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Discuss Tile water absorbtion experiment in the UK Tiling Forum | Tiling Advice area at TilersForums. USA and UK Tiling Forum

Q

Qwerty

Following on from the discussion in another thread about not fitting ceramic tiles in a shower/ bathroom I have decided to conduct a little experiment.

I plan on testinghow much water tiles absorb.

I have 3 tiles to test-
-Glazed ceramic (10mm)
-Soft glazed Grade 3 Porcelain (11mm)
-Full bodied Grade 5 Porcelain (10mm)

Each tile weighs 304 grams so the water absorbtion will be easier to see and calculate as a %.

I will submerge the pieces for 24hrs then remove, wipe down excess and weigh. I will record each weight and then boil all 3 pieces for 15 mins. Somebody suggested water absorbtion for Porcelain is under boiling water so in the interests of fairness I will blast them for 15 mins to see if that makes any difference.

This could be a total failure and prove nothing but I have a feeling not.

Let the experiment commence!!! :D:)

Tile 1
20170429_193913.jpg


Tile 2
20170429_193829.jpg


Tile 3
20170429_193817.jpg



Tiles submerged at 8pm last night....

20170429_202028.jpg



And no, a Rubi wasn't used to cut Tile 2...... I had to chip of a gram to make the weight even !!!!!
 

Andy Allen

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Are you totally submerging them or just one end..?

BTW .....good on you and look forward to the results.

(Hope you had a white coat on, ear defenders and safety glasses)...:)
 
OP
Q

Qwerty

Haha, no I forgot the white coat. White pants count? :D

Yes, tiles fully submerged (you can even see the bubble on the edge of Tile 1) and No, scales not stuck!!!!
 
OP
F

Flintstone

I've left off cuts of ceramic outside before and when I've gone back to them after a few rainy days, you could see the moisture in them from the face, behind the glaze, be good to compare that ceramic to a dry ceramic for appearance
 

Kyle Knowles

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I was thinking about it but I've not got any weights to use to find the breaking point or even a torque wrench to get breaking force
 

Bathfix Bob

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Good work Plan Tec

I would also like to see tests done on flexible adhesives and grout and what they actually mean by 'flexible'.
I mean say you tile and peice of plasterboard lent up against the garage wall and then bend it I can't see the grout taking much punishment to crack it.
 
OP
Q

Qwerty

After a 36 hour soak, the test results are in!!!!....

-Glazed ceramic 43 grams heavier
(14.14% absorbtion)

20170501_084529.jpg



-Soft glazed Grade 3 Porcelain 1 gram heavier (0.33% absorbtion)

20170501_084458.jpg



-Full bodied Grade 5 Porcelain 0 grams heavier (0% absorbtion)

20170501_084441.jpg



In all quite an interesting test. To be honest the ceramic tile is not as porous as some (metros for example!) But you can clearly see the denser the tile, the less water it absorbs!

I will boil them tonight, but I personally don't think it will make any difference.

I will then let them dry out and measure the time it takes to reach dry weight!

I fancy watching paint dry after that!! :D
 
OP
I

Italy

some years ago, have had a client, that has put the tiles of the balcony, in the freezer for 15 days.
he wanted to see, if they withstood the cold. :( I have asked him if you/he had put her in water before, him to said of no.
and then it is useless.
 
OP
M

MTiler

Surely just the front of the tiles shouldve been exposed to water as thats all that is exposed in a bathroom/shower? What does soaking them prove in regards to tiling?
 

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