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Gauged Porcelain Tile Panels/Slabs Trends
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Gauged Porcelain Tile Panels/Slabs Trends
Gauged porcelain tile panels/slabs (GPTP) are gaining a lot of traction in the tile and stone industries as of late. The large-format materials, which are technically defined as tiles measuring 1 x 1 meter (40 x 40 inches) or larger, have been around for almost 10 years now, but have been creating a lot of buzz in the marketplace over the last handful of years.Get more news about Thin Porcelain Tile,you can vist our website!
Tile manufacturers continue to push boundaries with GPTP, in terms of design and size, crafting porcelain interpretations of everything from natural stone to wallpaper and even personalized pictures. Some panels stand as tall as 12 feet, with thicknesses that range from 1/8 inch (3 mm) to 3/4 inch (20 mm). However, new 3 cm (30 mm) options have been introduced recently to use as pavers for outdoor walkways, patios and driveways. Although GPTP are commonly seen on interior flooring and walling, as well as exterior facades, the innovative material also been utilized to create furniture and other household accessories.
When GPTP was first realized, there were no standards or methods as to how to handle, cut, transport and install the material, so the Tile Council of North America (TCNA) made it their mission to create guidelines for installers, as well as the architecture and design community. In 2017, after more than four years of cross-disciplinary industry collaboration and 4,000 hours of research, the TCNA unveiled two new standards for the materials known as ANSI A137.3, the American National Standard Specifications for Gauged Porcelain Tiles and Gauged Porcelain Tile Panels/Slabs, and its companion, ANSI A108.19, Interior Installation of Gauged Porcelain Tile and Gauged Porcelain Tile Panels/Slabs by the Thin-Bed Method Bonded with Modified Dry-Cement Mortar or Improved Modified Dry-Set Cement Mortar.“Installers especially were asking for standards to allow for installation practices to be developed based on consistent tile properties,” said Eric Astrachan, TCNA executive director. “Without such, it was feared that problems resulting from an undefined range of products could hinder growth of this market segment.”
ANSI A137.3 is the standard for GPTP, dictating how the panels should be manufactured to meet certain physical properties, while ANSI A108.19 is the standard for the interior installation of GPTP. The standards use the term “gauged” to cover a range of precise thicknesses that can carry different loads and be used in different ways. Two classes of gauged tile products are defined — those for wall applications, from 3.5 to 4.9 mm in thickness, and those for floor applications, from 5 to 6.5 mm in thickness.
We sat down with a wide range of industry professionals — including tile manufacturers, technical representatives and installers — to discuss the current trends they’re seeing in GPTP, their importance in the marketplace and what to expect in the near future.