The phenomenon of thin tile is only a few years old, but this all-new tile category has captured the worldwide attention of retailers, designers and customers—commercial, industrial and consumer. Translation: OPPORTUNITY for our industry.Get more news about Thin Porcelain Tile,you can vist our website!

First, it is important to know what “thin tile” really is. It is not merely a thin version of existing ceramic or porcelain tile. It is a new category altogether. When we say “thin tile,” we are referring to large format, thinner-than-traditional porcelain tile. The category is called large format because these thin tile pieces, planks or panels can be produced singly and in pieces often larger than 1 by 3 meters.

According to the Tile Council of North America (TCNA), standard tile thicknesses average between eight and 12 millimeters. Until the appearance of this new large format thin tile, anything under 7.5mm could not be used for flooring with confidence.

TCNA has ultimately defined thin tile as 6mm or less. Though thin tile has not yet been endorsed for floors in the U.S. by the installation community, millions of square feet of large format thin tile have been successfully installed on floors and walls worldwide. In fact, one can find stunning installations in places such as the Milan, Italy airport. So thin tile has been extensively vetted and proven to perform for both floor and wall installations, for indoor and outdoor use.

Thin tile differs from traditional tile in a variety of respects. To be thin, yet retain structural integrity, requires true engineering if a 3mm-thick porcelain tile product is to deliver virtually the same performance characteristics as standard-thickness porcelain. (The thinnest of this product produced by Florida Tile is 3 millimeters, about 30 to 40 percent the thickness of traditional tile.)
Our unique manufacturing process compresses each tile to greater than 15,000 tons psi. This creates a very dense, strong, thin tile with increased flexibility and breaking strength. Further, a 0.5mm fiberglass mesh backing is adhered to each panel, providing additional strength and allowing for ease of drilling, cutting and handling. This process allows us to create a single 3.5mm thick panel strong enough to accommodate structural integrity in sizes up to 1m x 3m (39” x 118”).

Compared to standard tile of the same size, it is important to know that all thin tile has a lower breaking strength when unsupported. This is a key point: to ensure durability, correct installation is critical. The Florida Tile website (www.floridatile.com) offers detailed installation videos which illustrate how proper application of adhesive, especially at the edges and corners, functions as part of a system to reinforce the functional integrity of thin tile. Therefore, with correct installation, there is no reason thin tile should not perform virtually with the same capability as standard tile indoors or out. (Editor’s note: See the November/December issue of Floor Covering Installer for thin tile installation techniques.)
Setting aside the technical aspects of large format thin tile there are numerous, significant benefits. For example, because thin tile is manufactured with far less material than traditional porcelain, 40 to 60 percent less raw material is needed to cover the same square footage as standard tile of any kind.

That obviously not only saves on raw material, but on production time and energy use as well as shipping costs. It is a tile category that is incredibly lightweight, durable, flexible, and easy to cut and handle, offering enormous potential for installation options—only a fraction of which we have explored.