Can porcelain and ceramic tile be used interchangeably? Even though many people confuse porcelain to ceramic tiles, the two are entirely distinct. Porcelain tile is a type of ceramic tile that is purer, harder, water resistant, and stronger than the ordinary ceramic tiles. The tiles can be either glazed or non-glazed. Although porcelain floor tiles have existed for long in the flooring industry, the modern mass production of porcelain has made it readily available and affordable for the average household. The growing demand for porcelain tile flooring has led to the production of different types of porcelain flooring materials for floor and décor porcelain floor tiles to meet the ever-ballooning demand for porcelain floor tile Houston, Texas. Large-scale production of porcelain tiles is undertaken by countries such as China, Italy, Spain, and India.
advantages of Using Porcelain Tile Flooring
1. Waterproof
Porcelain tiles have a high resistance to liquids such as water due to their low absorption rate of 0.5. The density of the porcelain makes it more water resistant as compared to other types of ceramic tiles. However, floor polishing is always done to make the floor more water resistant by sealing the possible porous surfaces. The water resistance property of porcelain tile can be improved through the application of a melted glass glaze to make it more impervious. With this quality, porcelain bathroom floor tile is ideal for your bathroom flooring.
2. Durability
Porcelain is one of the hardest flooring material that resists most of the massive impact stresses and abrasion effects. This makes it one of the best flooring materials ideal for use in commercial environments. Porcelain nonslip tiles are always the best tiles option for commercial places due to their rough surface that minimizes the occurrences of slip-fall accidents. To determine the suitability of porcelain tiles, they are subjected to wear grade rating that ranges from zero to five according to ISO 10545-7 and ASTM C1027. Moreover, porcelain can be classified with a PEI rating not less than %, making it appropriate for heavy equipment use and high traffic spaces.
3. Flexibility in design
Modern porcelain tiles are designed using the high technology 3-D printing to mimic any sort of traditional flooring materials such as wood, granite, marble, steel, bamboo, or cork. The appearance looks so real and may make it almost indistinguishable from the natural materials. Porcelain wood-look flooring gives your space the elegance of nature that blends excitingly with your wall design. Other options such as Cherry wood porcelain floor tiles, black and white porcelain floor tiles, grey porcelain floor tiles, white porcelain floor tiles, and glazed porcelain floor tiles add attractiveness to your interior view.
4. Resistance to stain
Floor stains reduce the quality and beauty that may always turn to be conspicuous. The stains may reduce not only the elegance but also your floor worth. Porcelain is naturally stain resistant. It repels liquid penetrations making it more resistance to water and other liquid penetrations. When glazed, the tile surface becomes even more repulsive to water. The ability to resist water penetration makes the surface impossible to be stained or discolored.
5. Low maintenance cost.
The smooth and waterproof surface of porcelain flooring makes it easy to clean. A liquid spill can easily be cleaned by use of a damp rug while dust and other loose particles can be easily swept out regularly to maintain the glazed floor’s surface. Moreover, wet moping using relevant pH-balanced detergents keeps the surface clean and disinfected.
6. Easy to repair
Porcelain flooring can be easily repaired either through spot repair or installation of new flooring. However, porcelain tiles are resistant to cracking and physical impacts. Although, if the impact was such strong to break the flooring, singling out each piece to be repaired isn’t an expensive task. Thus, during your next flooring, always remember to keep at least two pieces of each tile color for easy matching in case of a repair.
7 Fire resistant
Being able to resist fire spread is one of the admirable quality of Porcelain tile floors in Austin, Texas.
Shortcomings
Notwithstanding its benefits, porcelain flooring materials are heavyweight, difficult to install, high price, needs grout maintenance, and lack of standard labeling that limits its uses as a flooring material.