RICHARD HOWLAND
THINNER — slim • lightweight • porcelain • perfect
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, there’s a whole new take
on thin tile which could revolutionize the way we decorate with tile.
A
s this issue was going to press, Florida Tile was unveiling
what is seen as an all-new tile category, a large-format, thin,
true-porcelain tile as little as 3mm thick and up to 10 feet long,
yet with multiple benefits for new construction and makeovers.
Appropriately called “Thinner,” the new lines are incredibly
lightweight, durable, flexible and easy to cut and handle, allowing countless installation options, only a fraction of which have
been explored. Colors range from solids to the gritty urban look
to the look of antique American hardwoods, right down to the
plank format.
The Florida Tile manufacturing process compresses each
tile to greater than 15,000 tons psi, resulting in a very dense,
strong, thin tile with increased flexibility and breaking strength.
An 0.5mm fiberglass mesh backing is adhered to each panel
for additional strength and also allowing for ease of drilling,
cutting and handling. This process allows us to create a single
3.5mm thick panel with a size up to 1m x 3m (39" × 118").
Depending on the product, Thinner is available in 3.5 and
5.5mm thicknesses
There actually are two “Thinner” thinnesses. The 3plus
line (3.5mm) is suitable for interior and exterior, wall, floor and
countertop applications in residential and light commercial
construction. 5plus (5.5mm) has been rated for “extra heavy”
duty service, making it appropriate for commercial floor, wall
and exterior applications as well as all residential floor, wall,
countertop, stairs.
Thinner can be applied over properly prepared existing tile
floors and will accommodate many curved surfaces. Thinner
is non-absorbent, easy to clean and resistant to acid, stains
and pollution. Furthermore, installation is easy, since Thinner is
lighter, easy to cut and drill. In fact, installation time, even for the
extremely large pieces is reduced by 40 percent over traditional
tiles,” he continues.
The first three products are:
❚ Time/2.0, featuring a modernist minimal monochromatic
graphic with a solid color palette of 6 colors, Snow, Black,
Beige, Carbon, Cream and Silver.
❚ RestoreHDP which takes on the look of 150-200-year-old
barn planks, complete with worn character.
❚ Aventis, which is inspired by urban landscapes and
definitive of contemporary design, this is another 6-color
palette of strong grey and olive tones for cool, minimal looks.
For more information, visit www.floridatile.com/thinner. ■
Left: Time/2.0 in Silver; below:
RestoreHDP Weathered Dock;
right: Aventis in Eclipse.
SUMMER 2015
15