Porcelain or ceramic tiles in bathroom

tortoiseshellcat

We are getting our bathroom refitted and would like to tile the walls and floor. I know porcelain tiles are much harder wearing so better for the floor but they seem very heavy for the walls (we have bought a couple of samples from Topps Tiles) particularly as we might get a cupboard door tiled.
What I'm thinking is would it be possible to get ceramic tiles for the walls and porcelain for the floor but in the same design? I haven't managed to find any so far.
Or would it be better just to get ceramic on the wall and porcelain on the floor in contrasting designs?
Any opinions would be welcome please.

Annie1960

Porcelain tiles are very difficult to drill if you want to attach things to the wall.

Ceramic tiles are adequately hard-wearing for a bathroom floor. I had these in my last bathroom (and kitchen) and they were over 8 years old when I moved and they still looked equally as good as when they were new.

Don't rule out ceramic tiles for the floor, which could also match the walls.

tortoiseshellcat

Annie1960 wrote: »

Porcelain tiles are very difficult to drill if you want to attach things to the wall.

Thanks that's another point I was thinking about.

suki1964

How about going for Lino for the floor?

I've porcelain tiles on the walls but I wanted something warm and not slippery on the floor. Today's modern linos are fantastic. You actually have to touch the floor to know it's not tiled.

phill99

You wont get porcelain and ceramic in the same design. You may get something similar, but not the same. Maybe best to have a contrasting colour say on your floor (maybe darker) and a different one on the wall.


You can drill porcelain, but will need a special drill bit.

Annie1960

suki1964 wrote: »

How about going for Lino for the floor?

I've porcelain tiles on the walls but I wanted something warm and not slippery on the floor. Today's modern linos are fantastic. You actually have to touch the floor to know it's not tiled.

Interesting. Which brand of lino did you use, and how 'not slippery' is it? Does it have a non-slip rating?

suki1964

Annie1960 wrote: »

Interesting. Which brand of lino did you use, and how 'not slippery' is it? Does it have a non-slip rating?

Tbh I couldn't tell you

It's thick, very thick and textured so it looks like grouted tiles

It's nothing like the stuff we had on the floors in the 80's which was always shiny and slippery

andyhop

A ceramic tile is the cheapest tile you can buy, easy to cut and drill but often the variances in size can be massive. We've seen some that are 4mm different over a 400mm length. The UK made Johnsons and BCT are some of the worst

A ceramic tile can also absorb around 20% moisture, certainly in my opinion not fit for purpose. The glaze on edges of tiles are often scraped when kiln fired to get a extra few in the kiln, we've seen lighter tiles with a light biscuit discolour under the glaze very quickly and isn't something that can be cleaned

Porcelain tiles are the tile of gods. Very hard wearing but you need to ensure your substrates can hold the weight. Painted and plastered surfaces are a no go and it requires cement based adhesives. They absorb zero moisture/ water so are idea for wet applications.

For drilling, Rubi angle grinder bits are the new thing, while a bit may be £20 you'll get a average of 20 holes on the hardest grade 5 porcelain

This is my day job, has been for the last 20years and will be for the next 20 . What do I have in my own - Porcelain ...says it all

As for Lino, I've yet to see sheet vinyl that doesn't have a imperfection . Whether it be damage or a black dot . LVT is ideal for bathrooms if you want something a little warmer on foot but without the added expense of UFH

tortoiseshellcat

andyhop wrote: »

A ceramic tile is the cheapest tile you can buy, easy to cut and drill but often the variances in size can be massive. We've seen some that are 4mm different over a 400mm length. The UK made Johnsons and BCT are some of the worst

A ceramic tile can also absorb around 20% moisture, certainly in my opinion not fit for purpose. The glaze on edges of tiles are often scraped when kiln fired to get a extra few in the kiln, we've seen lighter tiles with a light biscuit discolour under the glaze very quickly and isn't something that can be cleaned

Porcelain tiles are the tile of gods. Very hard wearing but you need to ensure your substrates can hold the weight. Painted and plastered surfaces are a no go and it requires cement based adhesives. They absorb zero moisture/ water so are idea for wet applications.

For drilling, Rubi angle grinder bits are the new thing, while a bit may be £20 you'll get a average of 20 holes on the hardest grade 5 porcelain

This is my day job, has been for the last 20years and will be for the next 20 . What do I have in my own - Porcelain ...says it all

As for Lino, I've yet to see sheet vinyl that doesn't have a imperfection . Whether it be damage or a black dot . LVT is ideal for bathrooms if you want something a little warmer on foot but without the added expense of UFH

Thanks for the useful information, I checked with the guy who is possibly doing our bathroom and he has said go for porcelain as it's not much harder to fit and is better quality so that's what we're thinking now. Just need to choose what colour we like and find some that are a qood quality for the money...