When looking to tile a residence, you will find the most popular choice among home-owners is porcelain. In the same class of tiles as ceramic, its’ versatility provides an endless variety of uses both indoors and outdoors. Porcelain is tough, durable, resistant to changes in weather and temperature, and is ranked highest among tiles for its fortitude against abrasion with a PEI score 5 out of 5. This tile also maintains very high aesthetic quality with a multitude of color and textures to choose from that can fit any model of design for your home and comes with the added benefit of being suitable not only for floor installation but also for horizontal installments such as walls and backsplashes. Trying to recognize porcelain apart from stone can be difficult, which makes it a great alternative that is simply more cost-effective, and could be the smartest choice for tiling your home. Westside Tile & Stone, Inc. offers a huge collection of Porcelain tiles readily available in stock ensuring orders of all sizes or styles can be fulfilled.

Concept of Porcelain Tile and Ceramic Tile
Porcelain and ceramic tiles are all part of the same “ceramic family”. What separates porcelain from ceramic is its lower absorption rate for water. The ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) has determined that porcelain has an absorption rate of 0.5% or less than one percent. It is more durable than ceramic tile, containing fewer impurities within the tile, and are often rectified, receiving a special edge treatment that makes each tile more precise and uniform. Porcelain also has the ability to retain color better, where chipping in the tile could change the color in ceramic, it would go unnoticed on porcelain. Check out the differences between porcelain tiles and ceramic tiles to choose the right one for your tile flooring needs.

Pros and Cons of Porcelain Tile
Looking at porcelain in its entirety, it is easy to see its great aspects. Porcelain’s array of applications and uses make it a top choice for designing your home. It has the durability made to withstand any kind of traffic over the years, and they are also very easy to maintain, making it the safer and more hygienic option for your home, while still presenting great affordability. So you might be thinking, “What are its’ downsides?” Porcelain being a less porous tile might require the use of special material to hold it down to its substrate. Its’ toughness also may be unnecessary for residential use and may hold the better application to a commercial setting where there is more pedestrian traffic. The tile can also be very heavy, making it hard for do-it-yourselfers to do the project on their own without hiring outside help. If you are planning to use tile in a place where temperatures may drop to below zero, a porcelain tile is your only the best option available as an outdoor tile. This is because they are engineered to be frost proof, that is the reason the ideal choice is Porcelain Bathroom Tile.