About ceramics

History of ceramics begins in China. It is very hard to say for sure when the story of ceramics began but we can say it happened sometime between 6th and 5th century BC.

In the beginning ceramics was made as a mixture of red clay and calcium in 95:5 ratio. First they made a mixture, then they shaped it into pots and then they baked it on a very high temperature (300-400°C), which was very hard to achieve in that time. The process was very similar to the one today, but the temperatures were different. Besides temperature, the biggest problem they were facing was the mixture of red clay and calcium. If they added too much calcium the pot would break when baking and if they didn’t add enough of it, the pot would not hold any liquid.

Of course they did not use ceramics to make ceramic tiles and cover the floor yet. They used it to cook and store food. These were the first functions of ceramics and they have encouraged our ancestors to play with ceramics and discover new ways on how to use it.

African tribes then brought it to Europe. Most people agree that ceramics was first brought to the Iberian Peninsula by Maori tribe. And since then the fields in which ceramics is being used are growing every day. Technology of production is improving and evolving and that enables us to find new ways of using ceramics every day.

Why do we use ceramics for covering floors?

Did you ever ask yourself why are we using ceramics to cover our floor? Well there are many reasons, let’s take a look at few of them that are a little less obvious:

1. Ceramic tiles are a very good insulator (electrical, thermal,…)
2. Ceramics as a material is very strong and can support very high weights. The strenght can easly be multiplied by adding TiO2 to the mixture.
3. The surface of ceramic tiles is impermeable therefore making it easy to clean and making it hard for any bacteria to stay on/in the floor.
4. Ceramic tiles are also very durable and that makes them a “good investment” when buliding your home. Ceramic tiles of the highest quality can be used for few generations!

Feel free to read more about different types of ceramic tiles here.