What else do I need to know about tiles?

When deciding on the right tiles for each room we should think about the function of the room;

• will the floor or walls get wet?

• Will there be heavy appliances like in the kitchen?

• Or will there be children or pets?

And then there is design finish, such as spacing of tiles, tile trim etc.

Picking the right material, such as ceramic, porcelain, marble, granite etc… is important and any good supplier will be able to provide recommendations on what the materials are good for but this is not the full story when it comes to choosing tiles.

Let go though some of the other points of consideration:

Size, durability, and rating

Floor tiles should be designed for daily usage, the thickness and size in this case matters, whether it will be wall only, light traffic or placing heavy home appliances. There are some rating you can look out for that can help here.

PEI: The PEI (Porcelain Enamel Institute) applies to floor tiles which feature a glazed finish.

C.O.F: The C.O.F. (Coefficient of Friction) rating essentially measures how slippery the surface of a bathroom tile is. This works by calculating the force needed to move and object along the surface of the tile divided by its weight. To help us understand this rating we can look at it using its R rating

So, if you’re looking to tile your bathroom or kitchen then you want to opt for floor tiles with an R11 rating, for multi-purpose areas such as living space, R9 tiles or R10 tiles will be sufficient.

W.A: The W.A. (Water-Absorption) rating, indicates their suitability to be used in a damp environment such as a bathroom or outdoors. The four W.A. ratings: Nonvitreous, Semivitreous, Vitreous, and Impervious. Non and semi vetreous tiles are generally not suitable for bathrooms as they have higher absorption levels.

Once we know the type of tile, we can best fit them using the correct materials, tools and method.

Tiles spacing

With design and style there might be a look that’s just right, some projects will use tiles to break the space apart in the room, such as tiling the bath or shower area differently from the rest of the room would create a sense of purpose in the room.

Different styled tiles joining seamlessly, taken from project in Bromley

Going back to how the finish looks, not all tiles are created equal, whether the tiles are rectified or not; A rectified tile is one which is cut or manufactured to a precise measured size. We do not have to give so much leeway and allow for manufacturing/cutting size difference to achieve a consistence pattern and look.

Smaller spaced tiles with alcove taken from project in Barnet

Using the right tiles, we can active a 1mm gap, and some projects requires this for the look and feel however If the tiles are not designed to allow for this, tiling too close together, you’ll risk damage if they expand. They could also become dislodged or chipped; and depending on the depth and size of your tiles, if removal/replacing is needed you’ll be glad to have the extra buffer so no mechanical damage will be coursed during the repair.