Don't know your bullnose from a battiscopa? No worries! With our tile primer we will help your brush up on your tile terminology.

A |B |C |D |E |F |G |H| I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y |Z

A

Adhesive: Used for bonding tile to a surface. Rubber solvents: an rubber and resin-based emulsions can be used as adhesives.
Angolo: A decorative corner piece used in floor installations. Often used in conjunction with an fascia to create a "rug" border effect. Some angolos may be used together to create a small rosone.

B

Backing: Material used as a base over which a finished tile is to be installed.
Balanced Cuts: Cuts of tile at the perimeter of an area which will not take full tiles. Also the same sized cuts on each side of a miter.
Base: One or more rows of tile installed above the floor. (see cove base)Battiscopa: A rounded top trim piece typically used in a floor application to serve as a baseboard.
Beating Block: A wooden block used to embed tiles in a flat plane. Method is called "beating in".
Body: Term refers to structural portion of a ceramic product and to the material or mixture from which it is made.
Brick Pattern: Tile is set in a staggered pattern similar to a brick wall. Also know as a running bond.
Bullnose: Rounded top edge used as the last tile in a wall installation that doesn’t extend to the ceiling or up to the cabinet line, or to turn an outside edge.
Buttering: The spreading of a bond coat to the back of the ceramic tile immediately before tile is placed.

C

Cap: See bullnose.
Ceramic tile: Ceramic tiles are generally glazed
Chair Rail: Cap piece with a distinctive architectural shape. Used to cap a wainscot or as a decorative element.
Counter Rail: V-or L-shaped tile for finishing the exposed edges of countertops.
Cove Base: A base trim piece that curves concavely to join the floor tile.
Crazing: The cracking which occurs in fired glazed or other critical tensile stresses.

D

Deco or Decorative: Tile with designs, pictures, or relief fashioned with artistic creativity. Decorative tiles are generally used as accents in a field of solid color.
Diagonal Set: Tile set at a 45° angle to the wall.

E

Efflorescence: A crystalline deposit appearing on stone surfaces typically caused by soluble salts carried through or onto the stone by moisture, which has sometimes been found to come from brick, tile, concrete blocks, cement, mortar, concrete, and similar materials in the wall or above.

Embossed: A decoration in relief or excised on the wear surface.

Epoxy Adhesive: A two part adhesive system employing epoxy resin and epoxy hardener used for bonding ceramic tile to back-up material.

Epoxy Grout: A two part grout system consisting of epoxy resin and epoxy hardener. Formulated to have impervious qualities, stain and chemical resistance, used to fill joints between tiles.

F

Fascia: A decorative piece used in floor installtions. Often used in conjunction with an angolo to create a "rug" border effect.
Field Tile:The main tile in a tile design.
Floor Tile: Any type of tile designated for use on floors. It can generally be used for walls or countertops also.
Frost proof: Product manufactured for use where freezing and thawing conditions occur.
Frost resistance: Ability of certain ceramic tiles to withstand freeze/thaw conditions with minimal effect. Frost resistance of ceramic tile is dependent on the tile’s porosity and water absorption levels. Frost resistance does not guarantee 'frost proof.'

I

Insert or Inserto: A decorative tile that coordinates with a field tile and is the same size. For example, if a field tile is 4" x 4", an insert that coordinates is also 4" x 4", but is decorative.

L

Listello (or Listel): Italian word for a border tile used to add interest.
Lugged Tile: Tile produced with tabs on the edges for maintaining even spacing. These are usually wall tiles.

M

Mitered:To cut on an angle to meet on an edge or corner (similar to picture frame moldings or celing cove molding).
Monocottura: Tiles produced with only one high temperature firing, generally with harder glaze and denser body than wall tiles with moisture absorption below 3 percent.
Mosaic: Small tiles used to make patterns or pictures on walls or floors. Mosaic tile can be made from ceramic, porcelain, marble, slate, glass or metal.

O

Out Corner: A trim piece with two connecting edges bullnosed.

P

Pencil: Thin tile of any length usually between 1/2" and 2" in width.
Porcelain tile: An extremely durable tile that is often used commercially. Porcelain tiles can be glazed or unglazed due to their low porosity.

Q

Quarter Round or Bead: A narrow, convexly curved piece designed to create continuity where 90 degree angles occur.

R

Rectified Tile: Rectified tile is first baked in sheets, then cut to size AFTER coming out of the kiln. This is why it can be calibrated to exact specifications. Rectified tile can be installed with “credit card” joints as small as 1/16”. Most other tile is first shaped and then baked afterwards in a kiln, so it often has as much as a 1/16" or more difference in size between tiles in the same box.
Rosone: A square or circle design used as a decorative piece in a floor installation. Rosones are often made of mosaics of stone or glass, sometimes in intricate water-jet patterns.
Running Bond : Tile is set in a staggered pattern similar to a brick wall. Also know as a brick pattern.

S

Straight Set: Tile set square to the wall.
Subway tile: The shape of a subway tile is rectangular and very flat, set with a tight grout joint, and often comes in sizes such as 3"x6", 4"x8", etc. Modern subway tiles tend to be beveled on the edge, allowing for a deeper grout joint.

T

Terra Cotta: Tiles produced with only one high temperature firing, generally with harder glaze and denser body than wall tiles with moisture absorption below 3 percent.
Trim: Finishing pieces used to cover exposed tile bisque (i.e. bullnose, out corners, step nosing).

W

Wainscote: The area of a tiled wall that is installed from the floor to the chair rail height, or slightly higher, with a border or cap finishing the installation.
Wall Tile: Tile intended for use on walls. Generally thinner than floor tile. While it can sometimes be used on residential floors and countertops, it is best to consult manufacturer recommendations before installation.