Vitrified or ceramic: which floor tile
Vitrified tile absorbs almost no water and is harder; ceramic absorbs more and is cheaper. For a floor that gets walked on and wet, buy vitrified. For a wall, ceramic is often the better buy.
The one number that separates them
Water absorption. Vitrified tile is fired hotter with a higher silica content, until the body effectively glasses over — under 0.5% absorption, the threshold IS 15622 uses. Ceramic sits well above it, commonly 3% to 10% or more.
A body that takes in water is a body that stains from underneath, weakens where it is soaked, and — in a climate that cycles between soaking and drying — moves. That is the whole argument.
Where each one belongs
| Use | Buy |
|---|---|
| Living room, bedroom, passage floors | Vitrified |
| Kitchen and bathroom floors | Vitrified, anti-skid |
| Balconies, terraces, anything open to the monsoon | Vitrified, anti-skid |
| Bathroom and kitchen walls | Ceramic is fine, and lighter to fix |
| Shops, offices, anywhere with trolleys or heavy footfall | Full-body vitrified |
Ceramic on a wall is not a compromise. Walls are not walked on, wall tile is thinner and easier to fix, and the money saved is real.
The vitrified sub-types, in plain terms
- Glazed vitrified (GVT / PGVT). A vitrified body with a printed and glazed surface. This is most of what you see — it is how a tile gets a convincing marble or wood face. The pattern lives in the glaze.
- Full-body. The colour runs all the way through, so a chip shows the same colour rather than a pale scar. Fewer patterns, more durability. Worth it where trolleys, grit or heavy traffic will be.
- Double-charge. Two layers of pigment pressed together, giving 3–4 mm of pattern depth. A middle ground: tougher than glazed, cheaper than full-body, limited to simpler designs.
Two things people get wrong
Gloss is not strength. A polished finish is about light, not durability — and on a floor it shows scratches and footprints sooner than a matt one. Choose the finish for the room, and the body for the job.
Thicker is not automatically better. Body and firing decide how a tile wears. An 8 mm vitrified tile outlasts a 10 mm ceramic one on a floor.