Tile Glossary of terms

Monocotura:

This means is that the tile is fired only once in the kiln and that the glaze is applied in this single firing. It results in a thinner, denser, stronger tile. Older style “bicotura” tiles had little buttons on the bottom of them and generally were thicker but less dense and subject to chipping and cracking as they were not as strong. You still see “button backs” in imported wall tiles but do not use them for flooring.

Edging

Bullnose: A specially manufactured and fired tile trim piece to finish off edges of an installation. If they are the same size as the field tile they are called bullnose: if they have a finished edge but are of a rectangular size (2”x6” etc.) they are usually called “caps”. Metal or vinyl are now also used in various shapes to finish off tile, particularly when large floor tile are used for countertops and shower walls. Often the metal and vinyl will be less expensive than the ceramic edges and have the added value of masking whether the material that is edged in ceramic, marble or stone. With a nice brass edge you can make a relatively inexpensive rustic tile look like a very expensive stone installation; similarly shiny marbled tile will look like marble with metal rather than ceramic edges.

Deco: Used to described a decorative tile that is of the same size as the surrounding “field” tile. Sometimes these are referred to as “inserts” Listelli: Sometimes called “Liners”, are elongated pieces of ceramic or metal that have decoration or are of a contrasting color to the field tile and are inserted for decorative purposes.

Square Feet: Tile is sold on the basis of square feet and not by tile.(Deco tile and Listelli are however usually sold by the piece). Any retailer that quotes you tile prices in terms other than square feet is not helping you make a rational burying decision. You are not buying pieces of tile but covering area and unless you are given the square foot price it is very difficult to evaluate prices between different sized tiles. Be very cautious of per tile quotes as they often cost more per square foot than a traditional tile store would charge. A typical 4x4 bathroom tile costs about $2.00/square foot. There are roughly 9 pieces per square foot. A retailer offering these tiles at “Only 25 cents each” is in fact charging you $2.25/square foot for the tile!

Grout and grout joints: Traditional Grout is Portland cement, colorant and sometimes silica sand. Sanded grout is required when the grout line is greater than 1/8th of an inch in width. Unsanded grout is used with narrow grout joints and with marble and granite so the sand will not scratch the polished stone . Grout is required to be placed between tile, marble or granite tiles so that the normal expansion and contraction that occurs will not have the edges literally chip themselves apart. We recommend that the grout be mixed with a latex additive to make it more dense, that it be sealed after installation to fill in the pores and assist in maintenance. More important we encourage the use of larger tiles which will minimize the use of grout and the use of mottled colored tiles so that the grout will not be as noticeable as it ages.

Caliber: Tile is a baked product and is virtually impossible to manufacture so that it will be precisely uniform in size. The more expensive the tile the more that the factory calibrates the batches of tile in to various groupings of like sizes. An inexpensive 12x12 tile might have raging from 11 7/8 to 12 1/8 in size within a box. A more expensive tile might be separated and packaged into boxes that have rages of only 1/16 of an inch or so between tiles. Again, as is often the case, you get what you pay for! Obviously tile with a large range of size will be much more difficult and expensive to install and will require a much larger grout line to accommodate the variances. Often quality contractors will not install tile that they have not sold themselves to avoid dealing with lessor quality tile with and the resultant difficulty in installation.

Shade: Just as the baked tile has rages in size it will also have ranges in color. The less expensive tiles will have more ranging in color shading within a package than a more expensive tile which will be graded into more shades and packaged and sold accordingly. You will then have more uniformity (if the tile is meant to have uniformity) in more expensive tiles than less expensive one.

Rustic: Tiles are now manufactured to have textured, patterned and sculptured surfaces to mimic stone, slate, granite and marble. Often such tiles will be packed and sold with a very wide range of colors within the box so the floor will have the look of natural stone or slate which has similar variation. A well designed, properly sized ceramic tile installation will often be the least expensive approach in the long term. With a bit of knowledge and some care your experience with ceramic tile can be one which gives genuine value, and pleasure!

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