Ceramic vs. Porcelain

I am often presented with the opinion that porcelain tile is to be the tile of choice and in contrast ceramic to be avoided as a poor substitute. My own attitude is nothing of the sort.

Most of my own home is tiled in ceramic. I recently (some 3 years ago) RE-TILED my house that I had tiled some 30 years prior - with a ceramic tile. Aside from the tile looking dated because 8x8 was fashionable 30 years ago and larger tiles are presently more in vogue, I frankly got sick of looking at the same tile finally.

People think that chips and cracks DON'T show, or show as much, with a porcelain. They do. If you have a crack or chip in your porcelain tile, it ought to bother you as much as with a ceramic. Even full bodied porcelain tiles show if there is a crack or chip. THE ANSWER IS TO HAVE SPARES.

As for porcelain being harder than ceramic - it is. But a can of soup, landing the right way, can damage a porcelain as easily as a ceramic. And most tiles can withstand a lifetime of traffic in a home, whether or not they are porcelain OR ceramic!

Settlement cracks

Over the years I have heard so many remedies regarding preventing settlement cracks in the sub-floor or concrete from damaging the tile floor to be installed over it.

The only logical means of preventing it - in my opinion - is to install a membrane between the crack and the tile above it. And then hope that the movement is not too great beneath that membrane. For excessive movement can disturb the membrane too! And I have seen that such cracks, if the direction should change and the crack close again - has the result of causing a floor to buckle in that area.

Rubberized matting is sold, or sheet vinyl, for instance, but a necessary component is luck too!