Floor Tile Tolerances

Qld standards and tolerances for ceramic and porcelain tiles.

Floor tile tolerances.

If the grout joint width is 1 4 or greater then the allowable warpage is 1 16 plus the allowable inherent warpage of the tile. Sampling and basis for acceptance allows one tile in 10 to be outside the above dimensional tolerances i e. Ansi a137 1 specifications for ceramic tile has established allowable tolerances criteria for each type or category of ceramic tile. Accordingly the tolerance for variation from tile to tile includes the actual warpage of the tile.

Tolerances for modern rectified edge tiles are expected to be extremely tight. 2 how many tiles from any one batch can be outside the tolerances described in iso 13006 1998. When a tile is warped but within standards all of the corners cannot be set in the plane of the adjoining tiles. There are tolerances for tile lippage.

However as of 2011 subsurface tolerances for tile installation based on tile unit size have been updated in the tcna handbook. Ceramic tiles have always had warpage and other dimensional variations although current production technology results in more consistency. Tile lippage which is were one edge of a tile is higher or lower than the adjacent tile edge is normal to a degree but there are limitations. There are rectified porcelain tiles that are more consistent in size tolerances where they recommend 1 16 inch wide grout joints.

The ansi a108 02 standards say that acceptable lippage for floor tiles with a grout joint width of 1 16 to less than 1 4 is 1 32 plus the allowable inherent warpage of the tile. Tolerances when tiles 8 x 8 or larger had been selected. For tiles with all edges less than 15 the maximum allowable variation is 1 4 in 10 and no more than 1 16 in 12. Table 1 in as 4459 1 1999 also iso 10545 1 1995 ceramic tiles part 1.

For large format tiles with one. If your tile has a rectified machine trimmed edge then there is a higher requirement for size control as the joint gaps will be narrow. The intent of the standard is to define reasonable lippage from one tile to another. This information is critical for any new tilers.