At Tile Space we want you to get the right solution for your home. We scour the world to find inspiring, designer tiles and our expert design consultants are focused on helping you figure out the best look for you. Once you get the perfect tile, you also want to make sure that it lasts! We back them up with our 10 year product guarantee and our 15 year system guarantee.

Tiles are as good as the clay that they are made from and the temperature and pressure that they are fired at. The different types of tiles that we stock at Tile Space are:

• Ceramic: Ceramic tiles are made from clay and fired at high temperatures in a kiln; they are available with glazed and unglazed finishes and are usually used for wall tiles.
• Porcelain: Today most floor tiles on the market are porcelain. Porcelain tiles are a type of ceramic tile, but made with higher quality clay and with the addition of feldspar, flint and silica. They are pressed then kiln fired at higher temperatures and greater pressure than ceramic clay tiles, which results in a harder, more uniform and low absorbency tile.
• Mosaic: Mosaic tiles are made from ceramic, porcelain, glass or natural stone and are available glazed or unglazed. They are small tiles that are netted on a sheet for easy laying.

• Porcelain vs Ceramic - In general porcelain can be considered to be better quality due to its low water absorption and increased durability.
• Rectified tiles - Most tiles are now rectified, which means they have been machined after firing to ensure that their size and shape is perfect. Rectified tiles can be laid closer together with smaller grout joins.
• Design - The complexity and creativity of the design and how authentic it looks.
• Variation - Many tiles are designed to replicate natural materials like stone or marble. In nature, you will see infinite variation, and that is part of its charm. If a tile has a natural look but has the same pattern repeated over and over it will look artificial, a good quality tile will have a degree of variation between pieces to make it look more authentic. We use the following system to rate variation:
  • - V1 – Uniform – minimal differences between pieces of the same production run.
  • - V2 – Slight - clearly distinguishable differences in texture and/or pattern, with similar colours.
  • - V3 – Moderate – the amount of colours on each piece vary greatly significantly, but they do not differ greatly between pieces.
  • - V4 – Substantial – random colour differences from tile to tile so that one tile may have totally different colours from another tile.
• The Finish:
  • - Matt – Has a matt surface
  • - Polished or semi-polished – After firing the tile is mechanically polished, up to 1mm of the material’s surface is removed for a shiny, reflective finish. Polished finishes are more durable than glazed finishes.
  • - Glazed – A glaze is applied to the top layer of the tile to give it a hard non-porous surface. Glazes can have a matt, semi-gloss or gloss finish. Glazed tiles are best suited to residential to light commercial settings.
  • - Roccia or structured – A finish with ridges and dips in the surface of the tile, often used outdoors because of their anti-slip properties.
  • - Grip – A sandpaper like finish, usually used on outdoor tiles.
  • - Full body porcelain tiles – full body porcelain tiles are also known as through body tiles, because the colour runs all the way through the tile. They are extremely strong and durable, able to withstand high surface traffic as they do not have a glaze that could wear off or scratch. Full body tiles are available in all sorts of finishes and designs; they can be made to look like stone, marble, terracotta, wood, concrete or metal.
• Tile Space rating – Our tiles are rated 1 through 5 for the following uses:
  • - Class 1 – Wall only
  • - Class 2 – Residential areas with medium foot traffic, like a living room.
  • - Class 3 – Busier residential floors such as a hall or kitchens.
  • - Class 4 – Floor coverings in areas that are subject to considerable traffic, house entrances & commercial spaces such as restaurants.
  • - Class 5 – Capable of withstanding heavy commercial foot traffic.
• Price:
  • - Our tiles are priced per m2 rather than being priced per tile or box, this way if you know the square meterage of your room it will give you an accurate idea of the cost that you can expect and it makes it easier to compare the price of different sized tiles.
  • - To calculate the m2 of the space, multiply the width by the length. To estimate the amount of tiles that you will need add on 10% for a straight forward shape and up to 20% for a complicated shape and/or lay pattern to allow for wastage.
• Grip or ‘r’ rating

• Tiles are very durable and hardwearing and you can use any ordinary house hold cleaner to clean them.
• If your tiles look grubby or messy straight after installation or if they are picking up dirt and dust easily it could be that excess glue or grout was not cleaned off straight away by the installer and has left a fine layer of product on the tile that traps dirt. Come and see us for a recommended cleaner.
• Tips on keeping grout clean:
  • - For general stains try using a toothbrush with a diluted bleach solution, scrub and rinse well. Do not use on coloured grout!
  • - For tough stains visit one of our stores and we’ll help you find a heavy duty tile and grout cleaner.
• Low slip or grip tiles will hold onto soil more easily than matt or polished tiles. This is an important factor when using them inside.

• Porcelain clay is more refined and purified than ceramic clay.
• Porcelain tiles are fired at a higher temperature and greater pressure than ceramic.
• Water absorption is typically 0.5% for porcelain tiles, whereas ceramic tiles can be up to 10%.
• Porcelain tiles are frost proof and can be used outside, ceramic tiles cannot be used outside.
• Ceramic tiles are easier to cut, but are more susceptible to chipping and cracking and are usually only suitable for walls.
• Porcelain tiles can have through body colour rather than having a coloured glaze on top of a clay base.
• Porcelain tiles can be rectified – that is cut to an exact size, allowing the tiler to set tight grout joints.
• Ceramic tiles are usually cheaper than porcelain tiles.
• Both types are easy to clean and maintain.