Ceramic vs. Porcelain

I was having a rather spirited debate with a colleague of mine about the benefits of using porcelain tile for flooring. According to my opponent, they never heard of using porcelain on floors! At first, I was just beside myself with the denial, but after looking into it more, I found out that a lot of people aren’t quite sure about the differences and which one is better to use in what application.
 To be honest, I could go into a lot of technical explanations about the refining processes of each type of tile and the percentages of quartz ferrous sand materials….blah, blah, blah. Ok, those things are important, but it’s going to be a whole lot simpler and less confusing the way I explain it.

Both tiles are made from a clay base, usually red, brown or white. Most porcelain is made from the white variety and is fired at much higher temperatures. The result is a product that is stronger and less absorbent than a ceramic tile. This alone is why porcelain is the preferred material for certain applications. Certainly, anywhere that water is an issue is a good candidate, like bathroom floors. Any outdoor application should be porcelain instead of ceramic when those are the only two choices. It’s true that ceramic is much simpler to install because it’s easier to cut, but, in most cases, ceramic doesn’t make the grade when it comes to resisting moisture.

So, here’s my simple advice: For indoor flooring that doesn’t have water worries, ceramic is great. For bathrooms and kitchen floors and any outdoor application…choose porcelain.

Now, let’s take it a couple steps more. After all, simple is good…educated is better. There are two types of ratings for tile that you need to be aware of. The first is ANSI, which is the American National Standards Institute. They have four classifications about a tile’s permeability to water. Most ceramics fall into one of the first three:

• Non-vitreous – water absorption more than 7%

• Semi-vitreous – water absorption between 3%-7%

• Vitreous – Water absorption between 0.5%-3%

The fourth classification is where porcelain falls:

• Impervious – Water absorption less than 0.5%

The second rating comes from the Porcelain Enamel Institute (PEI). This is the one you really want to pay attention to. Basically, it lets you know how durable the tile is with one of five ratings classes:

I. No foot traffic (walls)

II. Low traffic (residential)

III. Interior residential, medium commercial

IV. Heavy commercial

V. Extra-Heavy commercial

The higher number doesn’t necessarily make it better for your situation. For example, a PEI (V) sounds good, but they’re usually difficult to clean.

If you’re looking for the best tile for a wall surround or backsplash, go with a PEI (I) and, glazed ceramic is fine, because the likelihood of water sitting on a vertical surface just isn’t a huge concern. A PEI (II) is fine for kitchens and bathrooms, but I like a PEI (III) because it works for practically everything in your home.

Finally, you always have to consider your budget. Even though porcelain does tend to cost more than ceramic, I have seen the prices drop in recent months and sometimes you can find a really great porcelain tile on sale for even less than ceramic!