Ceramic tiles are made by firing clay at high temperatures. In the final stage of production, they can be calibrated or rectified. What are the differences between these methods and how do they affect the final product?
Tiles in the interior
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Tile calibration
Calibrating a tile is another way of sizing it. Just as in terms of color shade, tiles can also vary in dimension after they are removed from the kiln. That's why they are grouped into batches of the same caliber, which is listed on the package next to the nominal dimension. The difference is greater the larger the dimension of the tiles. With a format of 30×30 cm, the difference can be as much as 3 mm. Tile formats that do not have calibers have dimensional differences in accordance with Polish standards.
Tile calibration is very important when planning the width of joints, when laying the material and when combining tiles with different colors and surface finishes. It is also necessary because calibrated tiles are gently rounded. So we do not have the opportunity to create a smooth, uniform surface from them.
Calibrated and rectified tiles
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Rectification of tiles
Recently, manufacturers have been subjecting fired tiles to so-called rectification, which involves mechanically cutting them so that they have identical dimensions. These are suitable for creating almost jointless surfaces. However, due to the continuous work of the tile material and the risk of cracking, it is recommended to use minimum gaps of 1.5-2 mm. It will then be much easier to replace a single damaged tile. Only permanently elastic materials, which have the ability to deform under stress, should be used for installation and filling the gaps.
