Useful Information

On delivery of your order, it is deemed acceptable to have a total of 5% of minor damage such as edge chipping due to the process of packing and unpacking, when checking your stone – it is common practice to use these tiles for cuts when installing natural stone tiles.

Careful handling of the stone is important, we recommend that tiles should always be stacked and stored vertically (on edge) but not on a hard surface as this can cause additional edge chipping.

Colour variations are a feature of natural stone, and should be viewed as such. Variations can exist in colour, crystalline composition, veining, fossil deposits and mineral activity.

Natural stone tiles have varying industry standards for size tolerances and can vary from stone to stone and size to size. The tolerance can range from 1-5mm dependent on the product and size. An accomplished natural stone tiler will ensure tiles are spaced correctly.

When installing stone, dry laying and blending from crate to crate are important and often critical. It is advised to use quality fixing products for your installation.

Sealing your stone is recommended, always ensure that your natural stone is completely dry before sealing. Please note that sealing is not fail-safe; some degradation may still occur and different sealing products can change the final finish colour of the stone.

IMPORTANT: make sure your tiler complies with British Standards BS 5385.

Some porcelains are finished with a thick glazed surface, this makes them more challenging to cut as the way the porcelain is manufactured makes them more brittle than an ‘unglazed’ product. 

Lapicida have developed different ways to cut these tiles. These videos demonstrate that it is possible to work with these tiles in different ways, without damaging the surface.

Corner Cut Porcelain

Hole Cut Porcelain

Letterbox Porcelain

Machine Cut Porcelain

Straight Cut Porcelain

The following glossary includes a selection of keywords that you may read about as part of your research or purchase with Lapicida. If you have any further questions on the key words, please contact a member of our Customer Services team who will be able to advise further.

ACID WASHED 

Acid washing exposes some of the sand in certain types of stone, giving a rougher texture.

ANTIQUED

An aged, or worn look created by applying various different processes to stone tiles. Not to be confused with genuine antique tiles.

ANTIQUE RECLAIMED

Original stone that has been reclaimed from historic buildings and re-purposed to create antique reclaimed stone tiles.

BRUSHED

An ageing process that generates a smoother and worn appearance to certain types of stone.

BULL NOSE

The semi-circular, half rounded edge usually applied to thicker slabs of stone. 

CALIBRATED

Quarried stone cut into even thickness tiles are calibrated tiles. The majority of internal tiles are calibrated, including travertine tiles and white marble stone tiles.

COLOUR SELECT

All natural products carry colour variations. When purchasing our Antique English we offer an additional service to colour select each and every tile to ensure consistency of colour across the whole surface.

CNC

A computer controlled shaping mill capable of cutting virtually any stone into any shape.

CROSS CUT

Cross cut tiles give a cross-section of the stone, which is cut horizontally.

CUSHIONED OR PILLOWED

Edges that gently slope downwards before meeting a sawn edge creating a slight rounding and softening. Often also referred to as a pillowed edge.

DIAMOND CUT OR SAWN EDGE

An edge with a completely sharp 90-degree cut, such as white granite floor tiles.

DURABILITY

A stone tile’s capacity to withstand daily foot traffic and everyday wear and tear. Higher durability stone suits commercial use and high traffic areas of the home. Medium and lower durability tiles for use in most domestic areas. Some low durability tiles should only be used in low traffic areas, i.e., travertine flooring.

FILLED

Resin or grout is used to fill tiles with no naturally forming pits or holes visible in the surface of the stone. They are then honed to create a perfectly smooth tile. Unfilled tiles are often part-filled with grout during fitting giving a textured finish that is not as smooth as factory-filled tiles. 

FLAG

A slab-like piece of stone, usually in larger sizes, commonly used externally on patios, driveways and paths. Various styles, edgings and surface finishes are available.

FLAMED

Stone (usually marble or granite) is treated with intense heat to visibly age tiles. The surface becomes lightly distressed and slightly rough. Can also create a non-slip surface for very hard natural stone tiles.

HONED

A smooth matt machined surface finish on stone tiles.

POLISHED

A high gloss finish created at the quarry as part of the production process using machines that buff the tiles to create an evenly reflective surface.

POROSITY

All natural stones absorb moisture. A stone’s susceptibility and ease of which moisture is absorbed is described as its level of porosity. All natural stone tiles have to be sealed to substantially reduce porosity.

RIVEN

Uneven surface finish usually found on flagstones, exterior paving and slate. Splitting of layers of hard stone sediment often creates uneven tiles with a natural surface that has not been machined smooth.

RUSTIC

An overall aged appearance which is either natural in appearance or manufactured to look worn.

SANDBLASTED

Also know as shot-blasted. Sand is sprayed at very high speed onto the surface of stone to generate a non-slip or rough finish.

TUMBLED

Tumbling stone creates an aged look with uneven natural looking rounded edges and a textured surface.

VEIN CUT

Usually refers to travertine cut vertically as opposed to the more common horizontal method. Cutting in the same direction as the layers of sediment reveals lines of different coloured stone.

WATERJET

A high pressure computer-controlled waterjet that is used to accurately cut stone into precise shapes. Often used to cut fine art floors and mosaics.