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ANTIBACTERIAL
Our floor and wall coverings incorporate Microban® technology, the world’s leading antimicrobial technology, to guarantee, besides beauty and durability of our ceramic products, biological safety for our living, leisure and working environments.
- POWERFUL ACTION - eliminates up to 99.9% of bacteria
The technology used in PROTECT® products, based on silver ions, blocks the metabolism of bacteria and helps prevent their growth and reproduction on the treated surface.
- CONTINUOUS PROTECTION - 24 hours a day
Unlike other technologies, such as those based on the use of Titanium Dioxide, the protective shield is always active, day and night, with or without sunlight and it does not need UV rays for activation.
- ETERNAL EFFECTIVENESS thanks to technology integrated into the product
Silver ions, permanently integrated into the tile at the moment of firing, are active throughout the life cycle of the product and always guarantee a high level of protection between cleaning operations.
- GUARANTEED QUALITY by the partnership with Microban®
PROTECT® is guaranteed by the partnership with Microban®, the world’s leading company in the use of antimicrobial technology applied to numerous sectors and products. Furthermore it complies with international safety regulations and it is tested by specialized independent laboratories.
See Catalogue -
Amaciado
With half the polishing process, this product reflects the light but not the image, has a smooth surface and is always rectified.
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Anti-slip
Product with a rough surface, through the application of texture and/or gravel, which gives it anti-slip properties; the higher the R value, the more anti-slip the material is.
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Back
Back of a ceramic tile.
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Batch
Indicates the shade of colour that characterises a certain production.
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Black Heart
The material may sometimes have a different colour throughout its thickness as a result of the degasification of the tile during the production phase. These are accumulated gases which were not eliminated. This situation in no way interferes with the technical characteristics of the tile.
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Bullnose
Curved finish, used at the tops of skirting boards and steps.
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Bullnose Skirting Board
Skirting board with a bullnose top and a straight base. Laid on top of the material used for the flooring.
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Caliber
Dimensional tolerance for tiles from the same production batch, normally expressed in centre measurement +/- tolerance.
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Chemical resistance
Measures the capacity of the ceramic tiles to withstand attacks from acids or bases.
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Choice
Type of choice that reflects the quality of the product:
1st choice - ceramic tiles with no defects.
Commercial - ceramic tiles with slight visual defects.
3rd choice - ceramic tiles with defects. -
Clay
This is the raw material used to produce ceramics. Its main properties are: plasticity, hardening during drying, becoming rigid after firing, shrinkage during drying and firing.
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Coating
Material applied on the walls.
Coating meets aesthetic requirements, but also has technical functions as it provides greater impermeability to the wall.
Coatings can be applied indoors or outdoors depending on their characteristics. In the latter case, they must be particularly resistant to atmospheric agents to avoid deterioration of the surface over time. -
Colour Shades
Colour of the tiles (darker or lighter).
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Coloured Full Body Porcelain
Low-absorption ceramic applicable in a moderate commercial context.
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Curved Skirting Board
Skirting board with a curved based designed so as not to accumulate dirt and to facilitate cleaning. Normally used in hospital, laboratories and industrial kitchens. Laid directly on the floor against the base tile.
Note: there may be differences in shades from the base ceramic tile as a different production method is used. -
Deep Abrasion
Measures the resistance to wear and tear. The lower this value, the more resistant the ceramic tile.
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Dimension
The production batches may have inevitable differences in sizes, which in no way affect the application of the material with the corresponding minimum joint.
The dimensions shown in catalogues and on boxes are the nominal measurements. The real measurements should be consulted in the table of calibres -
Flatness
Also known as warping.
Due to the manufacturing process, ceramic tiles are always curved. This curvature can be concave or convex. -
Flooring
Material applied to the floor.
Flooring meets aesthetic requirements, but also has technical functions, as it can provide the floor with the necessary protection to withstand the various demands to which it will exposed to.
Floorings can be applied indoors or outdoors depending on their characteristics. In the latter case, they must be particularly resistant to atmospheric agents to avoid deterioration of the surface over time. -
Frost resistance
Measures the resistance capacity of ceramic tiles to the action of frost in humid environments and with temperatures below 0ºC.
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Glazed Porcelain
Low-absorption ceramic for any moderate traffic residential or commercial application.
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Grooved
This is a 2 mm deep cut in tiles. It is used on steps and helps to create friction.
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Grooved Stair Tread
Part of a step with negative inserts.
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Joint
This is the space between two or more ceramic tiles.
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Linear Thermal Expansion Coefficient
This is the reversible dimensional variation that any material may undergo when exposed to higher temperatures.
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Micro-bevelled
0.3 mm edge located at the top of the tile.
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Modularity
Possibility of using tiles of different sizes, respecting a joint of 2 mm.
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Natural
Final firing stage, with a dry touch and non rectified sharp edges.
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Natural Rectified
The same finish as the natural product but with rectified edges.
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Orthogonality
Indicates if the ceramic edges are perpendicular to each other.
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Peripheral joints
These are used at the junction between flooring and paving and walls. Save rare exceptions, a joint of at least 3 mm should be left between the last row of tiles and walls or vertical beams. This joint includes the grouting. It can be ignored for work surfaces smaller than 7 m2.
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Polished
Shiny surface due to a process of grinding using polishing grindstones, an identical process to that of natural stone. It causes a mirror effect. It is always rectified.
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Rectilinearity of the edges
Indicates if the sides of the ceramic tiles are straight.
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Resistance to bending
Measures the capacity of the ceramic tile to bear static and dynamic loads. The higher this value in N/mm2, the more resistant the ceramic tile.
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Resistance to slipping
This is a safety characteristic which evaluates the friction coefficient between two surfaces. It is mainly expressed through 2 standards: DIN 51130 and DIN 51097.
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Resistance to stains
Measures how easily the ceramic tiles become stained. This characteristic is especially important for polished tiles. Elements such as graphite, bright/dark coloured mortar and colour markers can irreversibly stain ceramic tiles.
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Settlement joints
Apart from the aesthetic effect, the function of these joints is to absorb deformation produced in the supports; to prevent the development of tension between the ceramic tiles; to mitigate some technical characteristics inherent to the material, in particular different curvatures and small differences in size, thus making it easier to lay and remove the tiles.
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Shade Variation
The colour shades of the ceramic tiles change from tile to tile according to the type of product.
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Single firing
Manufacturing process for ceramic tiles fired once only.
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Stair riser
Front-facing part between steps, positioned vertically.
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Step strengthened with stainless steel
This is a step where the lip is thicker than the tile, with two stainless steel inserts.
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Strengthened Step
This is a step where the lip is thicker than the tile.
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Thickness
This indicates the height of the tile.
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Touch
Material with a soft-touch matt finish. Always rectified.
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Triple-fired
Technique normally used for decorative tiles.
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Water Absorption
This expresses the porosity of the tiles. This characteristic is fundamental as it distinguishes the type of ceramics (e.g. low absorption tiles will be classed as porcelain stoneware while higher porosity is typical of single-fired coverings).
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White body
Ceramic wall tile for interior applications only.
