Gold Coast Tiles – How to Choose?

Unglazed Ceramic Tiles Gold Coast
floor tiles are more suited to commercial and industrial settings, but can be used in laundries and utility rooms. They are available with a non-slip profile.

Quarry Tiles Gold Coast
are a traditional product made in the for hundreds of year. They are made from natural clay, squeezed through an extruding machine, and then fired. They are mostly available in terracotta, black and white colours.

Terracotta Tiles Gold Coast
are also made from local clays. Terracotta means "cooked earth" and these products tend to be very absorbent, so need sealing when used on the floor.

Porcelain Tiles Gold Coast
are ceramic tiles, but with a very low absorbency. They are usually made from kaolin clays, feldspar, silica and colouring oxides and are fired at about 1200oC. Porcelain tiles are hard wearing and can be used on walls or floors.

Mosaics Tiles Gold Coast
are very small tiles, usually less than 35cm2. Mosaics can be glazed or unglazed and made from porcelain, ceramic, glass or natural stone.

Natural Stone Gold Coast
products; limestone, marble, granite and slate are quarried from the earth. Some are extremely hard, and some quite soft. Some may need sealing.

Floor Tiles Gold Coast
The main categories for manufacture are pressed - extruded - stone.

Pressed Tiles are the most common and can be either mono-cottura or bi-cottura. Usually mono-cottura are fired at a higher temperature and therefore the base or biscuit is stronger. This will not make any difference to how the glaze lasts, but it will make the tile more impact resistant.

Bi-cottura tiles however can be produced with finer and more decorative glazes.  The important thing however is to ensure that the tile is wear rated correctly for your job.

Another category of pressed tile is the fully vitrified, or porcelain tile. These are extremely strong and good brands are almost non porous. They are often used for shopping centers and malls but are also excellent for domestic use.  Some manufacturers put a clear glaze or seal over their fully vitrified tiles. This simply makes them a high quality glazed tile. This glaze can wear in some circumstances.

Extruded Tiles are often called quarry tiles. They are made from wet clay that is extruded into shape, then fired. This can result in tiles that are less dimensionally consistent than pressed tiles. Quarry tiles are often used outside or where a rustic effect is wanted.

Stone Tiles can be slate, sandstone, granite or some other stone. With the exception of granite, all are porous. Be aware that these tiles are pieces of stone. They may be sealed, but don't expect that seal to be as effective as glaze on a ceramic tile. It cannot be. Once you accept the limitations of stone, it can be an excellent product, but do not expect it to be something it is not. Granite is very hard and has low porosity, some of it approaching the quality of a vitrified tile, but it is still stone and must be treated as such. It is also very expensive.

#NB Shade Variation
As with most products, tiles will vary in colour from batch to batch. This means you need to ensure that you buy all you need at one time. It also means that if you are buying large quantities, you need to ensure that you are being given all the one batch. There is nothing worse than having just laid most of your floor only to discover that the rest is the wrong batch. Shade variation is also the reason that you need to return any tiles that you have left over, promptly. Most merchants are prepared to accept returns on current stock shades but do not accept returns which don't match what they are currently selling.

Gold Coast tiles suppliers.  A great range of floor and wall tiles ceramic, terracotta, natural stone and quarry tiles.  Discount tile suppliers available form all Gold Coast areas.

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