Shower wall tile - ceramic or porcelain?
rodneyc8063
9 years ago
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Comments (7)
Babka NorCal 9b
9 years agodoctheokie
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Tile - Porcelain or Ceramic? Manufacturers?
Comments (7)Get a bunch of samples, like most folks do, and then chip them to get a feel for how tough they are. If using square edge tiles, they are much more susceptible to edge chipping unless the grout line is finished VERY flush to the surface of the tile. A tumbled edge or rounded edge is much less susceptible to edge chipping, whether porcelain or ceramic. I would never use anything but porcelain. Any tile will break if you drop something hard on it. The reason for choosing porcelain is that wears much longer, and it stays cleaner because it is far less absorbent. In my experience, it's not only stays cleaner, but is way easier to clean. Please do select a non-slip tile. High gloss is downright dangerous in a shower or bathroom. You will regret using a glossy tile (or polished stone) in a bathroom and especially a shower. I strongly advise you to look at Kerdi (Schluter Systems) for your shower. Your contractor can use the Kerdi material as a liner for both the pan and the shower walls, or he can use their entire system. I use their liner and drain over a regular dry-pack mud pan. I don't really like their Styrofoam pan. Also put the Kerdi liner on the walls, right over wallboard. Yup - regular wallboard! No worries, it is totally, perfectly waterproof if done correctly in exact accordance with Schluter instructions. I've done it before and am just about to put in a new shower using Kerdi... would never build a shower any other way. I recommend Spectralock epoxy grout (Laticrete) for bathroom and shower. Be sure your installer has used this stuff before. You don't want him learning on your job - trust me on this.... I did an entire house with it (never again, it is expensive and much more work to install). But.... in a shower and bathroom, there is nothing better. You will never have to seal and you will not see mildew or mold. Unlike regular cement based grout, it is not porous. You do still have to clean it of course, but it's a big step up from regular grout. Good luck!...See Morecutting 1 1/4 inch holes in ceramic wall tile for a shower faucet
Comments (7)A diamond hole saw bit will be your best friend for this. They are a little expensive but the best way to avoid cracking the tile. I would recommend have a second pair of hands available with a spray bottle of some sort of liquid to spray the tile and keep everything cool, also to help avoid breaking the tile (alluding to Geoffrey's post about making a pool or bath)....See MoreGlossy porcelain/ceramic floor tiles... OK or too slippery?
Comments (23)Very macho conversation guys, & all the numbers & decimal points are very impressive, especially to a math-challenged gal like me. Hey Stinky-gardener-- It has nothing to do with math, or trying to be impressive. If you go into a tile showroom, and ASK about how slippery any specific tile is, that is how they will be rated. If you want to understand what the salesman is trying to tell you, those are the numbers you will be dealing with. It's a rating system, not the quadratic equation. Claire-- I had a discussion with the VP of Laticrete about 2 weeks ago about those non-slip coatings, because he'd heard I'd recommended them to someone. He told me that they don't last, and that they end up making the tiles look pretty nasty, because they tend to catch the dirt in areas where there's not quite as much traffic, and then in the high traffic areas, it wears off, which means either stripping off the coating from the rest of the floor, or recoating right over what's there already, and you can imagine what that starts to look like after a while. I can't say one way or another from personal experience. But I trust this guy from Laticrete. He's seen a whole lot more tile situations than I have, from all over the world, and I've known him personally all my life (our families were close), so I know he wouldn't steer me wrong....See Moreporcelain tile vs ceramic tile
Comments (8)Laura,,,not enough info. either will work fine. usually porcelain is colored all the way through to the underlying clay body. this makes it a better choice if the tiles get chipped or broken (with ceramic, the white clay interior is usually visible if it breaks) otherwise, not a big difference. both work equally well in bathrooms. as far as easier to keep clean,,,huh? they both clean just as well. grout size is determined by the type of tile you get. longer larger tiles require larger grout lines, porcelain or ceramic. Just because the tile is porcelain, doesn't mean you get smaller grout lines than ceramic!...See Morehouses14
9 years agoBabka NorCal 9b
9 years agoStoneTech
9 years agomrspete
9 years ago
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