Porcelain Outdoors Brochure December 2020

3 Welcome to walking, running, jumping and ultimately, enjoying the outdoors without having to worry where you step and without giving up a design that speaks volumes about you. Porcelain tiles/paving slabs are becoming an increasingly popular alternative to natural stone products, and it isn’t difficult to see why. Porcelain looks beautiful in almost any setting, and its technical specifications are truly outstanding. Here are just a few reasons to select porcelain for your next project: 1. Profile Thickness Until very recently, porcelain was only produced in a relatively thin profile (around 9-12mm thick). This meant that the tiles had to be installed onto an adhesive or mortar/cement base (depending on application type). However, manufacturers have recently succeeded in developing a thicker profile; at 2cm thick, porcelain can be used as a structural paving slab, allowing porcelain paving slabs to be ‘dry installed’ onto support pedestals without a mortar base. This has revolutionised the use of porcelain for outdoor flooring - from residential outdoor living areas to large commercial areas that are subjected to very heavy pedestrian foot traffic, porcelain can handle just about anything! 2. Indistinguishable from Natural Stone The latest advances in porcelain manufacturing techniques have enabled the production of porcelain materials that are indistinguishable from natural stone. This technology allows us to emulate the characteristics of natural stone (colour shading, veining, fossilization, etc.) but with none of the drawbacks or maintenance requirements (see point 4 below). The high-quality reproduction is converted into numerous variations of each design to avoid the repetition that’s commonly seen in standard ceramic tiles. 3. Unrivalled Quality and Aesthetic Beauty The materials used to create our porcelain products are of an exceptionally high quality, with an aesthetic beauty that’s indistinguishable from natural stone. Our products are made using state-of-the-art equipment, and they are supported by a research and development laboratory focused on pioneering new technological and aesthetic solutions 4. No Maintenance High porosity leads to dirt and staining. Our porcelain tiling and paving products have a porosity level of almost zero (< 0.05%). This means no sealer – and, therefore, no maintenance – is ever required. Our paving slabs and tiles do not stain because they do not allow moisture into the material, so all that’s required is a wash with warm soapy water once a year to remove any debris and organic matter (grass, soil, leaves, etc.) from the surface. If used indoors, your porcelain tiles should be mopped over on a weekly basis to keep them pristine. 10 BENEFITS OF PORCELAIN TILES WHY PORCELAIN PAVING? WELCOME TO OUTDOOR 20