Zellige Tile Information
Zellige is hands down my favorite tile to install!
Zellige is a handcrafted natural glazed clay tile, traditionally from Morocco. If the tile is not hand chiseled in Morocco, it is not considered a true Zellige tile. There are many manufacturers that are making “faux zellige” these days and calling it Zellige. Because of this, many designers and installers don’t know the difference between the 2 or don’t know what a true Zellige tile is and how to work with it. An inexperienced installer that is used to faux Zellige will have a very hard time working with true Zellige. Faux zellige is a factory-made ceramic with imperfect characteristics built into the tile. It will be far more consistent that a true Zellige tile.
The beauty of Zellige is that each tile is unique, with irregularity of surface, tone, size, flatness, thickness and color. Chips, variation in shade and size, and divots are all part of the natural look of Zellige and should be expected. However, there are limits to these inconsistencies. When selecting your material, it is best to go with a high-quality manufacturer. I have worked with materials from dozens of manufacturers, and I would recommend ordering from Riad, Bedrosians, Cle, or The Tile Shop. This is not a comprehensive list, as I have not worked with all manufacturers of Zellige, rather a starting point if you’re looking for material. I do receive a contractor discount from Riad and Bedrosians, which I pass along to all of my clients.
Having worked with material from various manufacturers, I have also come to find material that is very low quality. I would recommend NOT purchasing any material from Zia Tile. While imperfections are inherent in this type of material, Zia takes it to a whole new level and interprets that as no need for quality control. Their glaze has a lot of unmixed pigment spots (green or blue dots on the face of the tile). They do not mix their clay thoroughly, so you will get extremely large, and frequent “lime pops” (see photos below for an example). This is where the lime has not been mixed into the clay properly and after firing in the kiln, causes the glaze to pop off and leave large divots in the tile. Sometimes it will take months after the installation for some of these lime pops to “pop”. Leaving you with what originally looked like an acceptable installation but now has huge divots in the tile. Smaller “lime pops”, no more than 3/8”, are expected and considered acceptable and part of the aesthetic of this material. However, you will see lime pops in Zia Tile Zellige that are up to 1”. No matter what the glaze color is, there is a lot of brown in all their finishes. This is also due to poor mixing of the pigment for the glaze. It’s not just Zia Tile’s Zellige that is poor quality, their cement and cotto tiles are also poorly made and rushed out of the factory. Zia Tile will ship out substandard materials and then expect you to take the time to sort through them and request replacements. This is a waste of time, energy, and resources for everyone involved. I have reached out to them several times regarding issues with their material, and all they do is blame the installer. Given their substandard materials, and deplorable customer service, I require a waiver to be signed by the client prior to installing anything by Zia Tile. I also require you to purchase at least 35% over the actual square footage to ensure there is enough usable square footage for the project.
Below are photos of some of my completed Zellige projects, as well as a couple photos of the quality of Zia Tile’s Zellige.
