Essentially there are two types of shower valves, thermostatic and manual. A thermostatic valve maintains a constant set temperature. As long as the valve is set to your preferred temperature you simply turn the shower on and it will maintain that temperature. A manual valve, on the other hand, involves adjusting the temperature for your desired comfort.
One of the key differences between the valves is when someone else in the house turns on a hot tap. With a thermostatic valve you shouldn’t notice any difference to the shower temperature as the valve will compensate for the drop in hot pressure. With a manual valve the drop in hot pressure can mean that the shower suddenly becomes very cold. As a result you need to adjust the valve temperature to make the water hotter but once someone else in the house has turned the hot tap off, suddenly the shower temperature becomes too hot thus requiring more adjustment.
Most thermostatic valves require that the water pressure for hot and cold feeds is equal in order to maintain the perfect temperature.
For a long time now tiles have proved to be a hugely popular choice of furnishing for homes and businesses. Tiles offer a hard wearing attractive look to a room and come in an enormous variety of shapes and sizes. So what types of tiles are there?
Ceramic Tiles
Ceramic tiles can be glazed or unglazed (although they are normally glazed). They are made from a combination of sand,gypsum and shale which is heated in an oven to form the tile. The higher the temperature of the oven the harder the tile will be. Ceramic tiles are porous due to the materials involved which is why they are normally glazed. Ceramic tiles are normally soft and can therefore be cut easily with most types of tile cutters whether they are dry cutters or wet cutters. Ceramic tiles are usually the most affordable but offer an enormous range of colours and patterns.
Porcelain Tiles
Porcelain tiles are made from pure clays which are shaped by dry pressing and then heated in very hot ovens. This results in a very hard material which normally retains the same colour throughout the tile. If you were to chip a porcelain tile you would notice that the chipped section would be the same colour as the front of tile whereas glazed ceramic tiles do not have this feature. Porcelain tiles are very hard, durable, dense, resistant to frost and abrasion, and are non-porous. Because porcelain is a harder material is it more difficult to cut and drill. Specialist tile cutting is often required using diamond wheel wet saws and drilling has to be done with specialist drill bits. Porcelain has come down in price a lot recently due to advances in manufacturing techniques and offers a massive range of shapes sizes, textures and colours.
Quarry Tiles
Quarry tiles are made from natural clays squeezed through an extruding machine and then fired. These tiles are very traditional and have been made in the same way for hundreds of years. Quarry tiles are normally found in terracotta, black and white colours.
Natural Stone Tiles
These tiles consist of marble, limestone, granite and slate. They are natural products so they often need sealing prior to fixing and grouting. These tiles types can be hard or soft but all require extra special care in fixing and maintenance.
