What a cement tile is
Three layers go into the mold. The face is a fine mix of cement, marble dust and mineral pigment; under it sits a coarser layer of cement and sand; under that a structural backing. A hydraulic press brings them together in one piece and the tile then cures over weeks, the way a concrete floor cures.
Cement tile is unglazed and unfired, so the face carries no glass layer and the body underneath stays unvitrified. The color on the face is a solid pigmented mineral layer a few millimeters deep.
Why the pattern is in the tile
On a glazed ceramic the decoration is a printed or painted film under a glaze, so it lives at the surface. On a cement tile the pigmented layer itself is the pattern, so the design runs through the top few millimeters of the tile instead of sitting on top of it.
As a cement floor wears, the surface dulls and softens, and because that wear happens inside the pigmented layer, the pattern stays legible for many years of traffic.
How a cement pattern is made
A thin brass divider is set into the mold, shaped to the outline of the pattern, and each compartment it creates is filled by hand with a different pigmented mix. The divider is lifted before the press comes down.
Hand filling gives a cement tile pattern a slight softness where two colors meet, and the registration varies a little from piece to piece. Pigment is mixed in batches and curing conditions move a shade slightly, so a little color variation between tiles is part of the material.
Honed and polished 8x8 cement tile
Eight by eight inches is the traditional nominal size for cement tile. The polished tiles in this collection list their actual size as 20 by 20 centimeters, a shade under eight inches, and the coverage figures on the product pages reflect the actual piece size. Patterns are drawn to that square so the figure completes across a set number of pieces.
The handmade honed group
Stella and Flecha are multicolor patterned squares and Bianca is a white hexagon; the three are titled handmade and share a honed face and a 5/8 inch thickness. Honed means the surface is ground flat to a matte finish, which keeps a pattern readable from any angle in a bright room and gives the face the dry mineral look cement tile is known for.
The polished group
Allegro, Arietta and Bel Canto are polished, 11/16 inch thick, and drawn in browns, beiges and grays; Arietta carries a star and polygon motif that recalls Moroccan geometric work. The polish gives the face a soft sheen that catches the light and deepens the browns and grays in the pattern; Bel Canto is listed for interior walls, Arietta for light-traffic floors and Allegro for floors and walls.
Cement tile is absorbent
A porcelain tile takes up almost no water because vitrification closes the body. Cement has no equivalent step, so cement tile stays an absorbent mineral in the way a cast concrete floor is absorbent, and it can take up oil, wine or acidic spills if the surface is left open.
For that reason cement tile is commonly sealed, both before and after grouting, and resealed over its life. The sealing and care requirement for a specific tile is set by its maker and is listed on its product page.
Choosing between cement and fired tile
Fired porcelain and ceramic are chosen for exact repetition and a dense body that needs little upkeep. Cement tile is chosen for a pattern carried through a thick pigmented face, a matte mineral surface, and the small handmade variation from tile to tile that gives a floor its character. The choice comes down to which of those a room calls for.
Printed patterns in a fired body are in ceramic tile and porcelain tile. Cement cast as a stacked wall cladding is its own product: cement ledger panels come as single panels for fireplace walls, feature walls and exteriors.
