Porcelain vs Ceramic Tile: Major Differences
According to the industry group that decides whether a tile is a porcelain or ceramic , everything boils down to whether the tile can meet a set of highly controlled water absorption criteria. Both ceramic tile and porcelain tile usually receive a surface glazing that makes them hard to distinguish from one another. Porcelain Tile Porcelain tile has a water absorption rate of 0.5 per cent or lower as defined by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) section C373. To test this, the fired tile is first weighed, then it is boiled for five hours and left to sit in water for 24 hours. Then it is weighed again. If the tile weighs less than half of one per cent more as a result of water-absorbing into its surface, it is considered porcelain. To achieve this density, a special kaolin clay mixture is used, which is finer and purer than most ceramic clay. It usually contains notable levels of quartz and feldspar mixed in. Porcelain tiles are fired at temperatures ranging from ...