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OCTOBER 2017 | 41 Tiles The world of tiles offers endless possibilities by LAURIE JONES T he elegance of tiles can come in many forms, and today's suppliers have a wealth of beautiful options for their clients. Adding to the finished look are grout selections that make the tiles shine, adhesives for ease of installation and soundproofing underlayment for quiet living. Bigger is better in the world of porcelain, as large format tiles grow in popular- ity due to its versatility. End users and professionals have maximized their usage in different design applications such as residential homes, commercial spaces, fea- ture walls and countertops. "Large format porcelain tiles and slabs give the illusion of a larger space due to fewer grout lines," says Priscilla Cheung, corporate marketing manager of Ames Tile & Stone. "Both residential and commercial spaces are upgrading to large for- mat tiles for unlimited design options as well as ease of maintenance. The combi- nation of design and upkeep advantages of the larger tile bridges the gap between large stone slabs and the strength of porcelain." The Anima Series from Ames Tile & Stone is the perfect example of this seamless esthetic that has redefined contemporary elegance. Ranging from 12-inch by 24-inch to 48-inch by 96-inch, Anima has the elegance of marble stone with the durability of a porcelain in four different stone looks, six versatile sizes and two finishes. Ames offers an assortment of styles and colours of large format tiles to effort- lessly extend any design from floor to wall. "It has never been easier to maximize the lines and flow of your living space with these beautiful, hard-wearing and ver- satile large format designs," says Cheung. Brent Fisher, general manager of Flesher Marble & Tile is seeing the same desire for larger format. "We have evolved from the 12 by 12 ceramic tile to five-foot by 10-foot panels of gauged porcelain," he says. "Designers are not only looking for new trends in colour, movement and texture but are looking for larger monolithic pieces with fewer grout joints. These current trends are exciting, but what about the life- cycle of a building? Will these new products last the test of time and offer low main- tenance floors for 30-plus years?" He advises one of the first things to consider when designing a commercial build- ing is the décor selections. "These choices are important as what is selected should be considered current for many years. Incorporating a funky new tile product may get an up-and-coming designer recognition today, but 15 years from now the trends will have changed and this once funky floor is now gaudy. Classic floor finishes, such as natural stone products like marble and granite, are making a significant return to the market for just this reason. A thoughtfully selected classic floor finish can offer many years of life and keep a building current at the same time." H O L D T H E P R E S S The Terrazzo, Tile and Marble Association of Canada (TTMAC) is working on a new Fabrication Manual (published in English and French and available nationally) for fabricators who work with natural stone, fabricated stone and large format porce- lain panels. "We have a lot of members who are fabricators but we didn't have a dedi- cated manual for them," says Bill Wright, president, TTMAC. "New information was researched and together with information from our Dimensional Stone Guide the New Slab guide was created. This new guide addresses fabricating natural stones, engineered slabs and porcelain sheets. We needed to address these emerging tech- nologies for everyone's benefit; consumer, specifier and fabricators." He says quartz has been very popular recently in the market. "I think we're going to see a big push back against quartz from the porcelain slab manufacturers, so we are trying to get the manuals completed and keep them current. This is the emerg- ing technology and many of our suppliers, members and installation members need this information." Wright says European manufacturers are making several new products out of porcelain tiles that look like other products, such as marble, concrete, limestone, wood, or distressed metal. "Real metal scratches, but a metal-looking porcelain tile is scratch resistant, stain resistant, heat resistant, impact resistant and doesn't change colour, which are just a few of the benefits." Take Cover Anima Series from Ames Tile & Stone.

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