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[[Image:Lotfollah mosque, isfahan.jpg|thumb|Decorative tilework in [[Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque]], [[Isfahan (city)|Isfahan]], [[Iran]] - early 17th century]]
A '''tile''' is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as [[ceramic]], [[Rock (geology)|stone]], metal, or even [[glass]].  Tiles are generally used for covering [[roof]]s, [[floor]]s, [[wall]]s, showers, or other objects such as tabletops.  Alternatively, '''tile''' can sometimes refer to similar units made from lightweight materials such as [[perlite]], [[wood]], and [[mineral wool]], typically used for wall and ceiling applications. Less precisely, the modern term can refer to any sort of construction tile or similar object, such as rectangular counters used in playing games (see [[tile-based game]]). The word is derived from the [[French Language|French]] word ''tuile'', which is, in turn, from the [[Latin Language|Latin]] word ''tegula'', meaning a roof tile composed of baked clay. 

Tiles are often used to form [[wall]] and [[floor]] coverings, and can range from simple square tiles to complex [[mosaic]]s. Tiles are most often made from [[ceramic]], with a hard [[ceramic glaze|glaze]] finish, but other materials are also commonly used, such as [[glass]], [[marble]], [[granite]], [[slate]], and reformed ceramic slurry, which is cast in a mould and fired.

== Roof tiles ==
[[Image:Dinkelsbuehl Kirchturm West.jpg|thumb|right|Roofs with "beaver tail" tiles in [[Dinkelsbühl]], Germany.]]
Roof tiles are designed mainly to keep out [[rain]], and are traditionally made from locally available materials such as clay or [[slate]]. Modern materials such as [[concrete]] and [[plastic]] are also used and some clay tiles have a waterproof glaze. A large number of shapes (or "profiles") of roof tiles have evolved.  These include:
*Flat tiles - the simplest type, which are laid in regular overlapping rows.  An example of this is the clay-made "beaver-tail" tile (German ''Biberschwanz''), common in Southern [[Germany]]. Flat roof tiles are usually made of clay but also may be made of stone, wood, plastic, concrete, or [[solar cell]]s.
*[[Imbrex and tegula]], an ancient Roman pattern of curved and flat tiles that make rain channels on a roof.
*[[Roman tile]]s - flat in the middle, with a [[wikt:concave|concave]] [[curve]] at one end at a [[wikt:convex|convex]] curve at the other, to allow interlocking.
*Pantiles - with an S-shaped profile, allowing adjacent tiles to interlock.  These result in a ridged pattern resembling a ploughed field. An example of this is the "double Roman" tile, dating from the late 19th century in England and USA.
*Mission or barrel tiles are semi-[[cylinder (geometry)|cylindrical]] tiles laid in alternating columns of convex and concave tiles. Originally they were made by forming clay around a curved surface, often a log or the maker's [[thigh]]. Today barrel tiles are mass produced from clay, metal, concrete or plastic.

Roof tiles are 'hung' from the framework of a roof by fixing them with [[Nail (engineering)|nails]].  The tiles are usually hung in parallel rows, with each row overlapping the row below it to exclude rainwater and to cover the nails that hold the row below.

There are also roof tiles for special positions, particularly where the planes of the several pitches meet. They include ridge, hip and valley tiles.

=== History===
[[Image:2006 0814RoofTilesFromAphroditaTemple20060314.jpg|thumb|left|Ancient Greek roof tiles]]
[[Image:Roof fragment of the roman bath in Bath, UK.jpg|thumb|right|Roof fragment of Roman bath in [[Bath, Somerset]], [[England]]]]
[[Image:RomanBritishCatTile.jpg|thumb|left|Roman roof tile fragment (78mm wide by 97mm high) found in [[York]], UK, with the impression of a kitten's paw.]]
Fired roof tiles are found as early as the 3rd millennium BC in the [[Early Helladic]] ''[[House of the tiles]]'' in [[Lerna]], [[Greece]].<ref name="Joseph W. Shaw 59">Joseph W. Shaw, The Early Helladic II Corridor House: Development and Form, ''American Journal of Archaeology'', Vol. 91, No. 1. (Jan., 1987), pp. 59-79 (59)</ref> <ref name="John C. Overbeck 5">John C. Overbeck, “Greek Towns of the Early Bronze Age”, ''The Classical Journal'', Vol. 65, No. 1. (Oct., 1969), pp. 1-7 (5)</ref> Debris found at the site contained thousands of terracotta tiles having fallen from the roof.<ref name="J. L. Caskey 314">J. L. Caskey, "Lerna in the Early Bronze Age", ''American Journal of Archaeology'', Vol. 72, No. 4. (Oct., 1968), pp. 313-316 (314)</ref> In the [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]] period, roofs tiles are documented for [[Gla]] and [[Midea, Greece|Midea]].<ref>Ione Mylonas Shear, “Excavations on the Acropolis of Midea: Results of the Greek-Swedish Excavations under the Direction of Katie Demakopoulou and Paul åström”, ''American Journal of Archaeology'', Vol. 104, No. 1. (Jan., 2000), pp. 133-134</ref>

The earliest finds of roof tiles in [[Archaic period in Greece|archaic Greece]] are documented from a very restricted area around [[Corinth]] ([[Greece]]), where fired tiles began to replace thatched roofs at two temples of [[Apollo]] and [[Poseidon]] between 700-650 BC.<ref>Örjan Wikander, p.285</ref> Spreading rapidly,  roof tiles were within fifty years in evidence for a large number of sites around the Eastern [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]], including Mainland [[Greece]], Western [[Asia Minor]], Southern and Central [[Italy]].<ref>Örjan Wikander, p.286</ref> Early roof tiles showed an S-shape, with the pan and cover tile forming one piece. They were rather bulky affairs, weighing around 30&nbsp;kg apiece.<ref>William Rostoker; Elizabeth Gebhard, p. 212</ref> Being more expensive and labour-intensive to produce than thatch, their introduction has been explained by their greatly enhanced fire resistance which gave desired protection to the costly temples.<ref>Örjan Wikander, p.289</ref>

The spread of the roof tile technique has to be viewed in connection with the simultaneous rise of monumental architecture in ancient Greece. Only the appearing stone walls, which were replacing the earlier mudbrick and wood walls, were strong enough to support the weight of a tiled roof.<ref>Marilyn Y. Goldberg, p.309</ref> As a side-effect, it has been assumed that the new stone and tile construction also ushered in the end of 'Chinese roof' (''Knickdach'') construction in Greek architecture, as they made the need for an extended roof as rain protection for the mudbrick walls obsolete.<ref>Marilyn Y. Goldberg, p.305</ref>

Tiling was extensively used by the [[Sinhala people|Sinhalese]] kings of ancient [[Sri Lanka]]. Mostly they used smoothed and polished stones, which were laid on floors and in swimming pools. Historians suggest that they used advanced techniques and tools for tiling, because each tile fits perfectly to the other, with no gaps. They can still be seen at [[Ruwanwelisaya]] and [[Kuttam Pokuna]] in the city of [[Anuradhapura]].

One of the great, 20th Century Italian Tile Masters, was Giuseppe Damato, an immigrant from Barletta, Italy who set many masterpieces in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]].

== Floor tiles ==<!-- This section is linked from [[Symmetry]] -->
[[Image:QVB mosaic.jpg|thumb|left|The elaborate floor pattern of the Sydney [[Queen Victoria Building]]]]
[[Image:Cyprus floor tile.jpg|thumb|right|Floor tile in Karpas, northeastern [[Cyprus]]]]
[[File:6"x6" porcelain floor tiles.jpg|thumb|right|6"x6" porcelain floor tiles]]
[[File:Stone tile patio, Hawaii, 1960.JPG|thumb|left|[[Patio]] with [[rock (geology)|stone]] tile, [[Hawaii]], 1960]]
These are commonly made of ceramic or stone, although recent technological advances have resulted in rubber or [[glass tiles]] for floors as well. Ceramic tiles may be painted and glazed. Small [[mosaic]] tiles may be laid in various patterns. Floor tiles are typically set into [[mortar (masonry)|mortar]] consisting of [[sand]], [[cement]] and often a [[latex]] additive for extra adhesion.  The spaces between the tiles are nowadays filled with sanded or unsanded floor [[grout]], but traditionally mortar was used.


Natural stone tiles can be beautiful but as a natural product they are less uniform in color and pattern, and require more planning for use and installation. Mass produced stone tiles are uniform in width and length.  Granite or marble tiles are sawn on both sides and then polished or finished on the facing up side, so that they have a uniform thickness. Other natural stone tiles such as slate are typically "riven" (split) on the facing up side so that the thickness of the tile varies slightly from one spot on the tile to another and from one tile to another. Variations in tile thickness can be handled by adjusting the amount of mortar under each part of the tile, by using wide grout lines that "ramp" between different thicknesses, or by using a cold chisel to knock off high spots. 

Some stone tiles such as polished granite, marble, and travertine are very slippery when wet. Stone tiles with a riven (split) surface such as slate or with a sawn and then sandblasted or honed surface will be more slip resistant. Ceramic tiles for use in wet areas can be made more slip resistant either by using very small tiles so that the grout lines acts as grooves or by imprinting a contour pattern onto the face of the tile.

The hardness of natural stone tiles varies such that some of the softer stone (e.g. limestone) tiles are not suitable for very heavy traffic floor areas. On the other hand, ceramic tiles typically have a glazed upper surface and when that becomes scratched or pitted the floor looks worn, whereas the same amount of wear on natural stone tiles won't show, or will be less noticeable. 

Natural stone tiles can be stained by spilled liquids; they must be sealed and periodically resealed with a sealant in contrast to ceramic tiles which only need their grout lines sealed. However, because of the complex, non repeating patterns in natural stone, small amounts of dirt on many natural stone floor tiles do not show.

Most vendors of stone tiles emphasize that there will be variation in color and pattern from one batch of tiles to another of the same description and variation within the same batch. Stone floor tiles tend to be heavier than ceramic tiles and somewhat more prone to breakage during shipment.

Rubber floor tiles have a variety of uses, both in residential and commercial settings. They are especially useful in situations where it is desired to have high-traction floors or protection for an easily breakable floor. Some common uses include flooring of garage, workshops, patios, swimming pool decks, sport courts, gyms, and dance floors.

Plastic floor tiles including interlocking floor tiles that can be installed without adhesive or glue are a recent innovation and are suitable for areas subject to heavy traffic, wet areas and floors that are subject to movement, damp or contamination from oil, grease or other substances that may prevent adhesion to the substrate. Common uses include old factory floors, garages, gyms and sports complexes, schools and shops.

[[Medieval letter tiles]] were used to create [[Christian]] inscriptions on [[Church (building)|church]] floors.

== Decorative tilework and coloured brick==
[[File:Blue Turkish Tiles.JPG|left|thumb|Blue Turkish tiles]]
[[Image:Enderun library Topkapi 42.JPG|thumb|120px|[[Topkapi Palace]]]]
[[Image:Tile at Topkapi Palace Istanbul.jpg|thumb|120px|[[Topkapi Palace]]]]
[[Image:Window Apartments of the Crown Prince.JPG|thumb|right|120px|[[Topkapi Palace]]]]
Decorative tilework should be distinguished from [[mosaic]], where forms are made of great numbers of tiny irregularly positioned [[tesserae]] in a single colour, usually of glass or sometimes ceramic.  

The earliest evidence of glazed brick is the discovery of glazed bricks in the [[Elam]]ite Temple at [[Chogha Zanbil]], dated to the 13th century BCE.  Glazed and coloured bricks were used to make low reliefs in Ancient [[Mesopotamia]], most famously the [[Ishtar Gate]] of [[Babylon]] (ca. 575 BCE), now partly reconstructed in [[Berlin]], with sections elsewhere.  Mesopotamian craftsmen were imported for the palaces of the [[Persian Empire]] such as [[Persepolis]].  

=== Islamic tiles ===
The Persian tradition continued, and after the Islamic conquest of Persia coloured and often painted glazed bricks or tiles became an important element in [[Persian architecture]], and from there spread to much of the Islamic world, notably the [[İznik pottery]] of [[Turkey]] under the [[Ottoman Empire]] in the 16th and 17th centuries.  Palaces, public buildings and [[mosque]]s were heavily decorated with dense, often massive patterns and [[frieze]]s of astonishing complexity, including floral motifs and calligraphy as well as geometric patterns. In Safavi era there are quite samples of Persian decorative tile. the capital of Safavis was Isfahan at the time and there are popular mosques, churches, palaces, bazaars and public places decorated with decorative motifs of Persian Tile in that era. Isfahan is still the main city to find this product.

===Western tilework===
[[File:PortugueseDecorativeWallTilesBoucher.jpg|thumb|left|Decorative Portuguese wall tiles, after [[François Boucher]]'s ''[[:File:Boucher Diane sortant du bain Louvre 2712.jpg|Diana Leaving the Bath]]'', installed 2001]]
Transmitted via Islamic Spain, a new tradition of [[Azulejo]]s developed in Spain and especially [[Portugal]], which by the [[Baroque]] period produced extremely large painted scenes on tiles, usually in blue and white.  [[Delftware]] tiles, typically with a painted design covering only one (rather small) tile, were ubiquitous in Holland and widely exported over Northern Europe from the 16th century on.  Several 18th century royal palaces had porcelain rooms with the walls entirely covered in porcelain in tiles or panels.  Surviving examples include ones at [[Museo di Capodimonte|Capodimonte]], Naples, the [[Royal Palace of Madrid]] and the nearby [[Royal Palace of Aranjuez]].

There are several other types of traditional tiles that remain in manufacture, for example the small, almost mosaic, brightly coloured tiles of [[Morocco]].  With exceptions, notably the [[Porcelain Tower of Nanjing]], decorated tiles or glazed bricks do not feature largely in East Asian ceramics.

[[Portugal]] and [[São Luís]] continue their tradition of ''[[azulejo]]'' tilework today. In the United States and other Western counties, decorative tiles were in vogue in the 1920s and 1930s.  Notable among tilemakers of the period were [[Ernest A. Batchelder]] and [[Pewabic Pottery]].

==Pebble tile==
Similar to mosaics or other patterned tiles, pebble tiles are tiles made up of small pebbles attached to a backing. The tile is generally designed in an interlocking pattern so that final installations fit of multiple tiles fit together to have a seamless appearance.  A relatively new tile design, pebble tiles were originally developed in Indonesia using pebbles found in various locations in the country. Today, pebble tiles feature all types of stones and pebbles from around the world, but are still generally associated with pebbles found in exotic locations.  

==Ceiling tiles==
Ceiling tiles are lightweight tiles used in the interior of buildings. They are placed on a steel grid and they provide thermal but especially sound insulation. They are fabricated from [[perlite]], [[mineral wool]], and fibers from recycled paper. They usually have patterns of holes to improve their sound reflection properties.

== Digital tile ==
Printing techniques and digital manipulation of art and photography have converged in custom tile printing. [[Dye sublimation printer]]s, [[inkjet printer]]s and ceramic inks and toners permit printing on a variety of tile types yielding photographic-quality reproduction.<ref>{{Cite web
 |url= http://digitalfire.com/4sight/education/inkjet_decoration_of_ceramic_tiles_344.html
 |title=Inkjet Decoration of Ceramic Tiles
 |work=digitalfire.com
 |accessdate=July 28, 2010
}}</ref> Using digital image capture via [[Image scanner|scanning]] or [[digital cameras]], [[Bitmap graphics|bitmap]]/[[Raster graphics|raster]] images can be prepared in [[Photoshop]] and other [[Image editing|photo editing software]] programs. Specialized custom-tile printing techniques permit transfer under heat and pressure or the use of high temperature kilns to fuse the picture to the tile substrate. This has become an increasingly popular method of producing custom tile murals for kitchens, showers, and commercial decoration in restaurants, hotels, and corporate lobbies.

==Mathematics of tiling==
Certain shapes of tiles, most obviously [[rectangle]]s, can be replicated to cover a surface with no gaps. These shapes are said to ''tessellate'' (from the [[Latin]] ''tessella'', 'tile'). For detailed information on tilings see the [[tessellation]] page.

== Further reading ==
* Marilyn Y. Goldberg, “Greek Temples and Chinese Roofs,” ''American Journal of Archaeology'', Vol. 87, No. 3. (Jul., 1983), pp.&nbsp;305&ndash;310
* Örjan Wikander, “Archaic Roof Tiles the First Generations,” ''Hesperia'', Vol. 59, No. 1. (Jan.&ndash;Mar., 1990), pp.&nbsp;285&ndash;290
* William Rostoker; Elizabeth Gebhard, “The Reproduction of Rooftiles for the Archaic Temple of Poseidon at Isthmia, Greece,” ''Journal of Field Archaeology'', Vol. 8, No. 2. (Summer, 1981), pp.&nbsp;211&ndash;227
* Michel Kornmann and CTTB, "Clay bricks and roof tiles, manufacturing and properties", Soc. Industrie Minerale , Paris (2007) ISBN 2-9517765-6-X

==See also==
{{wiktionary}}
{{commonscat|Tiles}}
*[[Azulejo]]
*[[Building integrated photovoltaics]]
*[[Dimension stone]]
*[[Dropped Ceiling]]
*[[Encaustic tile]]
*[[Glass tiles]]
*[[Imbrex and tegula]]
*[[Marble]]
*[[Mathematical tile]]
*[[Mosaic]]
*[[Porcelain tile]]
*[[Quarry tile]]
*[[Roof shingle]]
*[[Slate]]
*[[Mural#Tile mural|Tile Mural]]
*[[Vitrified Tile]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{Cleanup|date=April 2008}}

==External links==
* [http://www.geopersia.com/ Interactive Girih Tile game]
*[http://www.designboom.com/history/tiles_history.html Ceramic Tile History]

[[Category:Floors]]
[[Category:Roofs]]
[[Category:Pavements]]
[[Category:Fountains]]
[[Category:Mosaic]]
[[Category:Ceramic art]]
[[Category:Building materials]]



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