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Cost of the material
With little exception, ceramic tile is going to be
the least expensive of the three, followed by
porcelain and then natural stone
Chipping
Porcelain relatively speaking is the hardest of
the three materials. Stone can be softer, however
the nature of ceramic makes it the easiest to
chip. Stone is colored through so a chip isn't as
noticeable, with ceramic the chip will usually
stand out like a beacon. Porcelain has a more
expensive family of through-body porcelain, where
the color is contain through the body of the
porcelain, however the variety of patterns and
colors is limited
Installation
Without a doubt ceramic tile is the least
expensive to install, it has great forgivingness
and can be installed with the simplest of
thinsets. Porcelain takes more care, requires more
expensive thinsets, more expensive tools and much
more careful installation due to the nature of the
material and it's resistance to adhesion unless it
is installed correctly. Stone is by far the most
expensive to install, with additional labor
required for pre-sealing of the stone if required,
the thicker thinsets because of the irregularity
of the material and the more expensive thinsets
required. It's probably not common knowledge to
homeowners but some marble will actually curl and
warp if the wrong thinset is applied to it. Looks
or esthetic Value
Stone has a look of it's own, it is ageless and
timeless and beautiful. When it comes to
porcelain, the best porcelain is usually judged by
how well it mimics natural stone. Ceramic when it
tries to mimic a natural product fails miserably,
ceramic has a look of it's own and it's best to
use ceramic for what it is known for which is
richer solid man-made colors that are not trying
to look like a natural stone material.
Variety
This is an interesting criteria. Looking at stone
you could say since it's a natural product that
the variety is endless, however while there are
endless variations of colors, veining and such
there are definitely a finite amount of varieties
of stone, from slate to marble to granite. The
variations in the different families of stone, are
what makes it so versatile. Porcelain we would
consider the work horse of tile with a large
amount of variety, but all trying to mimic natural
stone. Ceramic while there is a multitude of
'artsy' one-off ceramics the selection of ceramic
is pretty limited to mimicking the popular colors
of the color palette. Maintenance
Good quality ceramic floor tiles will not wear out
easily. Porcelain can be considered as providing
the same esthetics of stone without the problems.
Stone's ability to be trouble free depends a lot
upon the end users initial choices, honed will be
more trouble free then polished, granite will be
more trouble free then a soft marble. The
maintenance issues of stone products are relative
to the end user's expectations and understandings
of the material and how it will be used. Moisture
Resistance
Stone can range from moisture resistant to
moisture sensitive. Ceramic tile tends to have a
moisture gain from between 3%-7% of it's weight.
Porcelain by contrast is considered impervious to
moisture, meaning it is limited to a moisture gain
of no more than 1/2 percent of it's weight. This
impervious nature is one of the factors that make
it more expensive to install than ceramic tile,
porcelain with hardly any pores and thinsets
work by bonding to pores makes porcelain
installation a less forgiving process. Refinishing
Not an often thought of factor and for many not an
option. However, a stone floor can easily be
reground in place, honed or polished again
and look brand new. A through body porcelain can
go through this process also. Ceramic has no
option.
Consistency
Ceramic and stone are on opposite ends of this
scale. Stone is a natural product and variations
in color, texture and appearance are what gives
stone it's natural appeal. If you like stone, you
better be a fan of natural variation. Porcelain
will straddle this line depending upon the style
of porcelain you are looking at. Some porcelain is
made on purpose to have a lot of variation and
some is made to have more consistency. Ceramic
will be the most consistent of all. After all a
box of 4 inch white ceramic tile is the pinnacle
of consistency. Quality
Control
Stone definitely has the potential for the most
problems in this regard. Stone isn't manufactured
in a factory but quarried and resold, which always
opens the door to problems of quality when new
quarries are being bought from usually from the
other side of the world.
Exterior Applications
Stone if often considered the superior material
for outdoor applications, however certain grades
of porcelain are just as advantageous if not more.
Ceramics are not suitable.
Status
Yes, there are people who choose materials for
many reasons and there is nothing wrong with it.
Stone has no equal in this department. It is
considered the finest material so it leads the
pack. Stone is considered a one-of-a-kind
material, no two projects will be identical, each
will have it's own character and be uniquely
different, exotic and beautiful, stone will age
gracefully and change with time. No matter how
close porcelain comes to mimicking stone, it is
not ever going to be stone. The fact that people
often choose porcelain based on how well it mimics
stone should tell you that stone is the material
used to judge all others.
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