I know this one! Rectified tile is tile that is baked as one sheet and then cut while non rectified tile is cut and then baked hence the potential for tiles that are not exactly the same size with the same exact edges due to shrinkage. The advantage is rectified tile is more even since the shrinkage from baking occurred prior to cutting the tile. Epoxy grout won't stain and needs no maintance EVER!

We have Quartzite Bianca and had our fabricator test it (ketchup/lime juice/oil) prior to installation and no stains or etches. Unfortunately, after installation, turns out it etches with water. The issue is the resin applied at the quarry (all stone over the past decade has resin applied, mostly for color enhancement) is reacting to acids. You don't think of water being an acid, but it can be depending on the pH. Technically, what etches is a reaction between calcite in the stone (e.g., marble, limestone, travertine) and an acid. Since quartzite does not contain calcite.. etching is caused by the reaction between the resin and the acid which explains why two people with the same stone experience different things re: etching. Depends on the quarry and resin used. I've removed the etching with baking soda, which also means water is not etching the stone, but the surface.. Your fabricator can also rebuff the stone to get the etches off. Won't cure the long-term problem, but can get rid of what etching you currently have. As to sealers.. once I read about people with this stone having oil stains, I researched sealers. I was told silicone-based sealers do a great job repelling water, but attract oil based stains, so I switched to a product by Stone Products (www.superiorstone.com) which is a flouropolymer--a smaller molecule than silicone which means it fills the voids better and does not attract oil stains.

what is the difference between rectified porcelain and non rectified porcelain? Conventional porcelain, like any other ceramic tile, is stamped out, and then baked in a kiln. The problem with that is that clay will shrink as it's baked, and unfortunately, that shrinkage is not consistant, which is why you get siing of the tiles, inlcuding porcelain. This is the reason you need to have the larger grout joints, so you can take that sizing into account when setting the tiles. Rectified porcelain, on the other hand, is baked in sheets, and then cut to size AFTER it's "cooked" so the tiles are MUCH more accurate in sizing, and can be set with a much tighter joint. However, they're made to be set like stone tiles, and therefore, are usually priced out like stone on the labor. in addition, the purchase price is usually more than conventional porcelain. Is all porcelain what they call "through body" color? All UNGLAZED porcelain is through body color. However, there are many porcelains that are glazed, and they're not. I'm not a fan of broad grout lines so could I have it done with 1/16th grout lines no matter what kind of tile I buy? No, for the reasons I explained above. Lastly, I've read on posts you've written that epoxy grout is harder to install and more costly... best handled by a professional but regardless of cost; would it give me the best quality result within the parameters I gave? yes. I'm estimating my living area is about 900 sq. ft. so what kind of cost should I estimate? I'm hoping to keep it to about 8K You might have a problem with that. I'll give you an idea based on my prices. My base price for stone install is 7.00 a foot. You want to use a large format tile. For that, you can add another 2.00 a foot, between the fact that it's more difficult to work with, and being that rectified porcelain (and stone) is very unforgiving, that subfloor needs to be just about dead pancake flat so there's going to be alot of prep, or extra time spent setting it. You also want to use epoxy grout. Depending on WHICH epoxy, my prices run from 1.50 a foot for Spectralock to 2.50 a foot for most others. Even figuring Spectralock grout, we're already up to 9450.00, and that's just for the labor. There's going to be alot more thinset used with large format tile, because the installer will need to use a heavier notched trowel to account for any slight imperfections in the floor, or "warpage" of the tile, to make sure the tile is fully supported. Epoxy grouts are also about 4-5 times more expensive than conventional grouts. And that's all IN ADDITION to the cost of the tiles. Now, you live in South Florida, where prices are much lower. But once you get into custom work like this, you're still looking at a fair chunk of change. If you're anywhere near Homestead, shoot me an email, and I can send you the name and number of a top notch custom contractor down there.

Cooks Kitchen - great explanation! Thank you. Mittens, your question about the environmental impact of natural stone vs. engineered quartz is one I've been thinking about for the last few months. I don't think there is a cut and dried answer. - A locally quarried natural stone most likely has the lowest footprint. - Remnants of either material are another green way to go. - Slabs shipped round the world, no matter what they're made of, come with a large energy footprint. - Materials (whether natural or manufactured) that come from countries with lax protections for workers and the environment will have a larger environmental and social cost. - Engineered stone is not inherently more green than natural stone, for a few reasons. Engineered stone is mixed with epoxy and resins and is heated and cured, and these processes take energy and petrochemical ingredients. - The mineral quartz that is used in manufactured quartz is not a waste product. It comes from a hole in the ground, the same as every other stone and mineral resource. I've been doing a lot of recent work studying the claims of various quartz manufacturers and testing them to see if they are true. It's been super interesting. Surprise! A lot of what they say is not quite true. You are wise to read marketing claims with a healthy dose of skepticism.