Ceramic tiles are just thin pieces of clay, generally with a colour or pattern on the face, covered using a glaze and fired to create a surface that's really hard-wearing, waterproof and stain-resistant. The surface may well be smooth or textured.

Tiles come in squares, generally 4-1/4in (108mm) or 6in (152mm) square, oblongs in addition to a tiny array of interlocking shapes. Some tiles are sold in metric sizes - 100mm, 150mm and 200mm, for instance.

Originally, ceramic tiles had unglazed square edges, and particular border tiles with 1 or two rounded edges had to be utilised to finish off in the edges of tiled places. Now, square-edged tiles are often glazed on all 4 sides, or some tiles within a box have one or two glazed edges. "Universal' tiles have angled edges so that there's no want for spacers - the appropriate size of gap is left for grouting.

Two sorts of plastic spacer are readily available for use with square-edged tiles which have no spacer lugs. Both are cruciform in shape and are tilted in to the junction in between four tiles (or two on a border); a single type is removed after the adhesive has set; the other is smaller and left in place. An alternative will be to use match slicks positioned in between adjacent tiles.

For finishing off the edges of locations of ceramic tiling, you will get a plastic trim, aspect of which fits beneath the edge with the last tile. For internal corners (subsequent to a bath, say), matching quadrant tiles is often applied, and there is a particular trim for sealing the gap amongst tiles and a kitchen worktop. Flexible silicon sealants may also be made use of for each these jobs.

Special-purpose ceramic tiles are also obtainable heat-resistant tiles for around fireplaces and next to boilers and frost-resistant tiles for unheated outdoors WCs, as an example.

Fixing tiles is relatively straightforward, though it can be time-consuming. They need to be stuck towards the wall having a particular ceramic tile adhesive, as well as the gaps between the tiles really should be filled in with hard-setting waterproof compound known as grout.

A tiled surface is often a cold a single, and so in humid rooms it could endure from condensation.

Cork tiles are made by slicing up pressed layers of the bark of a cork tree to generate thin panels. Most are 300mm square and about 3mm thick, but oblong panels are also available.

The surface of cork tiles is warm for the touch, but unless it's scaled (cork floor tiles, for instance) it marks effortlessly and isn't effortlessly cleaned. Tiles can be stuck for the wall with cork tile adhesive or make contact with adhesive, which makes them relatively quick to repair but practically impossible to get rid of later.

Metallic tiles are created from thin metal sheets and have hollow backs. They could be fixed for the wall with double-sided self-adhesive pads or with an adhesive. Most metallic tiles may be cut to shape with scissors though tin snips may perhaps be essential for the tougher ones. Metallic tiles may also be bent to shape. The tiles are usually coloured gold, silver or copper and may have a matt or semi-gloss finish. Additionally, the metallic effect may be overprinted using a pattern or a person design. Sizes are 108mm, 150mm or 300mm square. The durability of metallic tiles varies from brand to brand - some are affected by steam. Most are broken by abrasive cleaners.

Mirror tiles are tiny squares of silvered glass, normally 152mm or 230mm square. Most are clear glass, but there is a selection of silver, bronze or smoke-grey finish. They're ordinarily utilized for decorating the backs of alcoves and equivalent smaller areas, and are fixed for the wall with tiny double-sided self-adhesive pads. Unless the surface to which they are fixed is completely flat and true, a distorted reflection is produced in the surface on the tiles.

Brick and stone tiles are man-made simulations of genuine brick and stone. Some are actually wafer-thin pieces of pressed stone aggregate or slivers of brick. Most types are stuck to the wall with particular adhesive. A wide selection of colours, shapes and sizes is obtainable.

Mosaics are tiny pieces of ceramic tile, ordinarily square, even though round and interlocking shapes are also out there. The pieces are mounted in sheets, held with each other by a paper facing material that is certainly peeled off when the mosaics happen to be stuck towards the wall or mounted on a mesh backing. The gaps in between the mosaic pieces can then be tilled with grout, as for ceramic tiles. The surface in the mosaics is hard-wearing and straightforward to clean, even though the grouting may well progressively come to be marked.

Mosaics are simple to repair in place, particularly around obstacles, since the sheets is often cut about to the desired profile and minor irregularities can be taken up with all the grouting, or with cut pieces of mosaic. They are, even so, comparatively high priced.