The technical properties are of fundamental importance in the choice of tiles, since it is on these that the performance and durability of the tiling depend.
Properties of Regularity
These properties determine the suitability of the tiles to create a regular tiling. Regularity depends on the dimensional characteristics and appearance of the tiles, and may be influenced by the shaping method and by porosity.
Shaping by extrusion usually allows for a less accurate control of dimensional characteristics, as compared to pressure shaping. Smoother and more uniform surfaces can also be obtained with pressed tiles.
Structural properties
These properties describe the structure of the material of which the tile is composed. The main structural characteristic is water absorption, which measures the porosity of the product.
Massive mechanical properties
Particularly important properties for floors, they define the resistance to loads to which the tiled surface will be subjected. The mechanical properties that are measured in tiles are the flexural modulus of rupture, which depends on the material’s water absorption, the flexural breaking strength, linked to both the water absorption and the thickness of the tile, and the impact resistance.
Surface mechanical properties
These properties refer to the surface of the tile. The most important is resistance to abrasion, which measures a tile’s tendency to wear (in the case of unglazed tiles) or to alter its appearance (in the case of glazed tiles) as a result of wear.
For unglazed tiles, this property depends on water absorption, while for glazed tiles it is linked exclusively to the composition of the glaze. |  | | 
 | Anti-static properties and behaviour in a fire
Ceramic tiles and user safety |
| The manufacturing process
How ceramic tiles are formed |
| Technical properties
Get to know tiles to make best use of them |
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