7340 Miramar Rd #100 San Diego, CA 92126 | (858) 549-2900

Types of tile

The craftsmanship and innovation that go into our tile are of the highest quality available. There are many types of tile that we will try and explain here.

Ceramic tiles

Ceramic tile is simply a mixture of clays which have been shaped and fired at high temperatures resulting in a hard body. This hard body may then be left untreated or it may receive a glazed wear layer. To put it a different way, ceramic tile is nothing more than a beautiful piece of clay.

Porcelain Tiles

There are typically two kinds of porcelain tile

Through-Body (Also called unglazed or unpolished). This tile is a porcelain that has not been glazed nor polished and is made of porcelain through and through.
Glazed. Most porcelain tile has a glazed finish over a porcelain body. Because many natural porcelain tiles have absorption ratings of less than .1%, therefore, more durable and better performance.

Optional Features:

Rectification. This allows the dimensions of the tile pieces to be adjusted, thereby producing geometric uniformity (the finish goes all the way to the edge).
Polished Porcelain. These are natural (through-body) porcelains with a polished surface. The polished surface is not a glaze, but actually comes from within the tile and is polished in a way similar to granite.

Mosaic Tiles

Mosaic tiles are small tiles, less than 6 square inches in size
They come mounted on perforated paper sheets for easy installation
They are usually very dense products that are tough and highly stain resistant
Mosaics are ideal for shower floors because their small size gives them the flexibility to follow the contour of the floor as it slopes to the drain. The numerous grout joints also aid in slip resistance.
Their toughness and stain resistance also makes them ideal for counter tops