Before shipment, order a core set of tests on tiles taken from your own packed lot: dimensions and surface quality, water absorption, and breaking strength. Then add the tests that your market and end use require, such as slip resistance for floors or frost resistance for outdoor tiles.
The point is to test what will actually ship. A test report on a sample made months ago tells you what the factory can make. A test on your lot tells you what you are buying.
The core tests for every order
Almost all tile tests are methods in the ISO 10545 series. The standard that sets the pass levels for each tile group is ISO 13006, or EN 14411 in Europe. These three tests cover the basics for any tile:
- ISO 10545-2 checks length, width, thickness, straightness of sides, squareness, flatness and surface quality.
- ISO 10545-3 measures water absorption, which confirms the tile's group, for example BIa at 0.5% or less for porcelain.
- ISO 10545-4 measures modulus of rupture and breaking strength, which tells you whether the tile is strong enough for its use.
Why water absorption matters
Water absorption also decides the tariff line, so a wrong result can affect your customs entry as well as your quality claim. Our guide to breaking strength explains how that test works and how to read the result.
Tests that depend on use and market
Add tests where the tile's use or your market calls for them. Do not pay for tests that answer questions nobody will ask.
- For glazed floor tiles, ISO 10545-7 gives the surface abrasion class, often called the PEI class.
- For unglazed tiles, ISO 10545-6 measures deep abrasion.
- For outdoor tiles in cold climates, ISO 10545-12 tests frost resistance.
- For wall tiles, ISO 10545-11 tests crazing resistance of the glaze.
- For kitchens, labs and public areas, ISO 10545-13 tests chemical resistance and ISO 10545-14 tests stain resistance.
- For floors, slip resistance is tested to the method your market uses, such as DIN 51130 ramp ratings in Germany or DCOF to ANSI A326.3 in the US.
- ISO 10545-9 tests thermal shock resistance, which matters where tiles meet hot water or heat.
How to take the samples
The sampling matters as much as the test. ISO 10545-1 sets out how to draw samples from a lot and how many tiles each test needs. Follow it, or follow the lab's instruction based on it.
Have the samples drawn from packed boxes of your order, chosen at random by your inspector, not handed over by the factory. Seal and sign the sample bags, and record the design, shade, calibre and batch printed on each box. Send them to a laboratory accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 for the tests you need.
Time this well. Tests take days, so draw samples as soon as a good part of the order is packed. That leaves time to act on a failure before the container is loaded and the balance is paid.
What to do with the report
Compare each result with the requirement in ISO 13006 or EN 14411 for the tile's group, and with any higher value in your contract. Check that the report names the right product, the lot details and the lab's accreditation. Our guide on reading a lab certificate lists what to look for.
Lab tests sit alongside a visual inspection of the lot, not instead of it. Our article on AQL for tile inspection explains how many boxes to open.
How we help
We draw and seal samples from your packed lot, send them to an accredited lab and check the results against your contract before loading. To agree the right test list for your product and market, book a free sourcing review.