easier than 0.5-3% higher absorption tiles installed on wood composite substrates.

Aside from comparing one ceramic tile to another, quality ceramic tiles are superior in many ways to other materials; although, a consumer is usually predisposed to buying a quality ceramic tile, having been told of the durability, low maintenance, long-term cost saving and maintained beauty benefits.

Here's a short list, from which you can find arguments to favor choosing ceramic tiles over the numerous alternatives of flooring materials:

Glazed or vitrified (low absorption) good quality ceramic tiles are less expensive. Initially, when compared with natural stone tiles, and over the life of the floor; they are easier to install, have low maintenance and maintenance costs, offer an extended color palette, have controlled shade variations, have greater dimensions, shapes, and trims commonly available; they have greater acid, alkali, and chemical resistance, they are usually impermeable and stain resistant; they have harder wearable surfaces with impact and pressure resistance; they have greater bond strength, have a multitude of surfaces and textures, will not decay and are bacteria resistant, weather resistant, fast-fast and won't fade; they are ecologically compatible, environmentally green, with no chemical or toxic substances; they have good heat energy retaining and conducting (conserving); they won't burn and are not inflammable; they are scratch resistant, odorless, non-conductive, time resistant, and slip resistant; glazed tiles never need stripping or refinishing, allow for design flexibility, are easily repairable, UV resistant, hygienic, etc.

Article courtesy of Ceramic-Tile.com

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spoken from the expert

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Posted by janwinterbridejoy

spoken from the expert

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You too missy! I actually had to look it up, beause I couldn't remeber the asorption (vitrified) rule! LOL

WOW! Thank you very, very much!