Tiles

Requirements for ceramic tiles

Ceramic tiles are the most commonly used coatings inside our homes, they are used to coat both indoors and outdoors surfaces. But in order for the result to be the best of these tiles must have specific requirements.
First of all, the tiles must be regular, regularity is determined by a number of factors such as flatness, vertical drop, horizontality and other specifications that must be verified by a visual and instrumental control. In fact, the flatness can be verified through the use of a ruler, the height difference is measured instead always through a straight edge, but positioned between two adjacent tiles, which is typically placed on the higher tile and then measuring the difference with the lowest.

The horizontality may be assessed only for tiles that go to coat a floor, even in this case one can use a tool that is called level that can be water, optical or laser and which allows us to calculate the difference between two fixed points.

The verticality instead is verified only on the tiles on the wall, to make this type of verification using the plumb line.
You should also pay attention to the regularity of the joints, in fact they must follow exactly the perimeter of the tile it is a regular shape, irregular or even curved.

These are all requirements that relate to the installation of the tiles, but if we have to refer to their constitution, we must observe other characteristics, such as slip resistance, the ability of the tile to grip on the media used, in fact one of the two sides of the tile, generally the one that is in close contact with the substrate or with the adhesive, has a rather rough surface so as to have a coefficient of friction and roughness rather high, which ensures a good resistance to the tile slipping even in very wet conditions.

If the surface on which we would go to install the tiles looks dusty, dirty or greasy in general, inevitably the slip resistance will have a very low value. But the slip resistance of the tiles is also influenced by the inclination of the laying surface.

Another important feature is the fire resistance: ceramic tiles by their nature are capable of withstanding very high temperatures. If you work with proper cutlery cementitious mortar fire resistant make the entire wall or floor that will be covered. In addition, the ceramic tiles are waterproof, but only if the tiling will be prepared under a special membrane.

Types of ceramic tiles

The types of ceramic tiles that we can find on the market are various, their variety depends on a number of factors, such as the type of cooking, the paste used, etc. ..
The ceramic tiles are produced with a material that is called clay, this can be subjected to two different types of cooking, the single-fired, and the double fired.

The single fired consists in the simultaneous cooking of the main parts that make up a ceramic tile, the support and the glaze. This type of cooking is performed quickly and at high temperatures, so that the tile produced will enjoy certain qualities such as resistance to freezing , abrasion and high tensile strengths.

If the ceramic tile is subjected to a process of double-fired, will see a double pass of the tiles in the oven, the first required to cook and then give resistance to the support, the one that after this first firing takes the name of biscuit. The second step in the oven will only serve to fix the layer of enamel surface of the tile.

An important difference between the different tiles on the market is the type of paste used, in fact they can be divided into tiles paste porous such as terracotta, majolica, etc.., And compact texture, such as stoneware, porcelain tile, clinker etc. .. The difference lies essentially in the strength and compactness of the elements, characteristics that develop during the cooking phase at high temperatures.

Among the most popular products in the trade is cotto tile that is achieved with a baking temperature of around 900-1100°C from a mixture consisting of selected clays. After the firing, the product obtained has a porous mass and with a color that varies in shades of red.

The cotto tiles can be done by hand or extruded with industrial technologies, is the most classic of coating materials, for both flooring and vertical elements.

Another type of product is represented by the tiles, which are suitable for coatings in interiors and are obtained by pressing a mixture of clay-sandy. The production cycle takes advantage of the fast double-firing technique to date that can only be performed in special plants.

Then we have the clinker which is one of the most popular flooring materials for external parameters. Clinker is chosen as the finishing product of facades that virtually need no maintenance.

The production range of this material is extremely wide, is obtained by cooking, high temperature (about 1250°C) of a dough made from raw materials is colored in a natural way that in an artificial way.

Last but not least is the porcelain, which is definitely one of the materials with the best performance characteristics. This material is suitable for floors and walls, both indoors and outdoors, is waterproof, compact, hard, opaque, has a good resistant to breakage, abrasion, compression.

These are just some of the materials obtained by firing clay and other natural stones. The fact is that a coating of ceramic tiles whatever they are is definitely nicer and more durable than a common painting indoor or outdoor use.