When we tile our bathrooms or kitchens or shower room, we know that we are giving those walls or floors a very long lasting surface. Modern tiles are made from ceramic, a solid, inorganic and non-metallic substance that can be fired in a kiln and used for all manner of pottery based items. Ceramic tiles are usually used for wall, floor or ceiling covering and have a hard glaze to protect them from water damage. Ceramics can include stoneware, porcelain or earthenware but it is stoneware, the harder of the three that is more suited to floors and walls.
The earliest mention of roof tiles was from Greece, then known as Corinth, where they used fired tile to replace the old thatching on roofs. The main reason this was developed was that the Mediterranean sun could cause serious fires and thatched roofs were particularly vulnerable to damage. The temples of Apollo and Poseidon both had thatched roofs, but as soon as tiles were discovered those two roofs were both replaced.
Victorian Designs and Modern Use
Many Victorian homes in Europe and the United Kingdom had mosaic style floor tiles in the entry-way of the homes. The tiles were colorful and the designs were geometric, with clean patterns and structures. Both marble and granite were also a common site in Italy as well as other parts of Europe.
Ceramic tiles can used outdoors on paving, table tops and mosaics because of their resistance to water and weather. Indoor floor tiles are usually larger than the tiles we put on walls, simply because walking spaces are subject to more traffic and having smaller tiles makes them susceptible to cracking with age. Large floor tiles usually measure one foot square, whereas smaller tiles are six inches by six inches and are more suitable for walls, kitchen splash backs, showers and bathrooms. Of course, the more use the tiles get the more they are subject to ground in dirt or dust which can ruin the look of tiles. As well as that, they can also be the victim of serious mold or mildew, especially in bathrooms with poor ventilation and high humidity. In the North West, tile cleaning in Lyden WA will bring your tiles back to the peak condition, with a total cleaning and refurbishment. They will be fully cleaned and restored to their previous condition.
