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When making your choice, bear in mind:
- The environment and the use to which the
tiles will be put
- The tiles' required design and technical
functions.
Design considerations.
The tiles must fit in with the furnishings and the range of objects, colors,
shapes and activities that exist in the environment. They must also match
its shape, dimensions, area and lighting etc. This choice also depends
on personal taste and fashion, so it is difficult, and perhaps inappropriate
to lay down rules.
Technical considerations. This rule
must be follows:
The tiles should have
technical characteristics and levels of resistance to stress (mechanical,
chemical, thermal etc) that will be adequate for the environment in which
they will be installed. In other words, the greater the probable stress
will be, the higher the performance and the more resistant the tiles must
be.
Let us now look at some practical
examples of the principle. First of all, we will look at the rooms in
the home - and tiles look good in any room in the house - where tiles
with special technical and design characteristics have to be chosen. We
will then give some tips on choosing the most suitable floor tiles for
public buildings and factories in order to show how tile characteristics
must match the use to which they are to be put.
A PRIVATE DWELLING
FLOOR TILES IN THE ENTRANCE
The amount of foot traffic
and the stress to which the tiles are subjected will differ from one home
to another. The entrance is one of the most walked over areas of the home.
But the amount of wear through abrasion which the tiles are affected will
depend on the locations of the dwelling. The hall in an apartment on the
fifth floor of and apartment building will be different from the hall
of a house with a garden that has a sand or gravel path leading up to
the front door. In the latter case, wear though abrasion will be much
greater than in the previous example, so tiles with a higher resistance
to abrasion should be chosen.
A PRIVATE DWELLING
WALL AND FLOOR TILES
IN THE BATHROOM
The floor and walls of the
bathroom come in contact with chemical and staining agent (e.g. personal
hygiene products, cosmetics, and perfumes). Detergents that contain corrosive
chemicals must sometimes be used to carefully clean them and ensure that
they are hygienic. Tiles that are highly resistant to chemicals must therefore
be chosen. In particular, the tiles must be able to withstand acids and
alkaline.
A PRIVATE DWELLING
KITCHEN FLOOR AND WALL
TILES
The kitchen floor is subjected
to the greatest wear and tear of all floors. The kitchen floor tends to
be exposed to the most dirt and grease and therefore has to be cleaned
more often and more vigorously. It is also the floor that is most likely
to have objects falling onto it. Floor tiles must be chosen that have
high resistance to mechanical and chemical stress. Kitchen wall tiles
are, of course subject to little mechanical stress, but they are subject
to great chemical stress, which is due both to cooking and detergents.
It is therefore important to choose wall tiles that have high resistance
to chemical stress (including resistance to acids and alkaline).
OUTSIDE WALL AND FLOOR
TILES
Choose tiles that are declared
and certified to be frost resistant. In general, these are pressed tiles
with low water absorption. They may be glazed (single fired) or unglazed
(porcelain stoneware, red stoneware); or else they may be extruded tiles
(clinker, cotto).
FLOORING IN A PUBLIC
BUILDING
The mechanical and chemical
stress levels to which the tile surfaces are subjected will normally be
higher than in a private home. Design considerations are also important
(certainly more so than in a factory environment). Glazed or unglazed
tiles must be chosen that are very hard, resistant to abrasion and resistant
to staining and chemical attack. Great caution should be exercised before
choosing shiny glazed tiles, especially if the area to be covered is directly
accessed from the street.
Similar caution should be
exercised before choosing porcelain tiles for places like bars and restaurants.
A shiny polished surface is very beautiful but is also more likely to
lose the shine than non-polished surfaces.
FACTORY FLOORING
In factories, the tiles will
be subjected to very great loads (because of vehicles and heavy machinery),
mechanical surface stress (movement of people and vehicles, abrasive dirt),
and chemical stress (spillage of corrosive chemical substances onto the
floor). If foodstuffs are processed on the premises, it must be possible
to carefully and thoroughly clean the tiles in order to ensure total cleanliness.
Tiles must therefore have a compact body because of its superior mechanical
characteristics and the tiles must be thicker in order to withstand heavy
loads. Tiles must be exceptionally resistant to abrasion and chemical
exposure and tile surfaces must be hard and compact in order to limit
penetration from dirt and to facilitate cleaning and greater hygiene.
In areas in which there is a high risk of slipping, tiles with a slip
resistant surface must be laid (tiles with a rough or relief surface).
Porcelain stoneware or red stoneware tiles may also be selected for this
purpose.
THESE BRIEF
EXAMPLES DO NOT COVER ALL THE ENVIRONMENTS THAT CAN BE TILED OR ADDRESS
PROBLEMATIC TILING SITUATIONS. THEY ARE MERELY INTENDED TO DEMONSTRATE
THE BEST WAY TO PROCEED AND THE FACTORS THAT
SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHEN CHOOSING TILES.
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