what does the grading of tiles mean

[lendini]

I haer quite alot on forums about grade 1 this grade 5 that when talking about tiles.What type of tile does this apply to and could someone shed some light on the reasons for grading them.If they are from manufacturer will they have grading on the box.What also is the grade scale .Many thanks in advance .

Fantastic forum by the way alot of helpful chaps helping me in my quest to start my business in november after completing my3 week course in uktilingcourses on febuary. Lee

[Dave]

Ceramic Tile Wear Ratings


Class 1 Rating (No foot traffic) - Recommended for wall use in residential and commercial applications only.


Class 2 Rating (Light traffic) - Recommended for both wall use and bathroom floor applications only.


Class 3 Rating (Light to moderate traffic) - Recommended for walls and floors where normal foot traffic is expected.


Class 4 Rating (Moderate to heavy traffic) - Recommended for all residential applications as well as medium commercial and light institutional.


Class 5 Rating (Heavy to extra heavy traffic) - Recommended for all residential as well as heavy commercial and institutional applications.


Most porcelain tiles on the market today will have a rating of 5, which makes them the hardest wearing of any tile you could possibly choose.

[GazTech]

Fully vitrified porcelain wear is 1mm per 100 yrs traffic......Gaz

[365drills]

Also there is a general scale of mineral hardness called the MOHS scale.


This classifies every mineral into a scale from 1 to 10. Its nothing to do with tile grades but I mention it here becuase if you need to cut porcelain tiles with a hardness grade of C5 then you need diamond drills which are grades MOHS-10

Best explaination of hardness is here


Richard

[davy_G]

Also there is a general scale of mineral hardness called the MOHS scale.


This classifies every mineral into a scale from 1 to 10. Its nothing to do with tile grades but I mention it here becuase if you need to cut porcelain tiles with a hardness grade of C5 then you need diamond drills which are grades MOHS-10

Best explaination of hardness is here


Richard

That takes me back to boring mineralogy lectures at uni when studying geology. Pity i didnt listen more!!

[JEC-CTD]

I can't think of any floor tiles we stock that are under a grade 4 off the top of my head.

[Steveo205]

Some of the Topps Tiles ones are grades 1 & 2