Porcelain Information
- Order time for Non Stock porcelain is normally 3-4 weeks, please check when ordering.
- Porcelain orders have additional delays in August as the Italian factories are closed for holidays.
- It is recommended you purchase between 5 to 10% more than the calculated area, to ensure you have a sufficient tiles for cuts. The exact surplus will vary dependent on the size and the complexity of the project. If you do have to order additional material there may be a high cost to cover the additional haulage charges.
- All porcelain tiles are batch manufactured. If there are different sizes/thicknesses/finishes being used there may be differences in colour.**
- When looking at our small samples please be aware that this tile will be from a different batch, so there will be a slight difference in colour to the tiles that we supply.**
- 10 and 20mm thick porcelain are suitable external use. Please ask for laying guide as the technique for laying is different.
- Please check with the landscaper to ensure that he is confident with the detail of the two base materials methods as he will require specialist materials.
- Porcelain does not require sealing.
- Any non-stock tiles cannot be returned due to "Batch Production" unless there is a manufacturing fault or defect.
- Please ensure that you keep a few spare tiles.
- In all tile designs there are only a limited number of unique tiles, you will get repeat designs. If this is a major problem please choose a design with gentle variations and keep the repeats away from each other when laying.
**BATCHING
Porcelain tiles are manufactured in large batches. This is common in the landscape industry and includes other products for example Bricks, Block Paving and Concrete Slabs. The resultant variation in colour is created by microscopic variations in the quantity of inks blended together, and the temperature of the Kiln. These "Batch Runs" are well documented and all of the boxes show the reference number.
Recommended Strategies
For orders from stock please ensure that all the pallets of tiles are mixed together when laid.
or
Ensure all the tiles you have receive have the same batch number/code. Once laid we cannot accept responsibility.
or
If not all the same, ensure the batches are mixed to minimise any potential obvious colour variation. Again, once laid we cannot accept responsibility.
Keep a few spare tiles in a safe area to use in case of damage.