Floor element for forming a floor covering, a floor covering, and a method for manufacturing a floor element

1. A floor element for forming a floor covering, wherein the floor element comprises:

a decorative layer made of a ceramic material;

a support layer arranged below this decorative layer; and

an intermediate layer comprising a rigid resin material that permeates a lower surface of the decorative layer,

wherein the decorative layer is between 8 mm and 10 mm thick,

wherein the support layer is made of rigid PVC, comprises more than 30 wt % of filler material, and is less than 6 mm thick,

wherein the support layer comprises edges provided with coupling elements configured to realize a mechanical coupling with coupling elements of an adjacent floor element,

wherein the coupling elements are configured to allow realizing a coupling by means of an angling movement, and

wherein the intermediate layer is free from fillers.

2. The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the rigid resin material comprises epoxy.

3. The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the rigid resin material has a viscosity less than 1000 Pas at 20° C.

4. The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the intermediate layer covers 80 percent or more of a lower surface of the decorative layer.

5. The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the intermediate layer comprises a rigid resin material content of at least 150 g/sqm.

6. The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the intermediate layer is an adhesive layer that bonds the decorative layer and the support layer together.

7. The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the decorative layer has an apparent porosity comprised between 0.1% and 10% measured according to ASTM C373.

8. The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the decorative layer has a volume of open pores comprised between 0.01 cc and 1 cc measured according to ASTM C373.

9. The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the decorative layer comprises a red body ceramic tile or a porcelain tile.

10. The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the decorative layer comprises a rectified ceramic tile.

11. The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the support layer has a compressive strength between 40 and 70 MPa.

12. The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the support layer has a flexural modulus between 1.5 and 3.5 GPa.

13. The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the rigid resin material has a hardness greater than 50 Shore D.

14. The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the decorative layer has a flat back surface.

15. The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the rigid resin material has a tensile strength between 50 and 90 MPa.

16. The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the coupling elements are configured such that in the coupled condition a play is established between the coupling elements.

17. The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the floor element has a surface weight of at least 18 kg/sqm.

18. The floor element according to claim 1 , wherein the decorative layer is mounted on the support layer in such a way that an intermediate distance is present between the edges of adjacent decorative layers when the floor elements are in a coupled condition.

19. A floor covering comprising a plurality of floor elements according to claim 1 .

20. The floor covering of claim 19 , further comprising a grout filling an intermediate space between the floor elements.