Porcelain tile

Porcelain is a ceramic fired hotter and pressed harder than ordinary ceramic tile, and the difference is the number that matters in Florida: it absorbs almost no water. That is why the same tile can run from a shower floor through the kitchen and out through the sliders onto a covered lanai without changing, and why it does not stain, fade or soften in a climate that punishes everything else.

In the showroom it is the largest set we carry — glazed and through-body, matte and polished, in the wood, stone, marble and concrete looks the material has become known for, from 12 × 24 formats up to the gauged panels that get their own collection. Every one of them stands upright at full size, because a three-inch chip of a dramatic pattern tells you nothing about how it reads across a floor.

Choosing within it comes down to three things we walk through with you: the slip rating for a floor that gets wet, the rectified edge for tight grout lines, and whether the substrate under it is ready. That last one is priced as its own line on every proposal, and it is where most tile jobs go right or wrong. Our own crews install what we sell, and the lead installer is CTEF-certified.