The reason I specified Crossville is that they're one of the larger porcelain manufacturers here in the U.S., and they have a pretty good line of rectified porcelain.

As for the TG Alfa Elegance, I haven't, but as I've said before-- I never met a porcelain tile I didn't like yet! :-)

What is rectified porcelain? Is that different from regular porcelain?

I think this is going to be the next one added to the FAQ list!! :-)

What's different about rectified porcelain is that with any other tile, including most porcelain tiles, they're stamped out with a press, and then baked in the kilns. The problem is that there is no known process of firing clay that completely eliminates shrinkage while "cooking". This is why you get the sizing that you so often hear about, and why grout joints are usually 3/16" or so, so as to hide those differences. With rectified porcelain, they bake the tile in sheets, and then CUT it to size once it comes out of the kiln, which makes for MUCH tighter tolerances, which means the tiles can be set with a tighter joint.

THIS DOES NOT MEAN you can set them with NO JOINT at all!

LOL, sorry Bill. After I posted I found your other blogs on rectified. Sorry.

Cathy

No need to apologize. I could count on one hand the number of original questions I've answered in the last few months! I'm here to help if I can. :-)

Bill,
What do you think of American Olean? I am using their Catarina line, Coliseum White on my bathroom floor. My local tile shops offer it for $2.50 per sq ft. There is a glossy wall tile also. The floor tile (12x12) sample I have has very straight edges but I don't know if it is "rectified".
Take a look at it, Keepitunder, I think it's very pretty and has a good marble presence.

At 2.50 a foot, I can guarantee you it's not. Matter of fact, it's not even porcelain. It IS a good tile, though. :-)

AO's a good manufacturer. Next to Dal, I probably use more AO than anything else.

My tile if $4.35 a square foot. The sample looks really even on the sides but I don't know if it's rectified. My tile installer said he was going to install it with 1/8 inch sanded grout which is what he usually does he said. He did look at the tile so is familiar with it.

Bill, do you think at this price it is rectified porcelain?

Cathy

Very doubtful. Most rectified porcelain will START at about 9-10.00 a foot, and the better ones will be closer to 15.00 a foot or more.

Bill, just ftr, I can find rectified porcelain for around $6-7/sf and up here, and that's retail. Maybe there's a price difference east/west coast?

Could be. But I've heard similar pricing from people all over the country. Just out of curiosity, who's the manufacturer? I ask because my wife and I are waiting right now on a response from the bank on an offer we put in on a foreclosed property right next door to where we're renting right now. It's a 100 year old home that we're going to completely renovate, and I'd be very interested if I can get better pricing than what I get locally for rectified porcelain for my master bath.

This is what I'll have to start with:

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Here are more pics of the house:

Here is a link that might be useful: Hopefully my soone to be

Wow, lots of work in that bath! It will look great when you're done with it.

Bill, if my tile is probably not rectified for that price then how can the tile installer use 1/8 inch grout lines?

Wow, Bill, that house should keep you busy for quite a while.

I just looked on the back of the sample tile I have and it says Alfa Porcelan, grade 4, frost free, Spain. It is supposed to look like Carrara Marble. I think it does but maybe I'm wrong. I would hate it if it came out looking really like fake marble.

They are selling a 13 X 13 for $4.35 a square foot.

I assume since it says porcelain, that it is. The sides look very even. And I know Bill said for that price it is probably not rectified. Does a real marble look alike have to be rectified. HOw will this affect the total look?

Has anyone ever used tile by Alfa?

Bill,
American Olean lists the Catarina line as being "glazed porcelain". They also have "colorbody porcelain". Does this mean the colorbody ones have the color all the way through? Would this be the reason for the low price on the Catarina? and would it still be better than ceramic?
What do you think?
Thanks

I just looked on the back of the sample tile I have and it says Alfa Porcelan, grade 4, frost free, Spain. It is supposed to look like Carrara Marble. I think it does but maybe I'm wrong. I would hate it if it came out looking really like fake marble.

They are selling a 13 X 13 for $4.35 a square foot.

I assume since it says porcelain, that it is. The sides look very even. And I know Bill said for that price it is probably not rectified. Does a real marble look alike have to be rectified. HOw will this affect the total look?

Has anyone ever used tile by Alfa?

I don't mind the porcelain travertine and other stone look alikes, but I don't think fake marbles look good, especially if it tries to hard to be what it's not. They all end up looking chintzy, and like wannabes. Cararra isn't that expensive. Go for the real deal!

I appreicate what you're saying and I know what you mean but actually, I don't want real marble because I don't want the upkeep. I have a friend who had real travertine and just ripped it up and put in porcelain because she could never keep it clean. She sealed it properly and it just didn't work. She really didn't like it.

I don't want it to look fake but I don't want real marble.

Anyone else try to use porcelain instead of marble?

Bill, if my tile is probably not rectified for that price then how can the tile installer use 1/8 inch grout lines?

1/8" grout lines aren't impossible, but I get the feeling your installer either really wants this job, or he has masochistic tendencies!! LOL

Seriously, it's going to take him quite a bit of time and patience to make that work. I don't know how reasonable his charges are, but for something like that, atleast from me, you wouldn't be getting a "baseline" price.

American Olean lists the Catarina line as being "glazed porcelain".

I saw that. I've used this tile before, and it sure didn't "act" like porcelain. By that, I mean, it didn't cut like porcelain, the body of the tile didn't repel water like porcelain-- I have a feeling they use a barely dense enough clay to claim it as porcelain. That's one of the market's "hot button" words these days. Kinda like advertising cars talking about MSRP like you're getting a big deal-- all that stands for is Manufacturers' Suggested Retail Price. EVERY dealer will beat that. All of the sudden those adds don't sound so great!! Same with this "porcelain".

They also have "colorbody porcelain". Does this mean the colorbody ones have the color all the way through?

Yes, and you can be assured those are true porcelains.

Would this be the reason for the low price on the Catarina? and would it still be better than ceramic?

It might be. As for being better than ceramic, I might or might not be, depending on the PEI rating on the glaze. Keep in mind, though-- there's absolutely nothing wrong with conventional ceramic tile for a home. Is porcelain better? Yes. Will it work better than ceramic? to a point. But unless you're buying it for looks, there's only one place where it'll really make a difference and that's outside, and then only if you live in a place where freeze/ thaw issues are present. yes, they'll shed moisture better in the shower, but you should have a good vent fan in there anyway, which would do just as good a job with the tile, and make it even better for the REST of the bathroom.

I just looked on the back of the sample tile I have and it says Alfa Porcelan, grade 4, frost free, Spain. It is supposed to look like Carrara Marble. I think it does but maybe I'm wrong. I would hate it if it came out looking really like fake marble.

Cathy, pull a bunch of pieces out, and take a look at the pattern on the face. See how many different patterns you can find. A good tile will have several patterns-- atleast 4 or 5. A top shelf tile won't have any two tiles the same. The cheaper ones will only have 2 or 3 patterns, and it's easy to pick out similar tiles throughout the floor.

Does a real marble look alike have to be rectified.

It depends. Just how "look alike" do you want it? I've seen rectified porcelain that if you didn't know the difference, you'd never know it wasn't stone. I also got a sale flyer in my email last week about a 12x12 GLASS tile that's made to imitate clear Thassos marble (stark white), and also does a good job. Glazed tile, whether conventional ceramic or porcelain, when installed, will still look like ceramic tile. There's no getting around it. That DOESN'T mean it'll look bad!!!

Blondelle, I have to disagree. I've seen rectified porcelains that although they don't resemble any known stone, someone who didn't know stone very well would be hard pressed to tell that it was porcelain they were looking at, and not a stone they'd never seen before. If you're looking to use rectified porcelain, though, to save money on the real McCoy, think again. Many times, the real stone will be cheaper.

I know what you mean but actually, I don't want real marble because I don't want the upkeep.

And that's why.

Thank you Bill for all the great information. I am going back to the store to see how many repeats there are. I have to really check out how I think this will look.

But when all is said and done, which manufacturer of porcelain makes in your opinion the most realistic marble look?

Bill, I just love the sink. It looks just like the one I grew up with in Pittsburgh. It's been a while since I've seen separate hot and cold faucets. They look great but I can't say that I really miss them since they leave a lot to be desired in terms of function. I never thought about it before but nobody ever took pictures of bathrooms back then but now I wish I did have a picture to share.

I just looked at all your house pictures. What a project but so much potential! You will be great at fixing this up. It will be beautiful when it's completed. It has beautiful floors that might be restored. It needs someone like you. Hope you get it!

Cathy

But when all is said and done, which manufacturer of porcelain makes in your opinion the most realistic marble look?

Depends. How deep are your pockets? :-) No holds barred, the top three names in porcelain in the world are Graniti Fiandre, Porcelanosa, and Cerdomus. Expect to pay Mercedes prices, though. This ain't no Yugo we're talking about here!

Hey Bill, what a dear house :) We were in a house like that for an estate sale today and it just filled me with respect/awe or the life that house must have seen...probably helped that we're reading Tom Sawyer right now -- the imagination was already in the right era :)

So just a few rectified tiles I've looked at for DD's bathroom are Lea Stonehenge, @$7.47/sf for 18x18, Century Discovery for 6.08/sf for 18x18, FloorGres Stonetech for 8.96/sf 16x32 (! that was the one I was asking about a bit ago for the powder room too), and then on up for two Casa Dolce Casas. I know there are lots more, though--I was just staying within a very small grey spectrum. And those are retail prices at United Tile.

Thanks, Flyleft.

The Alfa tile I've been talking about is Continuous Roto so there are not supposed to be many repeats. I guess that's the newest technology. So this is supposed to be pretty authentic looking marble for a porcelain. I'm going to a store today to look at the better brands that Bill suggested to see if I see a big difference.

Bill, have you heard of the term Continuous Roto?

Gorgeous house, Bill! You can tell it has really good bones and just needs a little love-- the moldings and the floors are lovely. And if it's a short sale, it's probably a great deal. Hope you get it!

Question for you-- are you planning on restoring the original sink and tub in that blue bathroom? It's hard to tell how good shape they are in, but I always love to keep as much of the original as possible. We have fixtures the same vintage that are pretty rough, and we are debating whether to restore or replace.

Cathy-- no, this is the first time I've heard the term, but not the first time I've heard of the system. I just never knew what it was called.

And if it's a short sale, it's probably a great deal.

Bigtime short sale. For the condition it's in right now, the offer was for about 1/3 of the full value. To that, right off the bat, we'll be adding quite a bit of upgrades, including all new replacement windows throughout the house, a brand new heating system, and blown in insulation, which will only add to the value, making it an even better deal. We'll see. I still haven't heard from the bank yet, which means they didn't take it as a joke and refuse it right off. We'll see.

As for the bathroom, I'm not sure what we're going to do. Personally, I'd prefer to do all new fixtures, and really fire it up. But my wife is another one who likes the vintage fixtures, so I may be overruled. :-) Gotta keep Momma happy!! One thing is for certain-- the tub will lose the showerhead, and a separate shower will be built.

Bill did you ever hear of Impronta Italgraniti. It's a manufacturer that has a porcelain look a like that pretty nice--supposedly rectified or a pretty good imitation. The store has it for $6 and $7 per foot depending on size. But the internet has it for $4. I can't find the manufactuers you mentioned

Just wondering if you ever heard of the manufactuer. Is it safe to buy tile off the internet?

Cathy

I've never heard of that particular manufacturer, but that doesn't mean anything. As for buying off the web, You want to put up a thread asking for anyone who's bought from that site, and what their experience was. There are some good sites. There are some sites with really crappy service, too, not to mention the ones that are outright ripoffs. Also, you want to get a sample prior to ordering, to make sure you like the tile.