Kajaria Ceramics: The Complete Tile Specification Guide for Indian Architects and Interior Designers
Kajaria is India's largest tile brand — but are you specifying the right product for each application? Complete guide to Kajaria tile types, technical specs, and correct use.
Tiles are on every Indian project. Residential floors, bathroom walls, kitchen backsplashes, office lobbies, hotel corridors, terrace decks, building facades — the tile specification touches almost every surface in Indian construction, and it is made dozens of times per project.
Kajaria Ceramics is India's largest ceramic tile manufacturer — listed on the BSE and NSE, operating multiple plants across India, and selling through one of the country's widest tile distribution networks. Their product range covers virtually every tile category, application, and price point in the Indian market.
But the breadth of that range is also where specification errors happen. The wrong tile in the wrong application — a polished floor tile in a wet bathroom, a wall tile specified for a high-traffic commercial floor, a standard vitrified tile on an exterior terrace — produces outcomes that fail early, look bad fast, and generate client callbacks.
This guide covers the complete Kajaria product range with specification notes for each category, so the right tile reaches the right application on every project.
Understanding Tile Types Before Specifying
Before the Kajaria range, the technical foundation — because tile terminology in India is used inconsistently, and specifying by name alone without understanding the product type produces errors.
Ceramic Tiles
Manufactured from red or white clay, fired at lower temperatures than vitrified tiles. Higher water absorption rate (6–10%) makes them suitable for wall applications and low-traffic residential floors in dry areas. Generally lower cost than vitrified.
Specify for: Bathroom walls, kitchen walls, bedroom feature walls, low-traffic residential floors in dry areas
Do not specify for: High-traffic floors, wet area floors, outdoor applications, commercial floors
Vitrified Tiles
Manufactured from a mixture of silica, quartz, feldspar, and clay, fired at higher temperatures. Water absorption below 0.5% — effectively non-porous. Harder, denser, and more durable than ceramic. The standard specification for Indian residential and commercial floors.
Specify for: Living room floors, bedroom floors, office floors, commercial lobbies, kitchen floors
GVT — Glazed Vitrified Tiles
Vitrified tile body with a decorative glaze applied to the surface — allowing complex patterns, marble effects, wood effects, and stone effects to be printed with high resolution. The glaze is not full-body — it is a surface layer. This means the tile is visually rich but the surface can show wear on very high-traffic applications over time.
Specify for: Premium residential floors, hospitality guestrooms, boutique retail, bedroom feature areas, bathroom floors in low-traffic residential
PGVT — Polished Glazed Vitrified Tiles
GVT with a mirror-polish surface finish. High visual impact — reflective, luxurious, makes spaces feel larger and brighter. The polished surface requires regular maintenance to retain appearance and becomes slippery when wet.
Specify for: Living rooms, hotel lobbies (with appropriate slip resistance caveat), feature walls, dry commercial spaces
Critical note: Never specify PGVT in bathrooms, kitchens, or any wet area without explicit client briefing on slip risk. This is one of the most common specification errors in Indian residential projects.
Full Body Vitrified Tiles
The colour and pattern run through the full thickness of the tile — not just the surface glaze. This means edge chips and surface wear do not reveal a contrasting clay body underneath. The correct specification for very high-traffic applications where long-term appearance matters.
Specify for: Commercial corridors, retail floors, hospital floors, airport-grade applications, outdoor areas where edge chipping is possible
Large Format Tiles and Slabs
Tiles above 600×600mm — including 600×1200, 800×1600, and slab formats up to 1200×2400mm. Large format tiles reduce grout lines, create a more seamless appearance, and are increasingly specified for both floor and wall applications in premium projects. Kajaria's Eternia range covers large format slabs used for countertops, wall cladding, and floor applications.
Specify for: Premium residential floors and walls, feature walls, bathroom wall-to-floor continuity, kitchen countertops (slab format), exterior wall cladding
Specification note: Large format tiles require a perfectly level substrate — tolerances that are acceptable for standard tile sizes produce visible lippage (edge height variation) on large format. Specify substrate preparation requirements explicitly in drawings.
Kajaria Product Collections — What to Know
Kajaria Floor Tiles
The core of the Kajaria range. Available from 300×300mm to 800×1600mm and beyond in the large format range. Collections span every aesthetic — marble effects, wood effects, concrete effects, stone effects, and solid colours across matte, satin, and polished finishes.
Key collections:
Entice — marble-effect GVT and PGVT for premium residential
Timber — wood-plank effect tiles in multiple species looks, ideal for bedroom floors where real wood is impractical in Indian humidity
Stature — large format floor tiles for open-plan contemporary interiors
Outdoor — specific collection for exterior and semi-exterior floors
Specification checklist for floor tiles:
Confirm PEI rating matches expected foot traffic (PEI 3 for residential, PEI 4–5 for commercial)
Confirm slip resistance — DCOF value above 0.42 for wet areas per international standard
Specify grout joint width alongside tile size — larger tiles typically require wider joints to accommodate dimensional variation
Specify tile adhesive grade — standard cement mortar is not appropriate for large format tiles
Kajaria Wall Tiles
Ceramic and vitrified wall tiles for bathroom and kitchen applications. Kajaria's wall tile range covers standard bathroom sizes (300×450, 300×600) through to large format wall tiles (600×1200) for feature wall applications.
Key collections:
Aqua — bathroom-specific wall tiles with moisture-resistant properties
Verve — decorative feature wall tiles for living room and bedroom applications
Kitchen Chic — tile collections specifically designed for Indian kitchen backsplash applications — oil-resistant glaze, easy-clean surface
Specification note for Indian bathrooms: Indian bathroom walls are typically tiled full height — floor to ceiling — which requires more tile quantity than partial-height tiling. Calculate quantities for full-height coverage including all wet walls and the entire bathroom perimeter, not just shower zone.
Kajaria Outdoor and Parking Tiles
Exterior applications have entirely different requirements from interior tiles — UV stability, frost resistance (in North Indian cities), slip resistance when wet, and structural strength to bear vehicle loads in parking applications.
Key collections:
Solero Outdoor — UV-stable, slip-resistant tiles for terraces, gardens, and pool surrounds
Parking Tiles — heavy-duty tiles rated for vehicle load-bearing applications
Critical specification notes:
All outdoor tiles must be slip-resistant — minimum R11 rating (DIN 51130 standard) for outdoor pedestrian areas, R12 for areas with slope or water
Parking tiles must be specified with vehicle load bearing capacity confirmed — confirm with Kajaria technical team for specific vehicle weights
Grouting for exterior applications must use polymer-modified grout to handle thermal expansion — standard grout cracks in Indian temperature cycles
Kajaria Bathroom Solutions — Beyond Tiles
Kajaria has expanded beyond tiles into complete bathroom solutions — sanitaryware, bath fittings, vanity units, and accessories — through their Kajaria Bathrooms range. This positions Kajaria as a one-stop specification for complete bathroom projects.
For architects and interior designers: The advantage of specifying Kajaria tiles alongside Kajaria sanitaryware is design coordination — collections are designed to work together aesthetically. The risk is vendor concentration — a single supplier for multiple bathroom components creates procurement dependency. Evaluate on a project-by-project basis.
Technical Specifications Every Architect Must Know
Water Absorption Rate
The most important technical parameter for determining where a tile can be used.
Classification | Water Absorption | Suitable For |
|---|---|---|
Group Ia | < 0.5% | All floor applications, wet areas, exterior |
Group Ib | 0.5–3% | Indoor floors, dry exterior |
Group IIa | 3–6% | Wall tiles, low-traffic dry floors |
Group IIb | 6–10% | Wall tiles only |
Always confirm water absorption classification before specifying in wet areas or exterior applications. Kajaria product data sheets confirm the classification for each product.
PEI Rating — Abrasion Resistance
The Porcelain Enamel Institute (PEI) scale rates tile surface resistance to abrasion from foot traffic.
PEI Rating | Application |
|---|---|
PEI 1 | Wall tiles only |
PEI 2 | Residential bathrooms (light traffic) |
PEI 3 | Residential floors, light commercial |
PEI 4 | Commercial floors, offices, retail |
PEI 5 | Heavy commercial, airports, hospitals |
Most Indian residential projects are correctly served by PEI 3. Commercial and hospitality projects should specify PEI 4 minimum.
Slip Resistance
Specified using the DCOF (Dynamic Coefficient of Friction) value for floor tiles.
Dry interior floors: DCOF above 0.42
Wet interior floors (bathrooms, kitchens): DCOF above 0.60
Exterior floors: DCOF above 0.65, or R11/R12 DIN rating
Polished tiles — PGVT and high-gloss surfaces — have low DCOF values when wet. Always check and record the slip resistance value before specifying in wet or exterior applications.
Indian Standards
Kajaria tiles are manufactured to Bureau of Indian Standards specifications:
IS 13006 — Ceramic tiles: definitions, classification, characteristics
IS 15622 — Porcelain and vitrified tiles
IS 13753 — Ceramic mosaic tiles
Confirming BIS certification in specifications protects the project against substitution with non-certified product during procurement.
Common Specification Errors — and How to Avoid Them
Error 1: Specifying PGVT in bathrooms.
Polished tiles are dangerous when wet. This is the most common tile specification error in Indian residential projects. Always specify matte or satin finish tiles in bathroom floors, or confirm DCOF value above 0.60.
Error 2: Using wall tiles on high-traffic floors.
Ceramic wall tiles are softer and have higher water absorption than floor tiles. Specified on busy floors they crack, chip, and stain within months. Always confirm PEI rating before specifying any tile on a floor application.
Error 3: Specifying interior tiles outdoors.
Standard vitrified tiles are not UV-stable and are not tested for freeze-thaw cycles. In North Indian cities that experience below-zero winters, non-rated tiles on exterior surfaces crack within one season.
Error 4: Ignoring grout specification.
The tile is only as good as the grout and adhesive system beneath it. Specifying a premium tile over incorrect adhesive or standard cement grout in a large-format or wet application produces failure at the joint, not the tile. Always specify adhesive and grout type alongside the tile.
Error 5: Not confirming lot consistency for large projects.
Tile colour and surface variation exists between manufacturing batches. On large projects, confirm with the supplier that sufficient quantity from a single production batch is available for the full project requirement. Mixed batches produce visible colour variation across the floor.
Managing Tile Specifications Across a Project
On a project with multiple tile types across multiple spaces — different floors for living, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, terrace, parking — keeping specification documents current and ensuring contractors purchase what is specified is a documentation challenge.
Substitutions happen: a specified tile is out of stock, a contractor proposes an alternative, the client changes their mind after seeing the tile on site. Each change needs to be documented, approved, and communicated to the full team.
Wallxy keeps all project specifications, material approvals, and revision records in one organised workspace — accessible to architects, designers, and site supervisors simultaneously. When a tile substitution is proposed on site, the original specification is immediately accessible and any approval is documented. See how Wallxy works →
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