How to not be one confused mason when choosing your tiles

Not just normal people like you and me but even mason’s seem to get confused many times when they choose their tiles. It is sure a funny sight when this happens in front of you and you would enjoy the situation even more, if you know which tile goes where instead of being reliant on this confused mason.

There is a world of difference between the tiles available in the market. Some tiles in Perth are made specifically for use as wall tiles, whereas there is another group of floor tiles in Perth which at a cursory glance do look very similar. Many times these tiles in Perth have the same design and look as well probably to confuse us even further. Just because one has wrongly installed floor tiles in Perth on the wall does not make it a wall tile. But fret not, help is on the way.

Wall tiles in Perth are intended for lighter use and are often thinner and lighter than the floor tiles. The floor tiles in Perth have a thicker glazing on top of their surface to make them more resistant to the weight of the person standing on top once installed. Also they are both made from slightly different clay keeping in mind their load bearing future use.

The easiest way to distinguish floor tiles in Perth from their corresponding wall tile brethren is through the rating system that classifies them as per their strength and durability. The PEI rating or Porcelain Enamel Institute rating measures this strength and load bearing capacity of a tile and provides a rating. These groups are:

1. Zero rating: Such tiles are unrated and most probably untested. We advise that you use them only on the walls.
2. One rating: They are suitable for areas that will probably have very less use like the guest bathroom. The surface of these tiles can get easily marked or scratched by even the lightest amount of harsh treatment.
3. Two rating: These tiles are best for the living rooms or bathrooms that are not exposed to very high use but do come in contact with significant amounts of dirt and abrasive materials.
4. Three rating: Such tiles are suitable for areas with not too excessive dirt and best for any sort of general residential area or even light commercial areas.
5. Four rating: Any commercial or a residential area that is used more often like restaurants, hotels rooms, showrooms, etc. with a substantial usage traffic.
6. Five rating: These are supermans of tiles and are suitable for very heavy traffic areas like hotel lobbies, shopping centres, industrial places, commercial entrances, etc.

Other than the zero rating tiles, all of the other tiles in this list above can be used for flooring purposes. As you progress down this list however, the cost of the tiles will generally go up, so choose wisely as per its usage traffic. This information should by now have armed you with enough knowledge to make subtle fun of the confused mason. Enjoy!

How to differentiate between porcelain and ceramic tiles

Last week I had to visit the hardware store as my bathroom needed maintenance. And I got confused with the many options as well as got thinking about the differences between porcelain and ceramic tiles. The sales person claimed a world of difference but I usually do not trust them so here is what I found.

Porcelain tiles in Perth are composed differently and thus they behave differently than ceramic tiles in Perth when installed. The porcelain tile is much more impervious than ceramic tiles and have a much less water infiltration capability. Porcelain is much dense as it is a much finer grain and a lot smoother than ceramic. If we go exactly as per the industry standards, this criteria of water absorption alone sets these two apart.

Fine porcelain is traditionally white, strong, translucent and has a fine grain feel to its surface. The word itself is derived from the Italian porcellana which means cowrie shell. The sales people in the market had me confused as they were reverse naming them as both of them are part of a larger category of tiles that are generally ceramics.

The market however assigns them the title as per certain qualities of water absorption alone as both products nowadays come in innumerable qualities of water absorption, fine grained or rough and durability standards making it much more difficult to place them in one or the other category with complete peace of mind. And porcelain and ceramic are surely close in nature when you start comparing with other types of tiles like quarry tiles, natural stone, china tiles and glass tiles.

The terms ceramic and porcelain are used often in the market as if they are the same thing but there surely is a difference and not just in the price. Porcelain tiles in Perth have a water absorption rate of 0.5 percent or lower. They are also harder and more durable than the ceramic tiles in Perth. Porcelain tiles should be used where there is a high moisture like in bathtubs, showers, pools, etc. whereas ceramic tiles may be used on the outside walls where moisture is more prone to slip away easily.

How to decorate your home in your own original style

If we had the time and the skills, I guess all of us would love to decorate our own home in our own manner. To turn this dream into a reality, I took a month off to style our living room by myself. So far so good! But when I reached the market to choose wall tiles in Perth, I felt like a greedy seagull trying to eat a huge fish. There are so many wall tiles in Perth that it confuses one more than help and then there is a budget to consider as well.

The ceramic tiles are the most common wall tiles in Perth as it is durable and suitable for many applications in a variety of rooms. They are also easy to install and clean and will fit most ordinary budgets. Then there are porcelain tiles that are manufactured to look like bricks, wood or natural stone as well for styling purposes. They come in a variety of design options but are slightly difficult to install than ceramic tiles.

Then there are glass tiles which provide amazing resistance to stains from wine spillage or from acidic foods like vinegar or lemon but will chip away quite easily with even the slightest bit of rough usage. Also, they provide almost no traction and would be a bad choice for bathroom or kitchen floors.

Cement tiles on the other hand are made for rough usage and nowadays come with many designs and colours but over time will develop a patina and will need some maintenance like rubbing and polishing. The same thing about maintenance is true for marble, granite, limestone, wood, travertine, mosaic, quarry, metal and resin tiles except for the initial costs.

Once you have finalised your tiles, the next best thing one can do and style your room easily is by using a freestanding bath Australia has to offer. A freestanding bath is finished on all sides and can be more like furniture than an actual bathroom fixture if used innovatively. It works the same as a built-in tub and can provide that added panache to a room when placed strategically.