Ansi A137.1-2008

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Aesthetic Class:

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A value assigned by the producer to a tile series (V0, V1, V2, V3, or V4). The letter ‘V’ indicates “variation,” with the numbers quantifying the degree of variation of overall color and/or texture. The color can vary in intensity, brightness, hue, and saturation, or by pattern variation. This value is intended to give an indication of what a consumer can visually expect for a specific product.

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Basis for Acceptance:

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The method of determining whether a lot of ceramic tile is acceptable under these specifications.

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Caliber Range:

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An acceptable size range for tiles to be used in the same installation.

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Calibrated Tile:

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Tiles that have been sorted to meet a manufacturer’s stated caliber range.

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Ceramic Mosaic Tile:

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Tile, usually 1⁄4 inch (6.35 mm) to 3/8 inch thick (9.53 mm), and having a facial area of less than 9 inch2 (228.6 mm2). Such tiles are typically mounted in sheets or strips with other mosaic tiles.

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Commercial Flooring:

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Flooring areas that are subjected to considerable traffic and abrasive soil. Some examples of

these would be: entrances, workrooms, inns, exhibition halls, and salesrooms.

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Decorative Tile:

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A tile that is suitable for decorative use where the aesthetic value may outweigh one or more physical properties including, but not limited to: breaking strength, chemical resistance, or crazing resistance. Such a tile is generally used for interior decorative wall applications.

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Edge-bonded Tile:

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Same as Pre-Grouted Tile. A surfacing unit consisting of an assembly of ceramic tiles bonded together at their edges by a material, generally elastomeric, which seals the joints completely. Such material (grout) may fill the joint completely or partially and may cover all, a portion, or none of the back surfaces of the tiles in the sheets. The perimeter of these factory pre-grouted sheets may include the entire or part of the joint between the sheets or none at all. The term “edge-bonded tile” is sometimes used to designate a particular type of pre-grouted tile sheets having the front and back surfaces completely exposed.

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Facial Defect:

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The portion of the facial surface of the tile which is readily observed to be nonconforming and which will detract from the appearance or serviceability of the installed tile. Examples of such defects include, but are not limited to: pinholes, contaminants, chips, cracks, scratches, and glaze application errors.

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Field Tile:

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A general term for the tile used in the majority of an installation.

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Floor Tile:

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A manufacturer specified ceramic tile primarily for use on floors, but also suitable for use on walls and countertops, and having a facial area of 9 inch squared or more.

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Floor-Wall Coordinating Tile:

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Wall tile designed to the same basic visual characteristics as corresponding floor tile, intended for use in the same installation.

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Gloss:

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Reflectivity of the tile surface.

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Glazed Tile:

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Tile with a fused impervious facial finish composed of ceramic materials, fused to the body of the tile. There are two basic types of glazed tile:

Fully Glazed Tile: Ceramic tile where the facial surface is fully covered with glaze.

Partially Glazed Tile: Ceramic tile where the facial surface is partially covered with glaze.

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Fully Glazed Tile:

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Ceramic tile where the facial surface is fully covered with glaze.

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Partially Glazed Tile:

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Ceramic tile where the facial surface is partially covered with glaze.

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Ground Edge Tile:

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Tile that has had each of its four sides mechanically finished to provide a uniform, square edge.

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Heavy Commercial Flooring:

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A flooring area that is subjected to heavy traffic with very abrasive soil. An example of this would be the floor of a manufacturing facility.

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Heavy Residential Flooring:

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Same as Light Commercial: Non-industrial flooring areas that are subject to normal footwear traffic with occasional amounts of abrasive soil. Some examples of these would be: halls, kitchens, and corridors.

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Honed Tile:

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Tile that have had the surface mechanically altered to a uniform, matte finish.

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Impervious Tile:

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Tile with water absorption of 0.5% or less (Class P1, E1, or O1).

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Light Commercial Flooring:

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Non-industrial flooring areas that are subject to normal footwear traffic with occasional amounts of abrasive soil. Some examples of these would be: halls, kitchens, and corridors.

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Light Residential Flooring:

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Residential flooring areas subject to soft-soled footwear or normal footwear traffic without heavy dirt. Some examples would be: interior rooms such as bathrooms and bedrooms without exterior access.

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Loading:

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Putting material into a die prior to pressing. This can be done multiple times for a single piece of tile. Single, double, and triple loaded products are possible.

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Module Size:

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The actual tile dimension plus the manufacturer’s recommended joint width. The module dimension is measured from center to center of the joints.

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Mounted Tile:

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Tile assembled into units, sheets, or strips by suitable material to facilitate handling and installation. Tile may be face-mounted, back-mounted, or edge-mounted. NOTE: Tile manufacturers must specify whether back-mounted or edge-mounted tile assemblies are suitable for installation in swimming pools, on exteriors and/or in wet areas. Back-mounted tile with paper on the back side shall not be installed in wet areas.

Back (or edge) -mounted tile assemblies may have perforated paper, fiber mesh, resin,
or other suitable material applied to the back and/or edges of each tile which becomes an integral part of the tile installation. Back-mounted and edge-mounted tile assemblies shall have a sufficient exposure of tile and joints surrounding each tile to comply with bond strength requirements.

Face-mounted tile assemblies may have paper or other suitable material bonded to the face of all tiles in a sheet or strip.

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Natural Clay Tile:

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A ceramic mosaic tile or a floor tile made by either the pressed, extrusion or the plastic method, from clays that produce a dense body having a distinctive slightly textured appearance.

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Natural Tile:

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Tile that is not sized nor sorted mechanically, as referred to in Table 8.

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Nominal Size:

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This is the approximate facial size or thickness of tile, expressed in inches or fractions of an

inch (or in centimeters or millimeters) for general reference.

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Non-ceramic Tile:

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Tile, decorative tile, or trim units composed of material(s) other than ceramic. Some examples would be cement, resin, or metallic tiles. Units such as these may be used in conjunction with ceramic tile, but are not subject to this specification.

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Non-vitreous Tile:

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Tile with water absorption of more than 7.0%, but not more than 20% (Class P4, E4, or O4).

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Paver Tile:

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A general term for floor tile.

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Polished Tile:

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A ceramic tile that has had the surface mechanically finished to provide a flat, smooth, reflective surface over more than 90% of the surface area.

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Porcelain Tile:

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A ceramic tile that has a water absorption of 0.5% or less that is generally made by the pressed or extruded method. Does not include materials with very little or no crystallinity, such as glass tile (Class P1, E1, or O1).

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Precision Tile:

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Same as Rectified Tile: A tile that has had all edges mechanically finished to achieve a more precise facial dimension.

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Pre-grouted Tile:

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A surfacing unit consisting of an assembly of ceramic tiles bonded together at their edges by a material, generally elastomeric, which seals the joints completely. Such material (grout) may fill the joint completely or partially and may cover all, a portion, or none of the back surfaces of the tiles in the sheets. The perimeter of these factory pre-grouted sheets may include the entire or part of the joint between the sheets or none at all. The term “edge-bonded tile” is sometimes used to designate a particular type of pre-grouted tile sheets having the front and back surfaces completely exposed.

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Pressed Ceramic Tile:

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Tiles manufactured by having the body formed by pressing.

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Pressed Floor Tile:

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Floor tile (see definition) manufactured by having the body of the tile formed by pressing.

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Punch Texture:

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The texture of the die used to form a ceramic tile using the pressed method.

Flat: Uniform, smooth surface.

Textured: Raised or depressed features present on the surface.

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Quarry Tile:

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Glazed or unglazed tile, made by the extrusion process from natural clay or shale.

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Rectified Tile:

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A tile that has had all edges mechanically finished to achieve a more precise facial dimension.

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Residential Flooring:

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Non-commercial floor areas that are subject to soft-soled footwear or normal footwear traffic with small amounts of abrasive soil. Some examples of these would be: living or dining rooms.

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Sampling:

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The method of obtaining tile for testing from an agreed-upon lot.

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Self-spacing Tile:

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Tile with lugs or spacers on the sides which automatically space the tile for grout joints.

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Semi-polished Tile:

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A textured tile that has 1% to 90% of the surface mechanically finished to a gloss sheen.

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Semi-vitreous Tile:

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Tile with water absorption of more than 3.0%, but not more than 7.0% (Class P3, E3, or O3).

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Shade or Shade Value:

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A manufacturer designation (normally a number(s) or letter(s)) printed on the box
or label that signifies that particular box of tile is visually suitable for use with other boxes having an identical shade value. This property can be influenced by glaze application, punch texture, firing conditions, gloss level, and lighting conditions.

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Slip-resistant Tile:

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Tile usually having greater slip-resistant characteristics due to an abrasive admixture, abrasive particles in the surface, grooves or patterns in the surface, or a glaze specifically designed for increased coefficient of friction.

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Specialty Tile:

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Tile, either glazed or unglazed, made to meet or have special physical design or appearance characteristics such as size, thickness, shade, color, or decoration; keys or lugs on backs or sides; pre-grouted assemblies or sheets; special resistance to staining, frost, alkalis, acids, thermal shock, and/or physical impact; or high coefficient of friction.

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Standard Shade Tile:

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At least one tile, per shade, kept by the producer, and is considered to be the benchmark for a specific tile color and shade combination. Depending on the aesthetic value, more than one tile may be needed to adequately represent a particular color (See Table 3).

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Surface Texture:

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The pattern left by the punch or mold used to form a tile body.

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Structural Defects:

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Cracks or laminations in the body of the tile that detract from the appearance and/or the

structural soundness of the tile installation.

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System Modularity:

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Tiles of various nominal dimensions are sized so that they may be installed together in patterns with a common specified joint width.

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Testing of Ceramic Tile:

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The act of determining whether ceramic tile are acceptable; see Physical Properties of Ceramic Tile.

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Tile:

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A ceramic surfacing unit, usually relatively thin in relation to facial area, having either a glazed or unglazed face and fired above red heat in the course of manufacture to a temperature sufficiently high to produce specific physical properties and characteristics.

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Tile Assemblies:

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Same as Mounted Tile.

Tile assembled into units, sheets, or strips by suitable material to facilitate handling and installation. Tile may be face-mounted, back-mounted, or edge-mounted. NOTE: Tile manufacturers must specify whether back-mounted or edge-mounted tile assemblies are suitable for installation in swimming pools, on exteriors and/or in wet areas. Back-mounted tile with paper on the back side shall not be installed in wet areas.

Back (or edge) -mounted tile assemblies may have perforated paper, fiber mesh, resin,
or other suitable material applied to the back and/or edges of each tile which becomes an integral part of the tile installation. Back-mounted and edge-mounted tile assemblies shall have a sufficient exposure of tile and joints surrounding each tile to comply with bond strength requirements.

Face-mounted tile assemblies may have paper or other suitable material bonded to the face of all tiles in a sheet or strip.

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Tile Edge:

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The tile edge has the following classifications:

Beveled: An edge that has multiple angles.

Cushioned: A rounded edge.

Ground: Mechanically finished.

Rustic: Edges that have been intentionally given the characteristics of chipped or scalloped features.

Square: A 90 degree angle.

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Trim Units:

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Units of various shapes consisting of such items as bases, caps, corners, moldings, angles, etc., necessary to achieve an installation of the desired sanitary and/or architectural design.

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Unglazed Tile:

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A tile having no glaze present, deriving color and texture from the materials of which the body is made and/or processes performed on the surface of the tile such as polishing, honing, or staining.

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Vitreous Tile:

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Tile with water absorption of more than 0.5%, but not more than 3.0% (Class P2, E2, or O2).

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Wall Tile:

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A glazed or unglazed tile with a body that is suitable for interior wall use and which is usually non- vitreous (Class P4) for improved adhesion to vertical surfaces. Unless noted otherwise, these tiles will have attached spacing lugs. These tiles are also not required or expected to withstand excessive impact, abrasion, or be subjected to freeze/thaw cycling.