Tiles / Indoor / Porcelain

Porcelain

The body used for floors. Fired dense enough to handle a tropical wet season and heavy household traffic, in formats up to a single 1.6 by 3.2 metre sheet, from three manufacturers we stock in depth.

Body: Rectified porcelain
Formats: Up to 48" × 96" slab
Thickness: 6-10 mm
Slip rating: R9 to R10 interior
Joints: 2 mm on rectified edges
Origin: Spain, Italy, China

(01)What this is

An interior floor is the largest single surface in a house and the most disruptive one to change later, so it is worth settling early.

Almost everything we carry for interior floors is porcelain rather than ceramic. Porcelain is fired hotter and denser, absorbs under 0.5% of its weight in water, and is hard enough to take years of chair legs, sand and grit tracked in from outside. Ceramic suits walls; on a floor with real traffic it is more likely to chip.

Format matters as much as colour. Fewer, larger tiles mean fewer grout joints, and grout is usually where a floor starts to look tired. A 1,200 × 600 mm tile across an open plan reads as a continuous surface; a 300 × 300 mm tile reads as a grid.

(02)Who makes it

The housesbehind the range.

We buy this category deep from a small number of manufacturers rather than shallow from many. Knowing whose tile you are standing on tells you what to expect of the calibre, the lead time and the reorder.

A Simpolo bathroom scheme in textured cream large-format tile with a floating vanity

Large format, wall and floor in one body

(01) Morbi, Gujarat, India

Simpolo

Large-scale production, with the technical range to match.

Simpolo began in 1977 making bricks and added sanitaryware in 1991. It now runs plants in Morbi and Andhra Pradesh across more than eight product lines, and supports over two hundred of its own showrooms in India and Nepal. That scale is reflected in the pricing on whole-house orders.

The plants run nano-technology production, and the company describes its Alaska range as the whitest tile it produces, which is relevant when holding a consistent cool white across a large floor. Production carries NSF certification and a BIS licence.

Since

1977

Plants

Morbi & Andhra Pradesh

Also makes

Bathware and sanitaryware

Certification

NSF, BIS licence

Collections

Glyphstone
Marmorica
Venitto
Alchimia
Sparko
Basaltino

Simpolo online

Portobello America textile-effect tiles in green, tan, blue and cream, laid out and handled

The textile-effect faces, handled

(02) United States, Brazilian parent

Portobello America

US manufacturing, and shorter lead times into Trinidad.

Portobello America manufactures in the United States and ships from its own distribution centres, under the Brazilian GEP Group based in Florianópolis. For Trinidad that is a shorter and more predictable supply line than a container from Europe or Asia, which makes reorders easier to commit to.

The range covers field tile, mosaic and small format across marble, stone, concrete, wood, clay, glass, metal and textile looks, with a colour palette wide enough to build a scheme around.

Made in

United States

Group

GEP, Florianópolis

Formats

Field, mosaic, small format

Strength

Short, repeatable lead times

Collections

Arca
Loom
Dual

Portobello America online

An Italgraniti marble-effect slab wall formed into a shelving niche

Slab, run as a wall and shelved

(03) Formigine, Modena, Italy

Italgraniti Group

The Italian end of the range, and the largest formats we carry.

Italgraniti operates from Formigine in the Modena ceramic district and produces porcelain stoneware from 320 × 180 cm slabs down to 60 × 15 cm. The large slabs allow a floor with very few joints, or the same material running up a wall and around an island.

The group carries three brands — Italgraniti, Italstone and Impronta — and the range extends past tile into the LOOM bathroom line and kitchen countertops. It holds B Corp certification and publishes an annual sustainability report, which is worth noting on projects pursuing environmental credits.

Slab size

Up to 320 × 180 cm

Brands

Italgraniti, Italstone, Impronta

Also covers

Stone and countertops

Certification

B Corp

Collections

Natural
Marble Touch
I Travertini
I Cementi
Dorset
Origins

Italgraniti Group online

Product photography © Simpolo, Portobello America and Italgraniti Group, reproduced with permission. Brand names, collection names and product names are the trademarks of their respective owners, and appear here to identify the ranges we stock. Tile Warehouse is an independent distributor and is not affiliated with these manufacturers beyond that.

(03)Before you decide

Things worth knowing.

Rectified or pressed edge

Rectified tiles are cut square after firing, so they can be laid with a 2 mm joint and read as a continuous surface. Pressed tiles have a slightly rounded edge and need 3 to 5 mm. Rectified costs more and requires a flatter screed, which is generally worth it on large formats.

Variation grade

Ranges are graded V1 to V4. V1 is near-uniform; V4 means two tiles from the same box can look substantially different. Neither is better, but it is worth knowing which you are buying, and dry-laying a few boxes before fixing.

Slip resistance indoors

R9 is normal for a dry interior floor. Where a floor runs to a door onto a yard, or into a kitchen where water reaches the ground, R10 is the better specification. Polished finishes are noticeably slippery when wet, so consider where they are used.

Substrate and flatness

Large-format tile needs a flat screed. A 1,200 mm tile over a floor that dips 4 mm can lip at the joints or crack. Allow for levelling compound in the budget alongside the tile.

(04)Technical reference

Typical figures for the range. Product-specific data sheets are available at the counter for anything you are specifying formally.

Water absorption: < 0.5%, BIa porcelain
Breaking strength: ≥ 1,300 N (EN ISO 10545-4)
Slip: R9 to R10 / DCOF ≥ 0.42 where wet
Abrasion: PEI IV to V for residential floors
Frost resistance: Yes, full-body porcelain
Adhesive: C2TE S1 for large format
Joint width: 2 mm rectified / 3-5 mm pressed
Movement joints: Every 5-6 m and at all perimeters

Come and stand on it.

Bring your floor plan and a photograph of the room in daylight. We will open full boxes so you can see a range at floor scale rather than as a single sample, and flag where a format may not suit your substrate.

Plan a visit(868) 242-2337 / 2481

Showroom

LP #61 Limehead Road
Chase Village, Chaguanas

Monday - Friday: 8am - 4:30pm
Saturday: 8am - 2pm
Sunday: Closed