Porcelain vs ceramic tile in a Florida house: where each one belongs

Porcelain vs ceramic tile is not a contest with one winner. In a Florida house, porcelain belongs on the floors, in the wet rooms and anywhere the tile runs out toward the lanai; ceramic is still a good choice for many walls, from a kitchen backsplash to the glazed tile around a shower. The difference comes down to how much water each one takes in, and that decides where each one goes.

It is a question we hear often in the showroom, usually from someone holding a sample in each hand that look exactly alike. They can look alike. What separates them is underneath the glaze.

What is the difference between porcelain and ceramic tile?

Both are fired clay. Porcelain is made from a finer, denser clay mix, pressed harder and fired hotter, until the body is close to glass inside. Ordinary ceramic tile is fired cooler from a coarser clay, so its body stays more open and porous.

The industry draws the line with a number, not a feeling. Under the American standard for ceramic tile, ANSI A137.1, a tile counts as porcelain only if it absorbs 0.5% of its own weight in water or less in a lab test. ANSI's own explanation of the definition sets out how that is measured. Anything above the line is ceramic, and wall tile is often well above it.

Two practical things follow from the density. Porcelain is heavier and harder, so it takes more effort to cut and to drill. Ceramic is lighter and softer, which makes it easier to shape around pipes and outlets and quicker to install on a wall.

Porcelain vs ceramic tile on a Florida floor

Most houses here sit on a concrete slab poured on the ground, and the ground holds moisture. That moisture moves up through the concrete as vapour whether you can see it or not. A dense porcelain body does not care. A more porous ceramic body can take some of it in.

On a floor, the porous body matters most where the glaze stops: at a cut edge, at a chip, and anywhere the tile is unglazed. Those are the places a spill, a pet accident or a wet mop can soak in and stain. With porcelain there is very little for it to soak into.

Then there is sand. It comes in on feet from the beach, the pool and the yard, and sand is an abrasive. Every step grinds it across the surface. The surface of a good glazed porcelain is harder than the sand tracked across it, and the dense body underneath does not mind a chip the way a porous one does. That is why porcelain is the default floor tile in coastal houses.

Ceramic floor tile does exist, and its glaze carries a wear class, the PEI rating, that tells you how much foot traffic it is made for. A low-rated ceramic is a wall tile, whatever the box shows. If you are offered ceramic for a kitchen or an entry floor, ask for that rating first.

Porcelain is also the tile that can carry on past the sliders. The same porcelain can run from the kitchen out onto a covered lanai in its wet-rated finish, so the two rooms read as one floor. Ceramic does not belong out there: a lanai under a screen still gets wind-driven rain, and we treat it as outdoor work.

Is porcelain or ceramic better for a bathroom?

For the floor, porcelain, and specifically one with a good wet slip figure. The trade test is ANSI A326.3, which gives a tile a measured number for a wet interior floor. Ask for the number rather than the word slip-resistant, which any surface can be called. A matte or textured finish usually carries a better wet figure than a polished one.

For the walls, either can work, and this is where ceramic earns its place. A shower is waterproof because of the bonded membrane behind the tile, not because of the tile itself. With that membrane in place, a glazed ceramic wall tile in a shower is a sound choice, and ceramic often comes in glazes, colours and handmade looks that porcelain does not.

The shower floor is its own case. It has to fall to the drain, so it is usually a small porcelain mosaic with many joints underfoot. Our bathroom tile collection is built around exactly that split: slip-rated porcelain underfoot, and the walls chosen for how they look.

Where is ceramic tile still the right choice?

Ceramic is not the lesser tile. On a lot of walls it is the right one:

• Kitchen backsplashes, where the tile is splashed rather than walked on and a bright glaze does the work.
• Bathroom and shower walls behind a proper membrane, where a lighter tile is easier to cut neatly around fixtures.
• Feature walls and niches, where a handmade or glossy glazed look is the whole point.
• Subway tile and other classic wall formats, many of which are made as ceramic.

Its softer body is also kinder to cut into small, detailed pieces, which helps on a wall full of corners. What it should not do is go on a floor that gets wet, gets sand, or runs outside.

How do I tell porcelain and ceramic apart?

Not always by looking. A glazed porcelain and a glazed ceramic can be printed with the same marble or wood look. Three things help:

1. Turn it over. A porcelain body is usually dense and fine-grained on the back and at a broken edge. Ceramic is often a coarser, chalkier body that looks more open.
2. Feel the weight. Of two tiles the same size, the porcelain one is noticeably heavier.
3. Ask for the classification. Porcelain that has been independently tested can carry the mark of the Porcelain Tile Certification Agency, and a tile's spec sheet will state its water absorption.

Then take samples home. A tile looks different at noon beside a west-facing window than it does under showroom light, and you can borrow sample boards and live with them before you decide.

Does porcelain change how the tile is installed?

Yes, a little, and it is worth knowing why. Because porcelain absorbs so little water, the mortar under it cannot grip it by soaking into the back the way it does with a porous ceramic. It needs a setting mortar made for dense tile, and full coverage across the back, which matters more as the tile gets bigger. Large-format porcelain panels vs. ordinary tile explains why size raises the stakes.

Porcelain is also cut with diamond blades rather than scored and snapped, and it takes the right bit and some patience to drill for a towel bar. None of that is a reason to avoid it. It is a reason to have it installed by people who handle it routinely. Our tile installation crew installs ceramic, porcelain, stone and mosaic, and the crew is ours. We sell it and we install it, so the person who helped you choose the tile is talking to the people who put it down.

The short answer for a Florida house

If it is a floor, especially a wet one, a kitchen, or a room that opens to the lanai: porcelain. The porcelain tile in our showroom stands upright at full size, so you can see how a pattern reads across a whole floor rather than a three-inch chip.

If it is a wall that stays dry, or one that sits behind a waterproofing membrane: ceramic is a fair choice, and often the one with the colour you want. If you are deciding a whole house, the floor question starts with the slab, and the best flooring for a Florida house goes through it room by room.

Bring the room you are working on, a photo or a plan, and we will walk you through which tile goes where before anything is ordered. The showroom is at 6823 14th St W in Bradenton, or call (941) 253-0400. When you are ready, send us your plans for a quote.