Probably the best choice for your walls and floors. They have been introduced to the market more recently than other products such as ceramics, vinyl, and laminates. Porcelain however is the better option to go for, even when compared to marble, and we will take a look at the multiple reasons together.
To start off with, we need to clarify that porcelain is ultimately a print on a ceramic stone. Therefore, you can manufacture porcelain tiles of all sorts of colours and designs. Resultingly, you see some porcelain which replicates natural Carrara marble for example, but because porcelain is man-made, the manufacturers get to remove any odd imperfections within the print, that you may find in natural marble. Furthermore, you can get a wide variety of vein colours. In marble, the general recurring colours are Grey and White. However, what if you would like blue furniture in your living space, or what if you are going for a cream kitchen? Then clearly, the grey veins running through a white canvas will not match the rest of your room at all. Well with porcelain, you will not face this kind of problem, because you can find tiles that have the same design, except with different colours, and so you can rest assured that with porcelain, you will find your perfect match!
Another big issue that you may think of when trying to decide on your flooring is staining. Anyone can have an accident at any time and spill some coffee on the floor, and anyone can come in from outside and have wet shoes. If you were to go for a laminate, then after a few times, it will start peeling off, because it does not have enough strength and resistance. Even if you decide to go for natural stone, they have got many small pores within them, and so when something is split on top, or something is wiped on top, the liquid and humidity will easily drain into the floor cladding, and it will cause staining after a short while. However, again being man-made, porcelain does not have any pores in it, and so unless it is chipped, it is really difficult for anything to creep into the inner stone of porcelain to stain it, and so therefore with regards to porcelain, it will not stain easily at all, as long as it is wiped and cleaned often. This also means that porcelain tiles are completely waterproof, which could mean a lot more to you than you might think. This is because if you ever get an annoying leak for example, it will not leak through into the floors underneath and cause much more damage…your porcelain tiles will make sure to keep all the water above, and reduce all of the costs you may have to endure.
Up until the 20th century, we learnt that with any kind of material, the thicker it is, the more durable and the better quality it is, because that meant that it was reinforced by a bigger amount of ingredients, and so it would be harder to break, crack or even chip. However as we progressed into the 21st century, and as technology started developing swiftly, we can now clearly notice that with regards to most products, the better quality ones are the thinner ones. This is not the case with manufactured products such as tiles only, but even with car engines for example, where we see that engines now are much faster and smoother and more efficient than engines of the past, yet this is all achievable with a much more compact engine that takes up less space, and weighs less as well.
It is the same story with porcelain tiles too…in the fact that porcelain tiles are extremely thin, some even coming in at a thickness of 6mm! First of all, this means that they are much lighter compared to ceramics, marbles and even concrete, and so porcelain can be much easily fitted into place, and once it is fitted, it can be positioned exactly how you would like it. Furthermore, your tiler will be pleased because the team does not have to break their backs trying to lift up the stone! This lightweight feature of porcelain also means that it will not pose a threat on a thin wall if installed, as it barely adds any pressure onto it, so you can install porcelain anywhere in your home, onto any wall or floor, and rest assured that it will be perfectly fine and last for long.
In addition, this means that they do not take up much space in the floor or on the wall, which means that you can have any type of feature in your home, such as underfloor heating for example – whether you prefer to have an electric or hydronic system, you can get either if you have porcelain flooring. Moreover, it would be much easier to fit a wall hung mirror or TV stand for example, as the distance between the wall and the piece of furniture is much smaller, meaning that it will last longer hanging onto the wall, as there will be less strain on the screws holding it up.
Technology has also strengthened porcelain, so that now you can be offered 2cm thick outdoor porcelain tiles. These are so much more durable, that you can use them on your drive, parking your cars which weigh tonnes on top, without a slight fear that they will break. Therefore you will be able to install a lovely stone on your drive, with whatever colour you can dream of, match it with your house front, and still be able to place a lot of weight and pressure on top without breaking it…amazing!
We can clearly see then, why porcelain has become such a popular choice amongst customers, homes, businesses and even warehouses. Porcelain tiles are relatively cheap, practical, durable, and most importantly, absolutely stunning to look at! What else do you look for when trying to decide on your walls and floors?
To start off with, we need to clarify that porcelain is ultimately a print on a ceramic stone. Therefore, you can manufacture porcelain tiles of all sorts of colours and designs. Resultingly, you see some porcelain which replicates natural Carrara marble for example, but because porcelain is man-made, the manufacturers get to remove any odd imperfections within the print, that you may find in natural marble. Furthermore, you can get a wide variety of vein colours. In marble, the general recurring colours are Grey and White. However, what if you would like blue furniture in your living space, or what if you are going for a cream kitchen? Then clearly, the grey veins running through a white canvas will not match the rest of your room at all. Well with porcelain, you will not face this kind of problem, because you can find tiles that have the same design, except with different colours, and so you can rest assured that with porcelain, you will find your perfect match!
Another big issue that you may think of when trying to decide on your flooring is staining. Anyone can have an accident at any time and spill some coffee on the floor, and anyone can come in from outside and have wet shoes. If you were to go for a laminate, then after a few times, it will start peeling off, because it does not have enough strength and resistance. Even if you decide to go for natural stone, they have got many small pores within them, and so when something is split on top, or something is wiped on top, the liquid and humidity will easily drain into the floor cladding, and it will cause staining after a short while. However, again being man-made, porcelain does not have any pores in it, and so unless it is chipped, it is really difficult for anything to creep into the inner stone of porcelain to stain it, and so therefore with regards to porcelain, it will not stain easily at all, as long as it is wiped and cleaned often. This also means that porcelain tiles are completely waterproof, which could mean a lot more to you than you might think. This is because if you ever get an annoying leak for example, it will not leak through into the floors underneath and cause much more damage…your porcelain tiles will make sure to keep all the water above, and reduce all of the costs you may have to endure.
Up until the 20th century, we learnt that with any kind of material, the thicker it is, the more durable and the better quality it is, because that meant that it was reinforced by a bigger amount of ingredients, and so it would be harder to break, crack or even chip. However as we progressed into the 21st century, and as technology started developing swiftly, we can now clearly notice that with regards to most products, the better quality ones are the thinner ones. This is not the case with manufactured products such as tiles only, but even with car engines for example, where we see that engines now are much faster and smoother and more efficient than engines of the past, yet this is all achievable with a much more compact engine that takes up less space, and weighs less as well.
It is the same story with porcelain tiles too…in the fact that porcelain tiles are extremely thin, some even coming in at a thickness of 6mm! First of all, this means that they are much lighter compared to ceramics, marbles and even concrete, and so porcelain can be much easily fitted into place, and once it is fitted, it can be positioned exactly how you would like it. Furthermore, your tiler will be pleased because the team does not have to break their backs trying to lift up the stone! This lightweight feature of porcelain also means that it will not pose a threat on a thin wall if installed, as it barely adds any pressure onto it, so you can install porcelain anywhere in your home, onto any wall or floor, and rest assured that it will be perfectly fine and last for long.
In addition, this means that they do not take up much space in the floor or on the wall, which means that you can have any type of feature in your home, such as underfloor heating for example – whether you prefer to have an electric or hydronic system, you can get either if you have porcelain flooring. Moreover, it would be much easier to fit a wall hung mirror or TV stand for example, as the distance between the wall and the piece of furniture is much smaller, meaning that it will last longer hanging onto the wall, as there will be less strain on the screws holding it up.
Technology has also strengthened porcelain, so that now you can be offered 2cm thick outdoor porcelain tiles. These are so much more durable, that you can use them on your drive, parking your cars which weigh tonnes on top, without a slight fear that they will break. Therefore you will be able to install a lovely stone on your drive, with whatever colour you can dream of, match it with your house front, and still be able to place a lot of weight and pressure on top without breaking it…amazing!
We can clearly see then, why porcelain has become such a popular choice amongst customers, homes, businesses and even warehouses. Porcelain tiles are relatively cheap, practical, durable, and most importantly, absolutely stunning to look at! What else do you look for when trying to decide on your walls and floors?
