WHY
A thorough knowledge of the characteristics and behaviour of ceramic floor and wall tile is a fundamental requisite in order to choose, lay and use them correctly. For this reason, the following summary is given of the European Norms, EN, lot-ceramic floor and wall tile, standards which the tile operator should know and use as all informative tool to aid in the evaluation of tile materials with which he must work.
The European Norms are in force in Europe for tile countries producing about 70% of the tile world production. Their importance and authority is moreover confirmed by the fact that EN Standards have been assumed as working drafts by ISO (International Standards Organization) for the preparation of World Norms lot-ceramic tile.
In the United States of America tile specifications are reported in ANSI A 137.1 - American National Standard Specifications for Ceramic Tile. In tile Table in the next page the correspondence is shown between EN and ASTM Standards, as far as test methods are concerned.
It is worthwhile to emphasize that the Standards on ceramic tile represent the basic reference in case of claims and controversies. |
WHAT
The European Standards deal with all types of ceramic floor and wall tile, dust-pressed and extruded, glazed and unglazed, all sizes and shapes, considered as being first quality tile. These standards can be subdivided as follows: |