Brown Natural Subway Terracotta Tiles 2 5/8×9 5/8

A natural finish terracotta subway at 2 5/8 by 9 5/8, which means the clay is left as fired rather than glazed. The body runs 5/8 inch and thirty two pieces make a box covering 5.6 square feet.

The clay itself

Natural finish puts the material on show: the colour belongs to the clay and the firing rather than to a coating applied over it. That gives a warmth no glaze reproduces, and it also means the surface is porous in a way a glazed tile is not. Variation between pieces is slight, style is recorded as rustic, and the elongated subway proportion draws a wall sideways.

• Colour from the clay Fired body rather than an applied glaze carries the tone.
• Long proportion At nearly ten inches by two and a half, the piece reads horizontal.

Rated broadly indoors

Light residential floors, shower walls, and interior walls and floors in both homes and commercial premises make up the approvals, with living room and kitchen as the rooms named. Thirty two pieces and 5.6 square feet come in each box, so a dozen will finish 60 square feet after offcuts. The important difference from a glazed tile is porosity: an unglazed body takes up what lands on it, which makes the sealing conversation with your installer worth having before anything goes down.

• Porous body Nothing seals the surface, so liquids can be absorbed.
• A dozen boxes 5.6 square feet each, covering 60 square feet after offcuts.

Why we chose it

• Real material The surface is the clay itself rather than a coating on top of it.
• Substantial body 5/8 inch, heavier than a standard wall tile.
• Broad rating Floors, walls and shower walls all appear, domestic and commercial.

Care

Unglazed terracotta takes up liquid, so sealing matters more than it would on a glazed tile and spills want wiping quickly. Clean with a product suited to natural terracotta rather than a general purpose cleaner.