Ceramic Tile Hardness Ratings

The tiles are rated from a soft 1 or talc to 10.

Ceramic tile hardness ratings.

Each tile rating or class includes recommendations for use and installation. The pei rating indicates the tile hardness and these ratings are valuable to help in tile choices for different projects. You can use a mohs hardness kit that uses different minerals to determine the hardness of a tile body or glaze by scratching it with the mineral. In other words shore hardness is a measurement of a product s ability to resist a concentrated pressing load.

A car tire has a shore type d hardness rating of 15 while a hardhat has a hardness rating of 80. The pei rating is and indication of tile hardness and pei floor ratings are valuable to guide tile choices for different projects. Hardness and durability pei rating. These ratings are the pei rating shade variation v rating and slip rating.

How do pei ratings differ. The following ratings have been developed to indicate the level of wear resistance you can expect from your chosen porcelain tiles. Hardness of some common items on the mohs scale. The scale ranges from one to five with five being the strongest and most durable.

Glazed and unglazed tiles are rated for scratch resistance and hardness via the mohs scratch test. Wear ratings help you determine what tiles are a good match with different levels of foot traffic. 2 2 5 fingernail 2 5 3 gold or silver jewelry 3 3 5 copper coin 4 5 iron 5 6 b2b ceramic tile 5 5 steel knife blade 6 7 glass 6 5 steel nail 7 b1a porcelain tile 7 hardened steel file 8 5 masonry drill bit 9 quartz crystal 10 diamond. Pei rating is an abrasion test performed on glazed porcelain and ceramic tiles.

To give the consumer a relative measurement of scratch resistance of tile and stone manufacturers and suppliers use the moh s hardness scale. Tiles with a wear rating of 0 are not recommended for use on floors and are therefore rated w0. In hard surface products i e ceramic tile porcelain tile stone tile etc movement joints may require a hard caulk. There are different ratings for tiles that determine if the tile is suitable for installation in the chosen area.

Use the right tile for the right surface and you ll be a happy consumer. The moh s scale uses ten fairly common minerals of known hardness and gives each of them a relative value of 1 10. It should be noted that the pei rating involves testing of only the surface wear layer of a tile s enamel glazing. The pei categorization primarily defines the hardness and durability of the various ceramic products that are tested.

Ceramic and porcelain tiles are rated though most people seem to be more concerned about the pei rating of ceramic tile. It does not measure the fracture strength of the entire tile nor does it offer any rating of the slip resistance of the tile.