Trinidad Aggregate Products Limited
Questions • Answers
FloorPavers
- Clay Pavers are characterized by a terracotta back and can be either glazed or unglazed.
- Clay Pavers are thicker than either Ceramic or Porcelain Tiles, which adds to durability of the Pavers
Ceramic Tile
- Ceramic is nonporous, which makes it a highly stain resistant decorative and building material. Ceramic can be fabricated to an extremely high polish, matte, or textured finish. The beauty, versatility and durability of ceramic make it ideal for heavy traffic commercial and residential installations.
- Ceramic tiles are characterized by a dark red or terracotta back and with a fine glaze on them. They are fired at a lower temperature which means they can be more brittle and contain only a surface glaze.
- However, there are many good quality ceramics with PEI (Porcelain Enamel Institute) Ratings of 3 or 4 that can provide excellent durability. They will have a higher absorption rate so be careful when using them outdoors.
- From a design perspective though, you may want to choose ceramic because many designs and colours that are not available in porcelain tiles are available in ceramic.
- The main advantage of ceramic tiles is that it is easy to cut and handle. Scoring and cutting boards are normally sufficient. This makes ceramic the choice for bathroom and kitchen backsplashes.
Porcelain Tiles
- Porcelain has become very popular in recent year. Many porcelains offer the appearance of natural stone without the maintenance.
- Porcelain has superior chip resistance making it stronger and more durable in most cases than granite. Applications in high traffic areas or kitchen countertops are no problem at all.
- Porcelain tiles are fired at a very high temperature enabling a high solids content. Porcelains are full-bodied meaning the colour of the tile is solid throughout.
- Other porcelains are: a porcelain bisque with an altered surface appearance or a porcelain body that has been glazed. For a tile to be considered impervious (little or no water absorption) by ANSI Standards (American National Standards Institute) it must have an absorption rate of less than 0.5%.
- The low absorption rates makes porcelain up to 6 times more frost resistant than vitreous tile. Therefore outdoor applications are possible.