Stoneware

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 462.

Earthenware

Tile

A tileis a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops.

Tiles can range from simple square tiles to complex mosaics. Tiles are most often made from porcelain, fired clay or ceramic with a hard glaze, but other materials are also commonly used, such as glass, metal, cork, and stone. Tiling stone is typically marble, onyx, granite or slate.

Ceramic with a water absorption rate of more than 10% after firing it at temperatures between 950 - 1150°C is known as earthenware. Because it is so slate though, it should only be used indoors to prevent weathering caused by frost. Earthenware is mainly used as glazed wall tiles.

Stoneware has a water absorption rate of less than 3%. Stoneware is frost proof due to its low porosity. Almost all tiles for floor coverings exposed to high traffic such as for industry, commerce or public areas are made of unglazed stoneware. Stoneware tiles with glaze are classical ceramics for floors. Abrasion and slip resistance are determined by the technical properties of the glaze.

Unlike earthenware, stoneware is fired at temperatures between 1150 - 1300°C. Porosity can be reduced by adding fluorite.