About Roof Tile, Facade Tile, Pavement Tile

What is a glass-polymer tile and where among other types of roofing material does it stand? Tile, as a material has been in existence for more than a millennium. In terms of its significance, there is an extraordinary superficial appeal of each piece of material. Roofs with tiles have pronounced contour, which creates a unique decorative effect. A roof, besides its direct application, also has a decorative function. This is especially true for buildings with attic floors. In such cases it is necessary to select a beautiful, relief roofing material.

Since it has been established that roofs should be beautiful, let us examine roofing materials, which are offered on the market today.
There are several categories of roofing materials. First, we have widely utilized materials with a short life span period. These are corrugated FAC or Fibro roof sheeting and various types of Rubberoid with dressing compounds and without. Usual wavy relief of Fibro is easy to recognize (it does not bring much enjoyment to the eyes with its gray color). However, it is inexpensive. Now it is gradually being replaced from the market.

 

Further, attention should be paid to more modern roofing materials, which resemble Fibro, and have a wide color range. These are “EuroFibro“, “Nulin“, “Andulin” and others. These are ecologically clean, light, and beautiful materials. However, there are shortcomings such as: poor relief due to the use of large sheets, large amount of cutting work on complex roofs.

Next, we examine all types of metal roofing. Classical zinc-coated metal sheets shine under the sun, which work well with many facades. Fastening seams create a little surface finish on the roof and it is possible to give roof a different color by painting it. Unfortunately, the material does not preserve its decorative properties under the conditions of the Siberian climate. Paint fades and peels off and seams get crooked because of drastic temperature changes. Nevertheless, low prices and relative longevity make this the material of choice. The situation looks much better for corrugated metal sheets. The relief of the sheets conceals seasonal changes of the sheet’s width and aesthetically looks better. However, there are drawbacks. Both regular and corrugated metal sheets are resonant, i.e., rain or wind will become the woes for the owners of attic floors. It is possible to avoid this by using organic tiles, although this will increase the overall cost. All types of metal tend to heat up considerably in the sun. Recently, special types of corrugated metal sheets became largely popular – specifically the ones which are covered by the layer of colored polymer - metal-tile. Material imitates the characteristics of the classical tile and loses color slowly over the course of time. All drawbacks as in the metal roofing remain the same (including large material consumption on complex roofs due to cutting), but the roof appears much more beautiful.

 

Classical roofing materials fall into the last category - classical tiles, copper roofing and soft tile. Soft bituminous tile is used when there is a necessity to cover a complex roof. It requires continuous lathing and involves no cutting. Copper roofing requires thorough installation and selecting the proper joints with the building structure and creates an excellent decorative effect. Classical ceramic tiles have a very high-quality look and differ significantly from the other materials in terms of presentation. This type of roofing can last for several hundred years, but it is very heavy and requires reinforced roof framing. A ceramic tile roof is very expensive.  Concrete or sand-cement tile imitates classical ceramic tile, but is much cheaper. However, due to the technology of manufacturing, this type of tile has washy colors. The weight remains around 50-70 kg per sq. meter, which hampers the advancement of this roofing material.

If you have a dream to have a beautiful and durable rood, but though you could never afford it, glass-filled polymer tile is the affordance answer. In Berdichev it is manufactured by TK "Expertinvestproject".

 

Let us count the advantages of this material (see technical characteristics of glass-filled polymer tile).

Objections? Lay them out! With many advances in building industry as a whole, the market for construction materials remains very conservative. Spending time with the directors of construction companies, heads of supply departments, and architects, there are always doubts, which arise in regard to new products. Let us examine the main objections, which interfere with an acceptance of new material and the decision to include it in an estimate. The first objection usually has nothing in common with either product, or construction in general. Why do we need a new type of roofing material? It is always strange to hear this reason, since it turns out that only I am interested in increasing the profits of the construction company, but not the construction company itself? Indeed all pros are obvious. Construction companies can have competitive advantage, if:

1. its construction cost is cheaper than that of competitors,

2. its buildings look more beautiful,

3. its buildings last longer.

 

Attempting to increase the market share, manufacturing supply departments constantly search for cheaper and more reliable suppliers. It means that the problem is not in the fact that a new construction material is not needed because it is needed! This brings up the second objection.

 

Everything that is new brings uncertainty, which brings fear. Doubts are reasonable. Now we must remember the formal aspect of the matter. Who is accountable for the construction material? Construction companies are responsible to the client and the manufacturer of the construction materials is held liable by the construction companies. Now we can make an analysis of how much confidence the manufacturer has in his material. How many years of guarantee do manufacturers give to metal tiles? 15 or 20 years. Why? Because they cannot guarantee the integrity of a material for a longer period. What does it mean to have a warranty for a metal tile? Manufacturers guarantee that the integrity of polymeric coating will not be compromised WITHOUT any mechanical influence during the course of time. When asked the question whether the color will last, the dealer proudly declares - 20 years. Next you ask a question, whether they can include this into the warranty, and they begin changing the subject of the matter. This is it. Let’s take a look at the old metal-tiled roofs throughout the city. These include only a 5 years time span. We see that colors have faded and strikingly differ from the new sheets.

 

How long is the warranty for glass-filled polymer tile? 30 or 50 years. What does this warranty indicate? That the tiles WILL NOT BRAKE during this period. They cannot fade because of their composition, because the dye is spread throughout the entire material. It turns out that the manufacturer himself trusts much more to the centimeter of the glass-filled polymer mass than a half-millimeter layer of the painted polymer. What are the risks of the construction company? There are none since during the warranty period, all problems with the tile are the problems of the manufacturer. Upon reaching this stage finally we see objections which are related directly to the material.

 

Glass-filled polymer tile is flammable. It is related to the category of materials which are moderately combustible (B2), moderately flammable (G4), do not spread flame (RP1). I.e., the buildings, which are designed as fireproof cannot be covered by this type of roofing. Still the groups of buildings which fall into this category are not significantly great (those are referred to as special buildings), but many decorative and construction materials are highly combustible by definition. These are wooden structures, walls, framework, clapboard, vinyl siding, PVC window, rubberoid on flat roofs etc. We must recall metal-tiled roofing, where a wooden framework is covered by rubberoid and then by thin metal with layers of plastic over and under it. The group of moderate combustion indicates that a tile, even if it does ignite, but only in the process of the full force fire, when everything else is already burning. It is impossible to start a fire either by a spark or by burning matches. In order it to set it on fire, one must make a significant effort. I.e., this objection, although essential, does not exist in a large context and is true only for the very small class of objects.

 

Want to build a hood? Think twice

 

“What is there to think about?” a reader may object. I can cover a light welded carcass with metal tiles and I am done. First, everybody does it that way; second, it looks good, and third, it is quick. Generally speaking, it is always good to give it some thought, especially if money is involved. While working in the construction field, a lot of time is spent driving around the city. In a short time a list of the clients who need a hood renovation is generated. For the larger part, they are the owners of these metal tile hoods. The material, which has proven itself to be so reliable on slope roofs, turned out to be so poorly suitable for hoods. Why? Let’s think together.

 

First, we need to pay attention to what is there above your hood. If you are located on the first floor of the multi-story building then there is the building’s roof over you. What is so bad about that? It is very simple. In spring, melting snow and sharp icicles will come down on your hood like a rainfall. If you made a decision to build a light carcass out of metal, it will be punctured right through. If you are ready to spend more money for sheathing, then the polymeric layer will be damaged and the exterior view will deteriorate. However, what can be done if we want an attractive appearance and moderate cost? There are several ways of solving the problem. First, one. Should fight the cause of the problem. In this case heated roofing and heated drain must be installed on the main roof. This system prevents the formation of icicles and begins melting the snow on time. The installation is not cheap, but if you decide to protect your hood, please write us, we can discuss the prices. Such systems are already being installed in the North and in the South. The second option is to deal with the consequences (with the possibility of damaging the hood by icicles and snow). We can select a hard type of roofing, mount a true frame and lathing. In this case the best choices are corrugated metal sheets and hard types of clay tile. Hard ridges are preferable since any thin metallic sheet will bend and lose its straight shape. Usually painted corrugated metal is not popular, since every other year the paint must be renewed and rarely an owner would want extra troubles upon themselves, especially when it is possible to avoid them. It is better to select the material which has the dye diffused uniformly. All types of tiles are appropriate for this - ceramic, concrete, glass-filled polymer. It is worth mentioning that glass-filler polymer tile has low weight and a comfortable price. Additional expenses for installation will pay for itself after only two years.

 

Wishing you beautiful hoods.

 

Hoods in spring – a pitiful sight

 

The spring has come; icicles are melting merrily… not so merry is the situation for the owners of hoods from metal tile and roofing metal.

 

Take a look for yourself:

Pic. 1

 

and the scariest ones for last:

 

Pic. 2, 3.

 

What is the moral of the story? – build hoods from hard roofing materials. As usual, we are offering our tiles, but there are more choices available. Although glass-filled polymer is completely unaffected by snow, wind, icicles; it cannot be bend during snow cleaning or punctured by objects falling from above. As we can see for ourselves:

 

Pic. 4, 5.