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Floor tiles or paving in Burgundy limestone ?
Burgundy limestone tiles or natural stone tiles ? What is the difference between paving or slabs in Burgundy limestone ? But is there really one ? Which term do you use ?
Tiles = Ceramic / Paving = Stone
At Comptoir des Pierres, we exclusively use the terms "paving" or "slabs" for our products, which are the words used for natural stone for hundreds of years. "Tiles" more often refer to ceramics. Indeed, tiles can be made from different materials : glazed stoneware, full-body porcelain stoneware, glazed porcelain stoneware, terracotta... The dominant exterior tile currently (a trend?) is full-body porcelain stoneware. Tiles, which were mainly used indoors a decade ago, are now widely used for outdoor applications (terraces, pathways...).
Tiles are manufactured in a factory (historically often Italian) by heating at high temperatures various ingredients that have been ground and mixed beforehand: clay, minerals, kaolin, quartz, feldspar, and other rocks as well as colorants (especially for full-body porcelain stoneware). This mixture is called slip - it is dried and then placed into molds. A press compacts the tiles, which are then cleaned and dried again. The final steps are glazing, firing, and finally packaging for sale.
Natural limestone is a material formed by the planet, over 150 million years ago for Burgundy limestone, through sedimentation (ocean floor). Humans only transform and enhance the material.
Tiles generally have a thickness of 7 to 9 millimeters, whereas French stone paving is 15 or 20 mm thick (only 12 mm for Turkish travertine).
Regarding the difference between "paving" and "slab," "paving" refers to the entire work (several slabs covering a space), while a "slab" is a single square or rectangular piece of stone. In this case, the word "slab" does not refer to the supporting surface, which would be specified as a concrete slab.
Stone tiles, travertine, or marble?
Don't worry, if you ask us for stone tiles, we will understand and respond – these two words are quite synonymous! However, as you develop your "limestone culture," it's better to use the term paving or slab. Your interlocutors (manufacturers, installers, project managers...) will consider you less of a novice.
Many limestone sellers also present their products using the word tiles because phrases like natural stone tiles or Burgundy stone tiles are frequently searched on search engines like Google. This is not for any technical reason but purely a commercial effort to reach a broader audience!
