Tile clay questions.

I would never use

No, Steve, you are right on the money. You should only use highfire clay that has been vitrified for things that will encounter water/liquids. Here, lots of high-end condos used what is known as "saltillo" Mexican tile. You've seen it, it has the chicken tracks and dog prints running through it. Basically it is made from sun-dried mud. Well, they started washing these floors and guess what happened? Staining. decomposition, awful messes. So they then hired cleaners to machine scrub and seal the floors, and the cleaners thought they could be slick and acid-wash the stains away. What they are doing now is replacing all the tiles. Nightmares, lawsuits for years...it's just NOT worth it. Don't go with low-fired clay, DK666.

Best, Wayne in Key West

i second or third that recomendation for NOT using cone 05/06 for floor tile. although they do sell teracotta tile in the tile stores, around 05/06 - mainly because it's cheap and they'll certainly be selling tile again...

i think the production floor tile - the good stuff - is cone 6. i have made cone 10 tile and "glazed brick stones" that i've been walking on in the backyard for 8 years - but we don't get any frost or snow here...

see ya

steve

steve graber

saltillo tile is low-fired. they use a cave for a kiln, and light off tires for the heat. the name comes from the saltillo region of mexico.

my

Am