Ceramic & porcelain tiles

Tiles are listed per sq ft like stone, but you always buy whole boxes. Switch “Show price per” to slab / box in the header to see the price per box. The lot page shows pieces per box, sq ft per box and boxes per pallet.

Glazed tiles vary slightly between production runs. Every box in one QwikStone order comes from one shade and batch, printed on the carton. The broker checks the shade code and batch number on every pallet before you pay the balance.

Porcelain and vitrified tiles are pressed and fired hard, absorb less than 0.5% water and suit floors, outdoors and heavy traffic. Ceramic tiles are lighter and more porous — ideal for walls, backsplashes and bathrooms. Check the water absorption and PEI wear rating in the lot's specifications.

PEI is the wear rating for glazed floor tiles (PEI 3 for homes, PEI 4 for busy areas). R9 to R13 is the slip rating — R11 or higher outdoors and on ramps. V1 (uniform) to V4 (high variation) describes how much the pattern changes from tile to tile.

Add 5–7% for straight laying, 10% for diagonal or herringbone patterns and 12–15% for large-format tiles or slabs with many cuts. Keep one or two spare boxes from the same batch for future repairs.

Rectified tiles are ground to exact size after firing, so they can be laid with 2 mm joints. Non-rectified tiles need 3–5 mm joints. All tiles 60 cm and larger on QwikStone are rectified unless the listing says otherwise.

Boxes are strapped on heat-treated wooden pallets with corner protectors and stretch film. Large porcelain slabs travel on A-frames like natural stone. A 20 ft container carries roughly 1,400–1,800 m² of 9 mm tiles before it reaches its weight limit.

Up to 1% breakage is normal in tile shipments and is covered by the seller's packing allowance. Above that, photograph the boxes and pallets within 48 hours of delivery and report it under Returns & refunds — see the returns policy for how credits are calculated.

Many factories send a sample box or offcuts. Use “Request a quote” on the tile's material and mention samples, or ask the seller in the buying request. Sample shipping is paid by the buyer.