Bathroom tile- Porcelain or Ceramic

I am in the middle of a bathroom renovation. I will be doing tile soon, but have not decided what to use. I am trying to watch my budget. I am looking at travertine style ceramic and porcelain tiles. The porcelain is about 4x more expensive. Is this really worth it for a bathroom floor? a tub surround?

Related question- I watched a youtube video on shower tiling. This man was a proponent of using green board drywall coated with "Redgard" as opposed to cement backer board on a shower wall. Thoughts?

 

Don't believe everything you watch on line, use cement backer 1/2" on walls 1/4" on floors.

The tile will be your choice, either will work.

 

Got it! Thx. They say porcelain wears better than ceramic. Is ceramic OK for the floors and walls both?

 

I would never risk using green board in a shower or tub area. The cost difference to use Hardie Backer or cement board is minimal so why risk it?

I have found porcelain to be much more durable but you don't need it. I have a mixture of ceramic and porcelain in my home and 15 years after installation neither is showing any sign of wear. Where I noticed that porcelain was more durable was during installation. If I dropped a ceramic tile it would break but the porcelain most often would not. That durability can also be a problem. The porcelain I choose for our master bath was a major PITA to drill. It ate carbide bits as a snack so I had to take the tiles into the shop and use diamond drills to make my holes for faucets which really slowed the process. So pick the tile by appearance and what matches your budget and not worry about porcelain vs ceramic.

One benefit of porcelain though is that the color often goes all the way through. So if you are going to have any exposed cut edges (a situation you try to avoid) you can often polish the edge of porcelain and have it look good. Ceramic is usually white or beige underneath regardless of the top color so exposed edges don't look as good.

 

Pick the tile you like best based on YOUR criteria, installed correctly they will all provide years of service.

If going the drywall route, look into Ditra, or in my case Prova membrane systems.

These are the new state of the art installation methods!!

 

I appreciate the feedback. It is confusing with the internet. So many opinions and none of them the same. I am often wondering if some of it is just to push another product that you don't need. It helps to talk to pros. Thx

 

Why would you want to spend money on greenboard ($20 per sheet) and Red Gard ($65 per gallon), when CBU ($15 per sheet) is less expensive and will do the job better? No internet hype, just facts of economics and practicality.

 

Has cement board gone up that much? last I bought was $10 per 3x5 sheet.

Greenboard was an economical substitution to a mud bed but once cement board came around it no longer had any use behind tile!

 

I would guess it is not so much about the cost as maybe green baord maybe easier to work with.

 

Actually Mark, it was $13 a sheet here in the boonies, I was just adding in for inflation of big towns.

SJMaye, I don't see how greenboard could be easier to work with. Most tub/showers are 5' long and either 32" or 36" wide. CBU comes 3'x5', making the measurements almost fit the hole perfectly.

 

I am leaving well enough alone. I will do cement board .

 

I think Larry meant to say that cement board comes in 3x5, greenboard comes in 4x8 or longer.

I just checked our local Lowes website and depending on thickness and brand they sell cement board for $9.50 to $15.09 a sheet.

 

Thanks for the catch, Marksr.