Tile & Stone

Porcelain Tile

A dense, low-porosity ceramic fired at high temperature, strong and water-resistant enough for floors, wet areas, and outdoor use.

Best for

Bathroom floors and walls
Outdoor patios (frost-resistant grades)
High-traffic areas needing scratch and stain resistance

Avoid when

DIY installers without a wet saw rated for dense tile — porcelain is harder to cut than ceramic

Why it survives outdoors and ceramic doesn't

Porcelain's low porosity means it absorbs almost no water, so it doesn't crack when water freezes inside it — check for a specific frost-rated grade before using it outside in a cold climate.

Cutting needs the right blade

A standard ceramic tile blade will chip or fail to cut porcelain cleanly. Use a diamond wet saw blade rated for porcelain, and expect slower cutting than with ceramic.

Put this into practice

Tile and Grout CalculatorHow many tiles, and how much adhesive and grout?

More material guides

Ceramic TileA clay-based tile fired at a lower temperature than porcelain, easier to cut and generally cheaper, best suited to walls and light-traffic floors.
Grout (Sanded & Unsanded)The cement- or epoxy-based filler between tiles that keeps water out of the joint and locks the tile layout together.