Janet Kaiser on wed 7 feb 01
Dear Margaret
I cannot answer your durability question, but
the most important point your question raises
for me as the local tile freak, are the words
"other than being more slippery".
Floor tiles have to meet safety standards and
specifications which vary from country to
country. Depending on where they will be (i.e.
bathroom, kitchen, hallway, bedroom, patio) so
there are various recommended "grades" which
meet the DIN, BSS or other applicable local
standards.
A high gloss glaze is LETHAL on any floor tile
no matter where it is. A mere splash of liquid
and you have a potential leg/arm/wrist breaking
surface to slip on and slide across. Anyone who
has landed on their butt will also tell you that
your coccyx is also vulnerable to shiny floor
surfaces... Very painful indeed.
If you are in the US or other litigious
communities this would mean instant prosecution
for flaunting health and safety rules or a law
suit from the injured parties. Manufacturers of
such tiles would soon be sued out of business,
if they were irresponsible enough to produce
them.
All the manufactured tiles for indoors that I
have seen over the past couple of years have
been glazed, with the exception of quarry tiles
which are fully vitrified or self-glazing
stoneware.
Thinking about it a little more... Functional
i.e. domestic ware is used in quite a different
context. The durability of a pot versus a floor
is really not comparable, because they are used
and treated in two very different ways. Flooring
has to withstand abrasive ware and tare
alongside the odd knock daily but does not need
to withstand thermal shock, whereas a domestic
pot is not going to be attacked with wire wool
throughout its life but has to survive some
pretty rough treatment through washing, cooking,
boiling, handling, etc.
Janet Kaiser
The Chapel of Art . Capel Celfyddyd
HOME OF THE INTERNATIONAL POTTERS' PATH
Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales Tel: (01766) 523570
E-mail: postbox@the-coa.org.uk
WEBSITE: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
----- Original Message -----
What makes a glaze more durable?
I have been looking at ceramic floor tiles and
notice they are practically all glazed in matt
glazes, or at least have a matt surface.
I was under the impression that a shiny glaze,
one containing a lot of silica, that is a high
silica/alumina ratio was the most durable on
functional ware so why not for floor tiles too?
Other than it being more slippery, why the matt
glaze or are ceramic floor tiles not really
glazed at all?
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