Floors and walls: porcelain stoneware

What is porcelain stoneware? To answer this question exhaustively, let's start by saying that porcelain stoneware is the material in terms of floor and wall coverings that has evolved the most in recent years.

Its characteristics contribute to the great commercial success of this material: porcelain stoneware is extremely resistant, functional, hygienic and totally waterproof.

Porcelain stoneware

Natural porcelain stoneware is created by firing the tile at 1350°, characterized by very high performance: for this reason today there is no longer a substantial difference between floors and walls, since it is also possible to make tiles with prints, decorations and shapes of all kinds.

On the market today there are also maxi sizes available, such as 80 cm by 240 cm. The large sizes can give us strong and intense emotions and a feeling of continuity in space, limiting the joints.

The thickness of porcelain stoneware tiles available on the market today is now very small: we are talking about 6 mm for cold printed ceramics. The extremely limited thickness is very important especially in renovation and re-design projects. However, it is important to stress that for such limited thicknesses it is necessary to pay the utmost attention to external agents, such as acids and abrasive sponges (the latter are not suitable for exterior cleaning).

Glazed tiles are very trendy: glazed porcelain stoneware is able to give rooms a great depth and shine. Wood and marble effect porcelain stoneware is also very beautiful.

The great commercial success of porcelain stoneware

The great commercial success of porcelain stoneware and the positive opinions on this material are due to the great versatility and chromatic expressiveness of this product, capable of giving great personality to environments.

We can say with full knowledge of the facts that porcelain stoneware has today become the most functional and resistant material for floor, wall, furniture and facade coverings.

Why choose porcelain stoneware

The choice of the best covering for one's rooms often falls on porcelain stoneware because this material is not only extremely functional but also totally waterproof, frostproof and non-slip.

Porcelain stoneware is also capable of resisting wear, abrasions, impacts and even acids, heat and stains. From an aesthetic and stylistic point of view this material is able to faithfully reproduce the chromatic effects of wood, marble, cement, stone and metal. The materials mentioned are in nature less resistant and certainly more expensive than porcelain stoneware.

Cleaning and maintenance of porcelain stoneware

For daily cleaning of porcelain stoneware surfaces, use a soft cloth with warm water and neutral detergent or a solution of water and alcohol. Alternatively it is possible to clean with the help of steam cleaners with which the surfaces can be sanitised without using detergents.

For stoneware with a glossy or lapped finish or with applied decorations, more thorough cleaning is necessary, as well as more frequent maintenance. In this case it is advisable to use non-aggressive protective products.

Finally, for the cleaning of natural porcelain stoneware, it is advisable to use detergents characterised by greater acidity.

The main laying techniques for porcelain stoneware

When laying porcelain stoneware, it is always advisable to rely on professionals in the sector and professional installers of this material. It is possible to proceed with the installation of porcelain stoneware in the following ways:

• Traditional open-joint laying with ughe over 2, 3 millimetres
• Laying on gravel (for tiles with a thickness of 20 mm, to be installed in outdoor areas)
• Minimum joint laying: 1 mm joint that is made by using tiles with rattified edges, suitable to create a continuous surface
• Laying of maxi slabs: for this type of laying it is necessary to install a totally homogeneous substrate. The laying of maxi slabs must be carried out by two professional installers with a special lifting kit. In the case of laying in an environment located on a high floor, a staircase may be necessary.

Porcelain stoneware: very trendy ceramic cladding

As mentioned in the previous paragraphs, porcelain stoneware is a very trendy ceramic wall tile. The development of new technologies has made it possible to create artefacts capable of imitating many types of materials in an almost perfect way. Another advantage of the new ceramic products is their ability to purify the air by eliminating bacteria and to flex and bend to adapt to the differences in height in some environments.

Modern porcelain stoneware is a ceramic material composed of a mixture of substances of natural origin, such as white clay commonly used for the production of porcelain: this is the reason why modern porcelain stoneware is called porcelain. Once fired, in fact, the stoneware is vitrified, welding the raw materials to form an extremely hard and resistant tile, as well as being totally waterproof and hygienic.

The main types of porcelain stoneware

There are basically two types of porcelain stoneware available on the market:

• natural porcelain stoneware
• glazed stoneware

Natural porcelain stoneware

Natural porcelain stoneware is also sometimes called technical stoneware. From an aesthetic point of view, the material looks very similar to natural marble, maintaining the technical characteristics of porcelain stoneware unchanged.

During the firing phases there are a series of deformations of the pressed material. These deformations lead to post-firing shrinkage: for this reason it is necessary to rectify the surface.

Thanks to modern production techniques, it is now possible to obtain tiles in a wide variety of sizes, in order to meet all consumer needs and requirements.

From a normative point of view, with the term porcelain stoneware the UNI standards mean ceramic tiles that can boast a water absorption coefficient of less than 0.5%.

Glazed porcelain stoneware

The main difference between natural porcelain stoneware and glazed porcelain stoneware is that the latter is characterised by different colours that are expressed in the most varied styles, sizes, decorations and textures; this great versatility of styles can only be found in glazed ceramics.

From a purely technical point of view, enamelled surfaces can be distinguished by section, support and enamel. The support is the main factor that determines the mechanical resistance characteristics of the product. The enamel, on the other hand, determines the aesthetic appearance and the relative characteristics of response to wear.

Glazed porcelain stoneware can boast a series of characteristics that make it particularly interesting from a commercial point of view:

• High resistance to fire in the event of fire: the release of toxic substances into the air is excluded
• Ability to withstand weathering in an optimal way
• High resistance to breakage caused by major temperature changes due to water absorption of less than 0.5%.
• Scratch and impact resistance
• Anti-slip and non-slip properties
• Edge grinding and fine polishing of the enamel surface possible