- In this video you'll learn about the differences
between ceramic and porcelain tile,
when you should use 'em, pricing, and more.
That's coming right up.
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So today, I'm joined by Rebecca Hotchkiss,
interior designer with Brookfield Residential
and the question we're gonna answer is
What is the difference between ceramic and porcelain tile?
So Rebecca, what is the difference
and when would you use one or the other?
- There are a few differences,
both of them are probably your most popular tiles
you're gonna see around the home,
they're both quite durable,
they're both available in lots of different colors
and right off the bat we have a porcelain here.
The porcelain is a little bit more durable,
little bit more dense, the ceramic being
a little bit more porous,
it's something you may not want
to put in areas where you'll have
something like water sitting a lot.
Having said that you can even use a porcelain outside
because it's nonporous, you don't have
to worry about freezing, that kind of thing.
Whereas something like this,
with the temperature changes,
you don't want to get too cold, too hot, that kinda thing.
- So would ceramic be something
you'd more put inside your home rather than outside?
- Yep, for sure you would not put this outside at all.
Both of them are very common within your home, though.
- In terms of maintenance and ease to clean, same?
- Yep, I would say they're both pretty similar,
I mean you can get different finishes
of each tile being kind of a matte,
this one here here has a little bit of texture,
this one here is very polished, so polished,
it's just a little bit more finicky
you see fingerprints, footprints, that kinda thing.
Keeping it clean, they're both pretty much the same,
it really just depends on the finish that you have.
- Is there a special way of cleaning
one or the other or is it simple mop?
- Yep, I would say the same, very simple,
you don't have to worry about
kind of sealing or anything like that.
Low maintenance, we recommend them for kids,
pets, that kinda thing all over the home.
- Is it easier to scratch one or the other?
- Not necessarily, I think some of it
does boil down to the finish that you have.
So I mean, you would see a scratch a lot more
on this sort of polished finish than you would on this.
It's not that it's scratching it easier,
it's just what you can notice a little bit more.
- Do you need to reseal it or refinish it?
- Nope, you don't have to worry about refinishing it.
This is kinda your final finish that you see
so you don't have to worry about that,
especially ones with textures and patterns,
you wouldn't want to do anything to them.
- Which is better for bathrooms
and kitchens or could you do both?
- Like I said, if you have water sitting
in the shower floor something like that
you may not want to use something like a ceramic,
you may want to stick more to the porcelain
just because of that nonporous aspect.
- Could you do anything to keep it from scratches,
it's just the type of finish?
- Again the type of finish I think
would be your biggest component there.
You wouldn't really wanna drop something big
on either of them, they are tile,
but this one having a little bit
more durability and rigidity.
I would say that you'd be a little better off
with this one if you did want
to prevent scratching and that kinda thing.
- How bout for walls versus floors, same kind of?
- Same thing, I mean walls you don't get nearly
as much wear and tear as you do on the floor,
so sticking with something polished
you could definitely do that on the wall,
I wouldn't do that on the floor,
but again both are just fine for either application.
- So when you wanna put some,
like I remember you said porcelain probably better
for outside because ceramic probably doesn't do well
with the weather, where would you put porcelain?
- I mean, some people do it on back patios.
Inside, outside spaces, you can even see one here,
it's kind of got a little bit of a pattern,
some people like to do that
to make a space a little bit more fun.
This one even has an aged look,
Porcelain is a tile that's been around
for a very, very long time
so back in the day you used
to see kind of with wear and tear
you'd get patina look, which is kind
of a representation of what we have here.
- Perfect, do you have anything else
to add in terms of porcelain versus ceramic?
- I think a lot of it boils down
to how much you want to spend for a specific area,
both will look beautiful at the end of the day.
- Oh, I forgot to mention,
how often do you need to replace one or the other?
- You don't really need to worry about replacing them
unless you damage them in a specific instance,
but then again you can always do your best
to pull up a tile and replace it as you need.
- Perfect, so the question of the day I have for you is
Did you use porcelain or ceramic in your home
and why and did you notice any pros and cons
with the different material?
Let us know in the description below.
So if you wanna know more about tiles,
we've got a great playlist here as well
as other videos on interior design right here,
I'll see you in our next video.