Ceramic Tile Pros and Cons: Grades, Porcelain and Designs

Home PlannerApp Team · June 2, 2022

Where ceramic tile works and where it cracks, which grade suits a wall or a floor, when to choose porcelain, and which designs look like wood, stone or brick.

You are choosing a finish for a kitchen floor, a bathroom wall or a hallway, and ceramic tile is on every list. It resists heat, water and dirt. It also cracks when something heavy hits it. Here are the ceramic tile pros and cons, the durability grades that decide where a tile can go, and the designs that make ceramic look like wood, stone or brick.

The short version

Ceramic is the most common material for interior tiles, and it is used in every room, from the kitchen and the bathroom to the hallway. Some homes have it on the outside walls too.

What you get:

• Heat resistance, which is why it suits kitchens.
• Water resistance, which is why it suits bathrooms.
• A surface dirt does not soak into. It is easy to clean and easy to maintain.
• Almost any look. Paint and glaze give it a colour, a pattern or the look of another material.
• A quick, affordable way to set the style of a room.

What it costs you:

• It can crack or break. Heat and water do not hurt it, but a hard impact can.
• Not every tile can go on a floor. The grade decides that (see below).
• Some ceramics fail in frost. Earthenware and stoneware are the weak ones outdoors.

How are ceramic tiles made?

Ceramic tiles start as clay and sand, ground into a very fine powder. Water turns the powder into a paste. A press then compresses the paste at very high pressure into a fixed mold. Today makers can also add stone, metal shavings, semi-precious stones, glass or crystal for a different end result.

The pressed "wafer" is dried, then painted in one colour or with a design. A glaze goes on top, and the tile is fired in a kiln at about 1,000°C.

The painting step is the reason ceramic is so versatile. The paint does not have to be a picture or a pattern. It can imitate another material, for example wood, so a floor looks like timber and cleans like tile.

Ceramic tile durability: which grade do you need?

Ceramic tiles carry a durability grade from 0 to 5. Choose the grade for the place first, then the design.

• Grade 0 is the least durable. Use it on walls only.
• Grade 3 is much more resistant to damage. It can go on floors with light foot traffic.
• Grade 5 takes heavy wear without cracking.

Common mistake: choosing a floor tile by its pattern alone. A grade 0 tile belongs on a wall, even when its design would suit the floor. Check the grade before you fall for the look.

Ceramic vs porcelain tile: which is stronger?

Porcelain. It is the most durable type of ceramic. It resists impact better, and it copes with cold: where earthenware and stoneware may fail in frost, porcelain endures much lower temperatures.

Why it matters: for a floor that takes knocks, or for tiles that stay outside through the winter, porcelain is the safer choice of the three.

What are ceramic tiles used for?

Almost any surface: floors, walls and even ceilings, in a home, an office or outdoors. The two rooms where you see them most are the kitchen and the bathroom.

Kitchen. Ceramic resists heat, and a kitchen is often wet, which ceramic does not mind either. The choice of backsplash designs is almost endless, and so is the choice of kitchen floor designs.

Bathroom. Water resistance makes ceramic the natural partner of the bathroom. After the kitchen, it is probably the most common place for ceramic. Use it on the floor, on the walls and even on the ceiling.

Children's room and hallway. Young children like to draw on walls. Tile the lower half of the walls in a children's room, and perhaps in the hallway. A drawing then wipes off the smooth surface, and there is a lot less cleanup.

Garden. The same heat resistance, water resistance and strength work outdoors. Use tiles to cover an unattractive concrete or brick wall in the garden. They are often laid in a pattern with a garden or plant theme.

Which ceramic tiles look like wood, stone or brick?

Ceramic can look like almost anything. Makers add many materials to the powder in the first step, so the range of textures and colours is just as wide as the range of designs. These are the designs to know.

Wood and stone. The current trend is ceramic that imitates other materials. Wood and stone are the most common, and both work well laid as a parquet.

Brick. Some tiles come in the size of a brick, in a range of colours. You get the charm of an old brick wall without many of the limits of real bricks.

Large slabs. Large-format tiles are an emerging trend. They give floors and walls a cleaner look. The small square tiles that were popular years ago now look dated and can spoil an otherwise modern room.

Checkerboard. For a mix of old and new, try a checkerboard on walls or floors. Black and white is the classic. To make it your own, use any light and dark shades that contrast but still go together.

Personalised tiles. With a larger budget, you can order tiles made for you: a monogram, or tiles that match the paint, finish or decor of the room. Buy the highest quality your budget allows. A custom tile only pays off if it lasts.

See the tile on your own floor first

A single tile in your hand tells you little about a whole floor or wall. Home Planner brings many tile options together in one place, for floors and for walls, so you can see and compare them easily. Measure your room, draw it as a 2D plan and see it in 3D. Then furnish it with products from well-known brands, render a realistic image, or start from a ready-made layout for a bedroom, a bathroom or a living room. It is free to start.