All natural tiles vary slightly between production runs. Sizes change between “batches” and this means that mixing & matching different production batches is seldom possible.  “Rectified” tiles are deliberately made over-size, and are then cut on a diamond saw at the factory to a common caliber. The rectified edge is a contemporary finish and enables the tiles to be fitted closer together providing a small grout line. Cutting or grinding the edges off a tile allows the dimensions and squareness to be precisely controlled. Rectified calibration also means that rectified tiles will still work together when modular sizes are mixed.

Rectified – also known as dimensionally stable – tiles have been cut after firing and usually have crisp, rectangular cut edges for accurate tiling so need extra care when tiling compared to standard tiles. Rectified tiles are not an easy installation as all the tiles need to be set at the same height to avoid lippage; this means that the surface to be tiled needs to be flat and you need to be aware of any high and low spots. Most tiles and especially rectified tiles are squares or rectangles with right angled corners, however, the natural tolerances of construction mean that rooms are rarely square so tiles must be laid independent of the room edges. Many people choose rectified tiles to be able to use narrower grout lines; if this is your purpose you’ll need to use a finer grouting compound than standard, probably sand free to be able to uniformly fill the narrower gap.

Rectified products have increased in popularity over recent times. All of the porcelain tiles designed and produced by The Tile Company are rectified and allow for fine grout joints between tiles resulting in a beautiful and contemporary finished look.