What Is Porcelain Tile?
Porcelain tile is often compared and contrasted with ceramic tile flooring, but porcelain tile is actually just a subset of ceramic tile. Porcelain clay is made from kaolin, but can also include sand-like materials such as crushed china stone quartz, glass, steatite, and alabaster.
The History of Porcelain Tile
Porcelain tile has been a luxury item going back for centuries. Today, porcelain manufacturers can be found throughout the world, with modern production methods making them available not only to princes and popes, but to the rest of us as well, so you don’t have to be a Chinese emperor to floor your Lexington.
Durability of Porcelain Tile
Porcelain is much harder, denser, and less likely to chip than normal tile flooring or other flooring materials. Porcelain tile flooring is incredibly water resistant—glazed porcelain in particular—so it is perfect for rooms with a high likelihood of spills or variable humidity, unlike carpet or hardwood.
Versatility of Porcelain Tile
Porcelain provides unlimited design potential, from traditional tiled looks, to beautiful mosaics. Porcelain can realistically ape the look of marble, granite, limestone, hardwood, and even more foreign appearances and textures like leather and fabric.
Other Advantages of Porcelain Tile
Porcelain tile is an best flooring option for people with allergies, as they are non-toxic and tend to repel dust mites, dirt, smell, bacteria, and other allergens. Porcelain tile is easier to repair than other floor coverings such as hardwood or carpet, since a damaged tile can simply be removed and replaced, rather than having to refinish a hardwood floor or replace an entire carpet.
Installation of Porcelain Tile
Porcelain is an entirely different material though. Porcelain tile is much less porous than normal ceramic tile, and this increased density results in increased weight. This means that porcelain tile is too heavy for normal adhesive, and requires special setting compounds and cements in order to be installed properly.
Maintenance of Porcelain Tile
Porcelain tile flooring is a low headache, high convenience flooring option. Regular sweeping and occasional vacuuming will keep your floors dirt and dust free, and the smooth, clinical surface of porcelain tile will repel them anyways, unlike carpet.
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