FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

The process of converting something into a glass- like substance is known as Vitrification. This process can help convert a mixture of clay and raw materials into a uniform body and makes the internal bonding permanent. Firing the tile at a high temperature makes them impermeable to water. When you sink a piece of vitrified tile in water, it gains weight by 0.5%- which is the water absorption of the tile.

IMPORTANT: Outside India, Vitrified Tiles are only known as Porcelain Tiles.

Bigger the size of Porcelain Slabs, lesser the joint and less visual interruptions by grout lines. Bigger dimensions are in great demand across Asia.
There are many types of Vitrified Tiles- Glazed Vitrified Tiles (GVT/ PGVT), Double Charge (DC), Full Body Tiles, Color body Tiles and Soluble Salt.

Glazed Porcelain Tile will have a coating of glaze on the top of body. This layer is mainly of White Color which allows inject printing machine to print. Whichever design/ color you visualize, you can get a GVT/ PGVT suitable to it with the help of Digital Printing Technology. P in PGVT stands for Polished. They are shiny and offer wide variety of designs like marble and granite look. PGVT tiles are easy to clean and maintain, and can be used for any indoor application like hall, kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedroom. Surface options available with GVT – Polished, Matt, High- Gloss, Rustic, Carving, Sugar and Wood Texture.

Double charge means two layers are infused in tiles, It has different phase and body where the top layer design is the mixture of raw material infused with color pigment pressed to the base layer under high pressure. Upper layer of double charge tiles are 3 to 4mm thicker than other tiles.

Double Charge vitrified tiles is the first choice for heavy traffic, commercial and residential areas. They remain stable and shiny for years with low maintenance that makes them the perfect option to go for flooring at home, malls, cafeteria, hospitals, libraries, airports, villas and other interior as well as exterior areas. Surface options – Polished.

This type of tile used the same material from top to bottom. There is no glaze used. Sometimes they use transparent glaze- to seal the surface pores and make it ink resistant. Full Body Tiles can be used for steps, window sill and room border.

These tiles are Glazed Vitrified Tiles with matching body color. Color body tiles give the design possibility of a GVT tile and a matching body advantage of a full- body tile.

These tiles are old- fashioned, screen printed with basic designs on ivory body. Soluble Salt Liquid is infused on the tile to give the perfect color and pattern to the tile. Such tiles always have a Polished finish. These tiles are of huge demand in Latin American markets like Brazil, Mexico and Argentina and sell as “Economic Tiles”. Soluble Salt Tiles are suitable in bedroom, drawing room, living room, kitchen space and other interior spaces. Soluble Salt Tiles are most suitable and applicable for Commercial and low traffic areas.
Rocker is new technology which creates structure digitally in the way we want. Structure is defined at designing level. If we want veins or lines on the design with structure, we have to define that during designing level. When Digital machines process this file, it will come to know that few lines must be printed with structure. These lines can be made shiny or matt. Overall tiles will be matt but only some veins or lines will be shiny.
A polished tile with dark color doesn’t look attractive if the manufacturer uses only regular gloss material. Dark colors absorb most of the light rays. To make a dark surface shinier, you need to use extra gloss- Hi- Gloss. Light colors do not need extra gloss. BE CAREFUL if someone is trying to sell you a light color tile at a higher price saying it is Hi- Gloss. The normal glaze is sufficient for all light colors. Dark colors have a higher price due to extra glaze used.
Sugar Tiles are called semi polished because this finish is not matt nor polished. On the top of tile surface, grains like sugar are added and these grains are polished. So, grains are shiny while base of the tile is matt so this combination makes the tile semi polished. Sugar floor tiles have a grainy exterior making them a unique option for both residential and commercial areas. It gives an anti- slippery feel to tiles.

Porcelain Tiles/ Vitrified Tiles are better due to the following properties-

  • Low water Absorption Rate < 0.5%
  • Superior Durability
  • High Stain Resistance
  • Typical use in Indoor and Outdoor Wall and Floor
Marble slabs come in various shades and of different quality, maintenance of marble are not always easy and requires care, while on the other side the sturdiness of porcelain tiles merged with the stunning beauty of precious stones has paved new paths in the faculty of architecture and design, the Marble-look porcelain tiles do not fail to evoke the same feeling with their added features of more durability, less fading, resistance to breaking, chipping, warping, and more. On the contrary, marble-look porcelain tiles virtually need no care and maintenance.
The Ceramic body is porous because the firing is done at low temperatures. Based on their water absorption ratio, there can be Ceramic wall tiles or floor tiles.

Ceramic Wall Tiles have the highest water absorption, approximately 13-16%. We offer artistic wall tiles where each design is a light/ dark version with a matching decorative punch (highlighter). Some designs also include coordinated border pieces. Ceramic Wall Tiles are not made to withstand high wear and tear but their light weight is a bonus for vertical installation and also easier to cut. Such tiles are set together, with thin grout lines. They can be mix and matched to create endless contrasts and custom- look patterns. Ceramic Wall Tiles are non- vitreous. A glazed layer on it will only make the surface – water and stain- resistant. If you are using adhesives, always ask for tiles with waterproof engobe.

Surface Finishes- Glossy, Matte, Rustic, Satin, Metallic
Thickness- 6 mm to 9 mm
For areas like showers, floors and exteriors in freezing climates- CHOOSE Vitrified Tiles.

Ceramic Floor Tiles have lower water absorption, between 3-6%. 300x30mm and 400x400mm ceramic floor tiles are made with red body, whereas 600x600mm tiles are made with the white body. Ceramic floor tiles are suitable for very light to moderate traffic. Mason prepares mortar with sand, cement and sometimes a latex additive- and fills the spaces between the tiles with grout (Laticrate). Ceramic Floor tiles have a glazed upper surface. When it gets scratched, the floor looks worn. But the same amount of wear and tear on Vitrified Tiles will not show and thus – Vitrified Tiles are sometimes preferred over Ceramic for large traffic areas. If you need a matt look, Ceramic Floor Tiles are a cheaper option compared to the Matt version of GVT.
Rectified Tiles are the tiles which go through a cutting process called grinding. In this process it trims all the pieces of tiles into the same precise size, as a result seating joints can be minimum, grout usage can be minimum and making the joints between tiles more pleasing.
These type of tiles are considered to enhance floor and wall tile when used as inserts, borders and special accents.
There is no difference between red or white body. Years ago the red-body was widely used and some old factories still use red body clay as their parameters are set which they don’t want to disturb. New factories (mostly bigger size ones) are all using the white-body only.
When it is about quality see yourself, analyze objectively and decide. All factories use more or less the same machinery (press, kiln, polishing line, etc are from the same Chinese company). So there can’t be a huge difference in the products of two extremes.

When it comes to prices of different types of tiles it varies and depends on the below criteria…

Type – is it ceramic or porcelain?
Sub-type – wall, floor, soluble salt, double charge, GVT, color-body, full-body, etc
Size – bigger the size more premium the companies charge. But it is not always the case. E.g. subway wall tiles such as 100x200mm, 200x200mm, 100x300mm, etc… costs more compared to 300×450 mm, 300×600 mm
Surface finish – sugar finish, hi-gloss tile, carving effect, metallic effect, roto effect, etc have extra pricing
Brand – tile companies with better brand equity have higher the price

Painting on Porcelain/ Vitrified Tiles is possible but not all paints work. In case of polished surface and highly waterproof tiles, it is recommended that the paint should be highly adhesive for which epoxy paints can be used.
Porcelain/vitrified tiles material are perfectly apt to be used with under floor heating. The notable thing that should be taken into account is that a grout joint of at least 1.5 mm is requisite for the installation.
Yes porcelain is scratch resistance, as porcelain tile are made from a denser material you’re less likely to scratch porcelain tile. When looking for scratch resistance tile, go for the porcelain tile having a higher PEI rating, as Higher PEI rating means durable and more scratch resistant.
Once the glaze or upper body of the porcelain tile is damaged it is not possible to repair. We just need to replace the damaged tile with the new one, which the only finest alternative.
It is not possible to polish the surface of porcelain tile once it is fixed to the floor or wall surface.

Yes it is possible to drill a hole through porcelain tiles, we need to keep few point in mind which are:-

  • A special tool named Diamond drill is available in the market which is specially designed for drilling the porcelain tiles.
  • It is also recommended that the tile is fixed correctly.

Daily Maintenance of Porcelain tiles (Vitrified tiles) are very easy following is the steps:-

  • > 90 % of stain can be clean by simply wipe the glazed tiles with a soft sponge mop or with warm water- soap solution.
  • In case stains are not removed by water soap-solution (Detergent) then we can use diluted hydrochloric acid
It makes possible random (multi- screen) printing on different tiles. Once all the tiles are applied, you will get a natural marble- like look. Digital Printing can also be done on uneven surface. Digital Printed Tiles have more dots per inch (dpi) compared to screen printed tiles. It means there is a high resolution of design (detailing) in digitally printed tiles.
The COF of ceramic tiles means Coefficient of Friction, which rates the slip resistance of tiles. The American Society For Testing and Materials (ASTM) have several benchmarks for measuring coefficient of friction for wet & dry Surfaces. Values are 0.6 on any flat or horizontal surfaces both for wet and dry, but 0.8 for any inclined or ramp Areas.
The porosity of a ceramic tile or a porcelain tile is the water absorption rate of the material. When choosing a tile, Need to keep following ratings under consideration that evaluate the ratio of water absorbed. The Grouping (Classification) for the porosity of tile are
  • Impervious (least absorbent)
  • Vitreous
  • Semi-vitreous
  • Non-vitreous / Porous (most absorbent).
Impervious i.e. Porcelain tile are best recommended for cold temperature which are having an ideal water absorption rate of < 0.5%. Porous tile should not be used outdoors where cold weather produces freeze as Porous tiles are having a water absorption rate of > 10%.
Grout is the chemical used for placing joints to prevent stains, dust particles between tiles.
It is not recommended to dry cut the tiles as it produce silica dust which can be harmful if inhaled. Wet cutting methods are the best.
To check whether the sealant is fine or not we just need to do simple water test. Just add small amount of water on the grout and if the water is not absorbed then it’s perfectly fine and if the water is absorbed then it’s the time to reseal the grout.
Best Grout to choose are sanded grout and epoxy grout.
Rectified tiles without Grout line is not recommended because grout absorbs the stress movements which will prevent the tile from damage.
We recommend have a grout sample and placing them with your tile in the space where they will be installed. This will allow you to observe how it look with other and how to lighting affects them. Just to note that Grout colour can be darken over time.

Unlike China, the grades of quality have different names as under

Premium = 1st choice
Standard = 2nd choice
Commercial = 3rd choice

Tilers should follow the arrow directions at the back of the tiles. This is particularly important in body polished tiles (such as soluble salt, double charge, full body). This practice helps to make sure shade/ pattern look uniform throughout the surface.