[ Page 9 of 20 ]

Advertising supplement presented by

“It’s important to note that there are different types of porcelain, including dishes and dolls, which can be very fragile,” says Carl Harris, director of the architectural division of tile manufacturer, Portobello America.

“However, when we speak of porcelain tile used in both residential and commercial applications, we are speaking of a product that uses selected clays and other minerals such as kaolin (a clay hardener) and feldspar that create, through the manufacturing pro-cess, a very tough and long-lasting product.”

“Ceramic tile otherwise known as ‘Gres’ tile uses different clays and manufacturing processes that do not create as durable or as long-lasting a product. Generally, porcelain tile is significantly harder than even natural stones such as granite and certainly marble,” Harris says.

“Typically, tile manufacturers are able to combine two to four shades of color in any given tile. New manufacturing processes enable us to now incorporate up to eight shades within a single tile—the end result being a greater breadth and depth of color and the ability to replicate with exactness the appearance of natural stone,” Harris says. “Many of the new tiles are named after natural stone, and you can’t tell the difference between tile and stone.”

Harris says a survey of 1,000 architectural specifiers and principals conducted early last year revealed that 78 percent of architects make no distinction between ceramic and porcelain tile.

“That surprised me,” he says. “In the manufacture of porcelain tile, the material is compressed to 450 tons/sq. in., making porcelain incredibly dense, durable and almost wholly impervious to water. Porcelain outperforms ceramic in every area. Pour water onto the back of a ceramic tile and it will absorb a great amount; pour water onto the back of a porcelain tile and it will bead up. Its absorption rate is less than one percent.”