Ceramic Tile Selection

Selecting the proper type of ceramic tile for your project is probably the most important installation decision you will make. Here are some tips to help you in your purchase:

• Try to buy consistently sized tiles, a good tile retailer should be able to give you some guidance on which manufacturer and tile range to use. Ceramic tiles are fired in a kiln and then cooled at varying degrees of temperature and humidity. This expansion and contraction can cause the tiles to vary in size, sometimes by as 5mm or more. Most ceramic tiles on the market will have some variation in size but accept nothing more than a 2mm margin of difference.
• Make sure the ceramic tiles you purchase are of the same "Lot" and "Shade". This will ensure that your flooring was made in the same production batch.
• Unless you plan to purchase a high quality wet saw you should refrain from using fully vitrified porcelain tiles for interior installations. Fully vitrified porcelain tiles are very difficult to cut with accuracy with a tile cutter and this means every cut you make would be with your tile saw.
• Select a ceramic tile that is relatively smooth and has straight, flush edges. This will make your grouting job a whole lot easier.
• For ease of installation use 10cm x 10cm or smaller sized tiles on walls and countertops. Another even easier option would be to use Mosaic tiles where you can almost avoid the need to cut tiles altogether by just cutting through the backing fabric. For floors use 33cm x 33cm or smaller tiles.
• Ceramic tiles with bright reflective surfaces (bright glaze finish) are not recommended for floors as they can pose a slip hazard and they will probably have poor abrasive resistance.

PEI Ratings

Although there are no industry standards, most ceramic tiles are rated for use by the Porcelain Enamel Institute (PEI) abrasion test.

• PEI 1 - No Foot Traffic:
  Ceramic tile suggested for interior residential and commercial wall applications only.
• PEI 2 - Light Traffic:
  Ceramic tile suggested for interior residential and commercial wall applications and for residential bathroom floor applications only.
• PEI 3 - Light to Moderate Traffic:
  Ceramic tile suggested for residential floor, countertop, and wall applications.
• PEI 4 - Moderate to Heavy Traffic:
  Ceramic tile suggested for residential, medium commercial and light institutional floor and wall applications.
• PEI 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.

Acceptable Outdoor Tile Types

Ceramic tile installed in exterior locations must be able to withstand freeze/thaw conditions meaning they should have an absorption rating of 3% or less. These types of tiles are usually very dense, have greater impact resistance, and increased breaking strength. Install them using a premium quality, latex modified adhesive.

• Vitrified, ceramic tiles having an absorption rating between 0.5 - 3%.
• Impervious (Porcelain), ceramic tiles having an absorption rating between 0.0 - 0.5%.

If price is a factor in your decision to purchase your ceramic tiles then you can do no better than to visit the online tile store at: www.tilestoreonline.co.uk for whilst the range of tiles is still limited, quality is high as stock is all imported directly from the new Pamesa Ceramica factory in Brazil.

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