What Is Ceramic Tile Made Of

Porcelain tiles or ceramic tiles are porcelain or ceramic tiles commonly used to cover floors and walls with a water absorption rate of less than 0 5 percent.

What is ceramic tile made of.

They can either be glazed or unglazed. The entire tile is made of the same material with no surface glaze or finish so scratches blend in with the surface. Porcelain is made from very fine clay that is fired at high temperatures to remove more moisture from the tile resulting in a hard and dense tile. The clay used to build porcelain tiles is generally denser.

Ea ch manufacturer likely has its own time tested recipe for ceramic tile but clay is usually the main ingredient along with other items such as sand feldspar quartz and water. While technologies have improved production the process is very much the same now as it was a long time ago. Ceramic tile is made of clay that has been fired in a kiln. These ingredients are mixed and grounded up in a ball mill to create what s known as the body slip.

Ceramic tile is made up of sand natural products and clays and once it has been moulded into shape they are then fired in a kiln. In earlier times the production process was that unglazed tile was fired once while glazed tile was fired twice. Note in the illustration how the exposed body of the tile closely resembles the surface. Ceramic tile is not as dense and has a higher absorption rate.

Historically porcelain was not the usual material for tiles which were much more often made of earthenware or stoneware. Ceramic tile is fired at lower temperatures generally no more than 1 650 degrees fahrenheit. Tile defined as ceramic uses a coarser clay with a smaller ratio of fine kaolin clay and it generally lacks some of the additives used in porcelain clay. The density of porcelain tile makes it more durable than ceramic tile while being less subject to wear and tear.

This gives porcelain tile several important traits. Ceramic tile is similar to porcelain tile and while some companies use the terms interchangeably they are actually very different. Common materials used to produce ceramic tiles include white clay talc sand feldspar illitic and kaolinitic clay dolomite and calcite. The manufacturer will quarry and refine them.

Porcelain is made using a mixture of finer clay packed at higher pressures and baked at higher temperatures in the kiln. The density of porcelain tile makes it ideal for high traffic areas in homes and most commercial properties. Porcelain tiles are one type of vitrified tiles and are sometimes referred to as porcelain vitrified tiles.