THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PORCELAIN TILES AND CERAMIC TILES

Porcelain tiles are also ceramic tiles. They are a specified form of ceramic tiles, but composed of much finer and dense clay and fired at much higher temperatures, if compared. Porcelain tiles are made by clay with water absorption rating of less than 0.5%, while ceramic tiles have a clay composition with water absorption of more than 0.5%. 

This composition makes a porcelain tile more homogenous, dense, much stronger and less prone to moisture absorption and staining. For those reasons porcelain can be suitable for locations with extreme moisture and in freeze or thaw conditions. Not all ceramic tiles can be installed at locations with freezing weather, due to the likelihood of moisture freezing inside the tiles. Internal freezing causes the moisture to expand as it freezes, which often manifests as cracks in the tile. Full-bodied porcelain is homogenous in terms of through-body colour. A porcelain tile is less porous and therefore less prone to cracking. A porcelain tile is more scratch resistant than most ceramic tiles. 

Because of the dense nature of the porcelain tile body it requires an adhesive with far stronger bonding characteristics than an unmodified conventional (standard setting) cementitious adhesive.  

TAL GOLDSTAR 6 is based on high-strength, rapid-setting cement technology and is  the preferred and specified adhesive system for porcelain tiles as, due to the impervious nature of porcelain tiles, a latex-modified conventional (standard-setting) adhesive system will take longer to cure.  

If the tiles are disturbed (trafficked) before the adhesive has set sufficiently the adhesive bond may be broken, resulting in the tiles being loose or hollow sounding. This is especially important in heavy traffic areas and fast-track installations.