Once upon a time, I thought that wall tile was the same as any other tile. Then I learned that this is not necessarily so.
It is possible to install wall time on the floor, or floor tile on the wall, but you'll find the going much easier if you get the right kind of tile before installation.
Wall Tile Tends to Be Smaller
While smaller sizes are often used, floor tile typically ranges from 12" to 18" or even more. Because of its visible nature and the difficulty of installing wall tile on a vertical surface, wall tile tends to be around 4" x 4" or smaller. Mosaic tile in 1" x 1" and subway tile in 1" x 2" are other common sizes.
Softer Than Floor Tile
Nobody expects to walk on the wall. Because wall tile usually does not stand up to the abuse of floor tile, it tends to be softer. This makes a big difference to you when you are installing wall tile: softer means that it's easier to cut, and less prone to breakage.
Vitreous Surface
Wall tile is most often installed in showers and bathtubs. With this high concentration of water, the hard, glazed surface (vitreous) of wall tile is most favorable. By contrast, an absorbent tile such as terracotta or
quarry tile can be used on horizontal floor surface, but would never be used as a wall tile.
Decorative, More Expensive
Wall tile is highly visible; it is practically staring you in the face. While you can get by with more homely tile for the floor, wall tile tends to be more decorative, and thus more costly.
Specialty Wall Tile
Wall tile lends itself to extra embellishments that are found less often in floor tile. Bands, borders, and
listellos are often found in wall tile installations to improve the look and mitigate the monotony of these installations.
Exotic Materials? Wall Tile Has It Covered
Can you imagine walking on glass? Not the greatest idea. But because no one will ever be walking on your wall tile, you can introduce all sorts of gorgeous and unusual materials: glass of all different colors, tin, stainless steel, highly polished natural stone, and more.
