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ceramic vs. porcelain tile

14 years ago

I'm sure this has been addressed many times before but the search engine isn't working and I need some quick answers. I'm going to tile approx. 800 sf of a shore property. I've identified a tile (from Home Depot, manufacturer is DalTile)that I thought was porcelain but have since discovered it's ceramic. It's a grade 1 tile, The PEI hardness rating is 4, and the absorption rate is 3%. I've been told that when chipped, the clay color will show through in ceramic. But I've also been told that the high PEI rating of this tile will avoid most chips. I really like this tile because it has a texture to it to reduce slipping on it (seal is 0.6??). Does anyone have experience with this--would you recommend ceramic (kitchen, LR and Bathroom), or should I make another choice? Thanks so much!!

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Comments (2)

MongoCT
14 years ago
Grade 1 is fine, PEI 4 is for light commercial/industrial, so it should be a tough wearing tile. 3% is on the line between vitreous and semi-vitreous, if you really want to get specific I'd consider it an indoor, non-frost tile to stay on the safe side.

If you're worried about chips, the bisque body color will show on any glazed tile. If chipping is a strong concern, you might want to look at an unglazed ceramic where the tile is pretty much the same color on the surface as it is throughout the thickness of the tile.

Ceramic is hard and unforgiving towards dropped objects, in a kitchen that might be a concern.

I put cork on the first floor of my beach house several years ago. It handles bare feet and tracked sand very well. No wear issues, and it's "warmer" than tile.

But it depends on what you want and how the house is used.
missalliegirl
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks so much for your reply. I guess my main concern is that in this forum especially, porcelain is recommended over ceramic, and I'm not sure if I should find a porcelain tile. So given all the ratings I listed, would you use that particular ceramic tile? This would be for a rental property, so I like the durability of tile. That ceramic tile is glazed--I think I'll take a sample and torture it! If the recommendation is porcelain then I'll do it--thanks again!!!!
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