Floor tile types

Glazed Ceramic – Clay tiles with a liquid glass coating, water resistant available in almost all colours and textures. When choosing a ceramic floor tile make sure that it is made to cope with amount and weight of traffic it will have to handle, all tiles will have a PEI rating:

o PEI I: Floor coverings in areas that are walked on essentially with soft soled footwear or bare feet without scratching dirt (e.g. residential bathrooms and bedrooms without direct access from outside).

o PEI II: Floor coverings that are walked on by soft soled or ‘normal’ footwear with, at the most, occasional small amounts of scratching dirt (e.g. rooms in living areas of homes but with the exception of kitchens, entrances and other rooms which may have a lot of traffic).

o PEI III: Floor coverings in areas that, with normal footwear are walked on more often with small amounts of scratching dirt (e.g. residential kitchens, halls, corridors, balconies).

o PEI IV: Floor coverings in areas that are walked on by regular traffic with some scratching dirt so that the conditions are more severe than class III (e.g. entrances, commercial kitchens, hotels).

o PEI V: Floor coverings that are subject to severe pedestrian traffic over sustained periods with some scratching dirt, so that the conditions are the most severe for which glazed floor tiles may be suitable (e.g. public areas such as shopping centres, hotel foyers).

For cutting, as some ceramic floor tiles are extremely dense and hard and the glaze on them is also very durable. It may be that they can only be cut with a diamond wet saw. Commonly ceramic tile can be scored with a glass cutter and then cracked along the cut line with relative ease, or for a larger number of cuts any suitable commercial tile cutter can be used. For fixing use a rapid or normal setting floor tile adhesive. Always follow manufacturers’ instructions

Quarry – quarry tiles are a durable tile normally made from extruded red clay. They are usually vitreous and most suitable for outdoor use. No two tiles will exactly the same and there will often be slight differences in size and thickness. They are typically unsealed and their slip resistance makes them suitable patios and paths. However being unglazed they will be susceptible to stains.
Use a wet saw for cutting and latex reinforced cement for fixing.

Porcelain – Porcelain tiles are very durable and can be used instead of marble and granite tiles where waterproofing or stain resistance is needed. Porcelain can be used for internal and external floors and comes in a wide variety of colours and styles. Being hard throughout a diamond tipped wet saw will be needed for cutting.

Mosaic – Mosaic tiles being generally in the size range 1.5 x 1.5cm to 5.0 x 5.0cm are normally available in “sheets” 30 x 30cm upwards and can be made from ceramic, porcelain, glass and stone. They are relatively easy to install, the smaller size tiles in particular being suitable for craft knife or scissor cutting of the paper or textile backing sheet. If your mosaics are translucent be sure to use white cement so the clarity of the colour is not compromised.

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