CLAY PRODUCTS

• Roof Tiles
• Floor Tiles
• Wall Tiles
• Manufacturing of Tiles
• Fire Clay or Refractory Bricks
• Terracotta
• Porcelain
• Stoneware
• Earthenware
Clay and its classification
• A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, or
even glass.
• Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects
such as tabletops.
Classification of tiles on the basis of application

A. Roof Tiles
B. Floor Tiles

C. Wall Tiles
D. Ceiling Tiles
Clay roof tile
Thin rectangular burnt clay piece with Interlocking arrangement
Has a nib or projection under it to hold in position
Or nail hole to fix it on the support

• Does not take load

• Protects from rain and wind
• Placed on support in a specific way and is detachable
• It is openable/ replaceable hence no permanent mortar can be used

Flat tile/ Pan tile, Mangalore tile, half round country tile
It forms a temporary roofing structure
Special tiles for ridge and eave
 Roof tile do not take any load (only human load)
It sits on a framework

How it ensure its continuity?

How & where is it placed?

Bricks Roofing tiles Flooring tiles Walling tiles

Vertical in most cases Placed usually on slope Horizontal and rests on a Vertically rests on a wall
flat surface
bears the load above it carries own load and some Human load as per No load unless any impact
occasional loading application load applied

Both indoor and Outdoor application only Mostly indoor application Mostly indoor application
outdoor application so no weathering action so no weathering action
Structural element Roofing element Finish material Finish material
Protection from weather
Roof tiling
Tiling done from bottom to top till it reaches the ridge
Side laps to be adequate to drain water
Tiles sit on purlin with nibs and fixed on purlins by nails
Overtile - undertile system is also practiced for water tightening
Roof Tiles
• Roof Tiles are designed mainly to keep out rain, and are traditionally made from locally
available materials such as clay or slate.

Figure: Plain Tiling Figure: Spanish Tiling

Roof Tiles

Figure: Hip Tiling Figure: Italian Tiling

Figure: Pan Tiling Figure: Pan Tiling

Cide de Goa, Charles Correa
Sabarmati Ashram, Charles Correa
Ceramic tiles - Used historically by Greeks in pyramids,
in Babylon, in Persia, Italy

Tin glazing gives opaque surface,

lead glazing gives transparent surface
Floor Tiles
• Floor tiles are extensively used in houses
and industrial buildings.
• These are durable and impervious to
water, resist abrasion well and wash
easily.
Unlike other materials discussed so far,
these are finishing materials
Figure: Floor Tiling in a Porch
They are usually applied on floor and walls

Figure: Floor Tiling in a Garden area Figure: Floor Tiling in a Drawing Room
Wall tiles
• Tilesfor surface of walls differ from floor
tiles principally in design in degree of
burning. Wall Tiles
• Walltiles are burned at a comparatively low
temperature, glazed, and fired again in
muffle kiln at a still lower temperature.

Exterior and interior wall tiles

Manufacturing of Tiles
• Tiles are thinner and lighter Preparation Of
Clay
compared to brick so require
greater care. Forming
• Manufactured from a clay mass (Pressing or
Extrusion)
with or without admixtures of
colouring impurities by moulding
and subsequent burning until Burning Drying
baked, up to about 1300 °C.
• The clay should be highly plastic – Glaze Preparation
rich in alumina with some Unglazed Tiles First Burning
and Glazing
admixtures and fusing agents to
lower the melting point.
Glaze Preparation
Burning
• Moulded in machines of the auger and Glazing

or plunger type and are commonly

burned in kilns.
Second Burning Single Glazed TIles

Double Glazed
Tiles
 The stages of making

Raw materials batching

Putting in ball mill for compaction

Pressing - compaction and shaping

Spraying through nozzle to get tile shape

Put into hydraulic press

(Unfired strength is determined by the compaction achieved)

Unglazed ceramic tiles gain their colour from minerals present in the clay
Patterns with pigments may be made
absorb liquid and will lead to staining

Glazed ceramics are materials produced through controlled crystallisation

(nucleation and crystal growth) of a parent glass.

Glazes have specific functionality

• antibacterial
• antifungal activity
• aesthetics (superficial effects)
• Anti stain

Types of glazes used in ceramic tile production

• Tin glaze – adds opacity and whiteness
• Lead glaze - shiny and transparent
• Double-firing glaze - called enamelling, provides strength
• Fast-firing glaze
Floor tiles IS 15622, 2006
PEI (Porcelain Enamel Institute) ratings are the second factor
that define hardness and of only the surface wear layer of a
tile's enamel glazing

PEI Class Usage

0 Light-duty on walls only; never use underfoot.
1 Wall use only in residential and commercial applications. This type of
tile should never be used underfoot. Shower surrounds are a typical
PEI-1 tile.
2 Walls and light-duty floors. It's often used in residential bathrooms.

3 Countertops, and floors that receive normal foot traffic. It's a good,
general-purpose tile for all residential (but not commercial) uses

4 All residential applications (both walls and floors), as well as medium

commercial and light institutional locations

5 All residential and heavy commercial and institutional foot traffic.

Typically this is used only for flooring and is rarely attractive enough
for interior residential applications.
 Coefficient of Friction (COF) rating
Slip Resistant (CLASS 2): COF 0.60 or greater (wet), 0.7 when dry, >0.4 dynamic COF

Conditionally Slip Resistant CLASS 1: COF is 0.50 to 0.59 (wet), 0.6 when dry, <0.4 dynamic

Grading of tile (is reverse of the PEI)

Class 1 - Walls
Class 2 – With light traffic
Class 3 – Bathroom, kitchen, residences
Class 4 – Offices, shopping, public place
Class 5 – Airports, Subways, Supermarkets

Based on Water Absorption

Nonvitreous: High absorption (more than 7% water absorbed).
Semivitreous: Moderate absorption (3% - 7% water absorbed). Not suitable for
outdoor use or for wet rooms, such as bathrooms.
Vitreous: Low absorption (0.5% - 3% water absorbed). Suitable for outdoor use
and for wet rooms, such as bathrooms.
Impervious: Lowest absorption (less than 0.5%)
 Available Size

Thermal coefficient of linear expansion - 0.9x 10-6/0C (generally)

Shock test: A metal ball 200 gms when dropped from 2m height should not allow tile to crack

Thickness of floor tile – 12 – 18mm

Weight: 1sqm = upto 20kg/sqm (thickness – upto 18 mm)

Purchased in box (sq ft coverage) – Price varies with quality (Rs 30 to Rs 150 per sq ft.)

Contains – 10sq ft of ceramic tiles/ 16 sqft of vitrified tiles (4 pieces)

For wall tiles: For floor tiles:
Chemical adhesives Using of cement sand mortar(1:4)
Or cement sand mortar(4:1) and cement slurry directly
Tiles to be soaked in water before fixing

Gaps of few millimeters using spacer and later to be sealed with white cement
Ceramic tile and entirely made from clay
Vitrified tiles are made from clay and feldspar, quartz
Feldspar - provides the glassy phase for the ceramic bodies and
decreases the firing temperature
Talc – Hydrated magnesium silicate, enhances the fluxing action of feldspar

Vitrified tiles are comparable with marble and granite finish

 Terracotta
• It is an Italian word, Terra means clay
and Cotta means burnt.
• Terracotta is refractory clay product and
is used in ornamental parts of buildings.
• The clay used for its manufacture should
be of superior quality and should have
sufficient iron and alkaline matters.
• By varying iron oxide in clay, desired Figure: Terracotta in interior
colour can be obtained.
• The clay is mixed with powdered glasses,
pottery and sand ground to fine powder
and pugged several times till it gets
uniform and soft for moulding.
• Terracotta is impervious, hard and cheap.
• When properly made the material
weathers well and because of its glazed
surface can be cleaned easily. The
product is burnt in special kilns (Muffle
furnace). Figure: Terracotta Tile Construction
Terracotta
 Preparation of Clay

• clay with high alumina content are taken and then, to this mixture is added
sand, ground glass, old terra-cotta or pottery.
• Addition of such materials gives strength and rigidity to terra-cotta products
and it prevents shrinking while drying.
• Thereafter the mix is passed several times through pug mills.
 Moulding and Drying

• Special porous moulds are made of Plaster of Paris or templates of zinc.

• The pugged clay is pressed into moulds.
• The dried articles are taken out of the moulds after a few days and then dried slowly.
 Burning

• Terracotta is burned with care to get uniform colour in muffle furnace between
1100– 1200°C.
• Muffle is a box or a compartment of a furnace in which things can be heated without
contact with the fuel and its products.
Terracotta
 Composition

Dry clay 50–60% Ground glass 8–10%

Crushed pottery 20% Clean white sand 10–20%
Uses

• Cornices and arches.

• Statuettes.
• Ornamental works.
• Being fire proof, terracotta is most
suitable as casing for steel columns
and beams.
• Porous terracotta is used for sound
insulation.

Figure: Application of Terracotta Tiles

Classification of Terracotta
• Other than the ordinary one, Terracotta is of two types, the porous and the polished.

Porous Terracotta
• It is manufactured by mixing sawdust or finely fragmented cork in the clay and has
the following characteristics.
• Organic particles burn and they leave pores in the particles. Light weight.
I. Resistant to weathering action.
II. Fire resistant
III. Can be nailed and sawn to various shapes.
IV. Sound insulator/ thermal insulator.
V. it is structurally weak.
Classification of Terracotta
Polished Terracotta
• Made from refractory clays and quartz sand and fusing agent - lime.
• The polished terracotta is also called terracotta twice burnt.
• The 1st burning is called biscutting and is done at 650°C.
• Coated with glazed solution which imparts texture and colour. Thereafter it is dried
and fired at 1200°C.
• Properties of Polished Terracotta:
I. Hard, strong and durable.
II. Can be given different colours.
III. Low water absorption (< 12 %) and can be easily cleaned.
IV. Resistant to chemical action.
V. Resistant to weathering action of atmosphere.
VI. Fire proof.
Porcelain
Composition

• China clay 50–60%

• Ordinary clay 5%
• Whiting < 1%
• Felspar 20%
 Characteristics
Figure: Application of Porcelain Tiles
• Low (zero) water absorption.
• Hard and glazed.
• Good refractory material.
• Good electric insulator.
Uses

• Porcelain is used for manufacturing

sanitary wares, containers and crucibles,
reactor chambers and electric insulators.

Figure: Application of Porcelain Sanitary Wares

Stoneware
• A hard ceramic material resembling porcelain with a different colour, usually grey or
brownish is made from refractory clay mixed with crushed pottery, stones and sand
burned at high temperatures and cooled slowly.
• The clay used for making stoneware consists of about 75 % silica and 25 % alumina.
Iron oxide is added to give colour.
 Characteristics

• Hard, compact, strong and durable material.

• Gives ringing sound when struck.
• Glazed stoneware becomes resistant to chemical
and weathering action.
• Gives good finish and appearance.
 Uses

• Light sanitary wares, e.g. wash basins, etc.

• Drain pipes and fittings.
• Road paving materials.
• Flooring tiles and wall tiles in toilets and kitchens. Figure: Application of Stoneware Tiles
Earthenware
• These are made by burning the ordinary clay at low temperature and cooling slowly.
• To check shrinkage, sand and crushed pottery are mixed with clay.
• This also increases the toughness, hardness and strength of the ware.
 Characteristics

• Soft, porous and weak.

• Glazed earthenware becomes resistant
to weathering action.
 Uses

• Earthenware is used for manufacturing

drain pipes, lavatory fittings and light
weight partition walls.

Figure: Earthenware Partition Walls

Some applications
Vaulted structure with Brick, Ar. Philippe Block, at Adeilade (workshop)