Uploaded June 2020 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
I set up a little display to show you how you can check for the strength and integrity of a piece of tile. When you look at these three tiles from thin to thicker to thickest, you probably think the very thickest one is the strongest one. But actually, that's not the case. As you can see, there's no glaze on this Mexican tile, and the glaze is where the strength is. This is actually a very weak tile. These two are actually the same. Even though they are a different thickness, these both have a grade-3 glazing on top of them. So these are great for residential use inside your home. This one is actually a grade-4 tile. It looks very thin, but is very, very strong. This is great inside commercial areas, maybe inside an airport or in a grocery store or even in a restaurant where you have a lot of foot traffic. This is a grade-2 tile. You don't want this on your floors. This is much weaker. This is to put around like a bathroom or a shower wall. Next to it here we have natural stone and a tile that looks a little bit like a natural stone. This tile is supposed to be a tumbled marble. It's fairly strong, but this is actual tumbled marble. As you can see, it is very porous. So even though it has the strength of marble, it has a lot of holes in it. It's gonna collect dirt. Next to it here we have a piece of slate and it looks great, but it is also porous. When you have something like that you need to put a sealer on top of it to keep the dirt out. We'll pour a little on our slate here. Just rub around. You need to do it to your whole floor, every single piece. This will really help keep it looking the way it should. Makes it much easier to clean. When you let that dry it'll go back to its original color. And when you have something as porous as tumbled marble, you can't just wipe it on there. You really have to pour it on top, 'cause you need to get down in those holes. And again, when it's wet, it looks like it's a different color, but once it's dried, you won't be able to see that sealer and it'll all be the same color. Now whenever you're cleaning your floors, whether it's a natural stone or a ceramic tile, you need to do it with a tile cleaner where you need to get down there on your elbows and use water and just tear it up. If you try to do it with any sudsy detergent, you're gonna leave a film all over your tile and it's not gonna have it's original beauty.
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Featured videos:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjTMbsoHW2eiqktEDbaQunVDuiTidxPxd
Great DIY Projects from Your New House:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjTMbsoHW2ejNSy9ywo1mKiGaSXuTsEgE
Quick Tips - easy tips to make your projects (and life) better:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjTMbsoHW2eh4zI-dJCevBTEdY5ioSAPQ
Gardening and Landscaping:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjTMbsoHW2ejdcWzNkAARBzUQDvT3W1ME
Adventures in Homebuilding - Home info with a smile:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjTMbsoHW2ehA9bTrvQ58AHfE_utaBCLc
Choosing and Using Tools with Carmen Ciricillo:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjTMbsoHW2eisLdRjyue3eVZT-qjM9B6I
Factory Tours and Product Testing:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjTMbsoHW2ej6wLU1NAVlWhcvVWL1ynJQ
I set up a little display to show you how you can check for the strength and integrity of a piece of tile. When you look at these three tiles from thin to thicker to thickest, you probably think the very thickest one is the strongest one. But actually, that's not the case. As you can see, there's no glaze on this Mexican tile, and the glaze is where the strength is. This is actually a very weak tile. These two are actually the same. Even though they are a different thickness, these both have a grade-3 glazing on top of them. So these are great for residential use inside your home. This one is actually a grade-4 tile. It looks very thin, but is very, very strong. This is great inside commercial areas, maybe inside an airport or in a grocery store or even in a restaurant where you have a lot of foot traffic. This is a grade-2 tile. You don't want this on your floors. This is much weaker. This is to put around like a bathroom or a shower wall. Next to it here we have natural stone and a tile that looks a little bit like a natural stone. This tile is supposed to be a tumbled marble. It's fairly strong, but this is actual tumbled marble. As you can see, it is very porous. So even though it has the strength of marble, it has a lot of holes in it. It's gonna collect dirt. Next to it here we have a piece of slate and it looks great, but it is also porous. When you have something like that you need to put a sealer on top of it to keep the dirt out. We'll pour a little on our slate here. Just rub around. You need to do it to your whole floor, every single piece. This will really help keep it looking the way it should. Makes it much easier to clean. When you let that dry it'll go back to its original color. And when you have something as porous as tumbled marble, you can't just wipe it on there. You really have to pour it on top, 'cause you need to get down in those holes. And again, when it's wet, it looks like it's a different color, but once it's dried, you won't be able to see that sealer and it'll all be the same color. Now whenever you're cleaning your floors, whether it's a natural stone or a ceramic tile, you need to do it with a tile cleaner where you need to get down there on your elbows and use water and just tear it up. If you try to do it with any sudsy detergent, you're gonna leave a film all over your tile and it's not gonna have it's original beauty.
MORE FROM YOUR NEW HOUSE
Featured videos:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjTMbsoHW2eiqktEDbaQunVDuiTidxPxd
Great DIY Projects from Your New House:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjTMbsoHW2ejNSy9ywo1mKiGaSXuTsEgE
Quick Tips - easy tips to make your projects (and life) better:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjTMbsoHW2eh4zI-dJCevBTEdY5ioSAPQ
Gardening and Landscaping:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjTMbsoHW2ejdcWzNkAARBzUQDvT3W1ME
Adventures in Homebuilding - Home info with a smile:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjTMbsoHW2ehA9bTrvQ58AHfE_utaBCLc
Choosing and Using Tools with Carmen Ciricillo:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjTMbsoHW2eisLdRjyue3eVZT-qjM9B6I
Factory Tours and Product Testing:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjTMbsoHW2ej6wLU1NAVlWhcvVWL1ynJQ
