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Issue link: https://ccr-mag.epubxp.com/i/108449
special report Photos courtesy of Florim USA Flooring "With wood-look porcelain, not only will building owners be getting beautiful visuals, they will be getting a product offering a return-on-investment lifecycle." – Stefano Rabaioli, Florim USA look also could be continued into the guest bathroom, and in the case of suites, into the kitchenette location. But wood still is not universally perceived as the panacea material for floors of wet areas such as the kitchen and/or bath. This largely is due to the fact that even the most durable species, for the most part, do not have the physical characteristics offered by porcelain tile. And those include porcelain's unbelievably low percentage of water absorption (porosity), which is generally <0.5 percent. So, the question is whether it's possible to have the endearing look of wood be part of hospitality guestrooms, with owners having the confidence that this wood look will be a good look for many, many years? The answer is a resounding "yes," provided the material specified is wood-look porcelain tile. 80 CommerCial ConstruCtion & renovation — january : february 2013 The porcelain tile emulation of wood has been taken to such a high degree today that it is difficult for the naked eye to discern this product from natural wood. High Definition Technology (HDG), which is more or less a space-age inkjet process, makes it possible to achieve many different visual impressions on the tile body's surface, meaning that when side-by-side, tiles will not look precisely like the ones right next to them. Additionally, now rectified sizes, which are more characteristic of wood planking than ceramic tile rectangles are being successfully produced. These include formats such as 4 inches x 24 inches, 6 inches x 24 inches and even 6 inches x 36 inches. "With wood-look porcelain, not only will building owners be getting beautiful visuals, they will be getting a product offering a return-on-investment lifecycle," says Stefano Rabaioli, VP, sales and marketing for Florim USA, one of the largest American-made porcelain tile producers. "Unlike real wood, porcelain tile is scratch-resistant, and due to being non-porous, it is not water-absorptive. If water seeps into the body of any flooring material, after time that product will deteriorate. That is not the case with porcelain." Rabaioli says that wood-look porcelain gives designers the option to incorporate bringing the indoors outside – and vice versa. "In other words, imagine having a guestroom suite replete with this material on all interior flooring surfaces. The suite has been designed to have an adjacent outdoor veranda. Now, because porcelain has been engineered to brave extreme weather conditions, this all-wood look is able to flow to the contiguous outdoor areas as well." In the event porcelain tile is installed outdoors; the material used should have a high coefficient of friction to minimize slipping. "We offer products with a 'Grip Finish,' which makes these products very safe," Rabaioli says. The momentum of using wood-look porcelain tiles continues, as it was last autumn at the annual Cersaie Exposition in Bologna, Italy, where perhaps the most popular new trend was indeed this phenomenon. "I began experimenting with wood-look porcelain tiles years ago, and at first, was a bit disappointed," says Architect Michel St. Germain. "The initial products