Not all tiles are made to a standard, check with your TTA distributor if the tiles you are interested in have been made to a British, European or International standard.

Porosity

Water absorption is very important if you want to use the tiles outside. Porous tiles will absorb water and when the water freezes it will expand cracking the tile. You’ve probably seen garden pots do this in hard winters. Because our climate is so damp and subject to occasional hard frosts tiles need to be frost resistant to be safe for use outside. Such tiles are often described as vitrified or fully vitrified.

Scratch hardness and abrasion resistance

The tile’s resistance to abrasion is important for floor tiles that are used in busy areas not normally in the home. However if people are likely to be walking straight on to a tiled floor from the outside when they may have grit on their shoes tiles with a high grade of abrasion resistance will be necessary. Barrier matting can reduce damage.

Slip resistance

There are many floor tiles available with highly slip resistant surfaces. Slip resistance varies according to whether feet are bare or shod and manufacturer’s literature should make this clear.

To help you choose a title to suit your needs

CLASS 1 - Soft soled footwear or bare feet areas,bathrooms and bedrooms without direct access from the outside

CLASS 2 - Living areas of homes but with the exception of kitchens, entrances, and other rooms which may have a lot of traffic

CLASS 3 - Residential kitchens, halls, corridors, balconies and terraces

CLASS 4 - Regularly used areas, entrances, commercial kitchens, hotel bathrooms

CLASS 5 - Heavy pedestrian traffic over sustained periods (for example public areas such as shopping centres and hotel foyers)

A snowflake symbol indicates that a tile is frost resistant

This classification is valid for the given applications in normal conditions. Consideration should be given to the footwear, type of traffic and cleaning methods expected and the floors should be adequately protected against scratching dirt at the entrances to buildings by interposing footwear cleaning devices.

For further information contact a TTA member tile supplier or look on TTA website at www.tiles.org.uk.

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