Skip to main content

Handmade Tiles

Clay can be excavated, moulded and burned without any expensive or elaborate machinery and for centuries clay roofing tiles have been used. There are two qualities of tile:
Hand made tiles are moulded from a sandy clay which is pressed into shape by hand pressure so that even if some form of screw press is used the clay will not be heavily compacted. During burning the tiles shrink and there are quite noticeable variations which give a tiled roof attractive appearance. The tiles vary in colour from light brick red to almost black and many of the more expensive tiles are sand faced produce the rough texture which is popular.
    Handmade tiles fairly readily absorb water and should not be laid at a pitch of less than 45°to horizontal. If laid at a less pitch these tiles may become saturated in winter and frost will then cause them to disintegrate.
     Machine pressed tiles are made from selected pure clays which are thoroughly ground to a fine condition. The clay is mixed with very little water and is heavily machine pressed into tiles. Because little water is used to make the clay sufficient plastic for moulding the tiles do not shrink noticeable during burning and because the tiles are machine moulded they have smooth faces. The tiles are very hard and dense and do not absorb water readily and can be laid on a roof with a lower pitch than can the hand maid tiles. Machine pressed tiles have successfully been laid at a pitch of as little as 30° to the horizontal but the minimum pitch for these tiles is generally accepted as being 35° to the horizontal. Because of their uniformity of shape, texture and colour, machine pressed tiles do not make for so attractive a roof as the hand made variety. 
Some machine pressed tiles are faced with sand before being burned to give them a more attractive appearance. If clay roofing tiles have been made from clay which is free from lime and stones and the tiles have been hard burned and the tiles are laid at a suitable slope they will have a useful life of up to a hundred years or more. Good quality clay tiles weather well, which means they are resistant to damage by rain, frost, heat and all the dilute acids in industrial atmospheres. 
   Over the course of years the colour of clay tiles becomes somewhat darker and it is generally accepted that the appearance of a tile roof improves with age. Good quality clay roofing tiles have a useful life of many years, require no maintenance and are highly resistant to damage by fire. The original cost of a roof covered with clay tiles is moderate and from the point of view of durability and appearance clay tiles are one of the most satisfactory roof coverings in use today. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Frequent masturbation

Frequent masturbation in young men is linked to higher risk of early prostate cancer , but it lowers prostate cancer risk for men in their 50s, a study shows. High levels of male sex hormones, or androgens, may increase a man's risk of prostate cancer . But different studies of this question, done in different ways, have reached different conclusions. To look at the question in a new way, a team of researchers  looked at whether men with more intense sex drives were at higher risk of prostate cancer.  About half the men got prostate cancer by age 60, and about half did not have cancer . The findings were surprising. Sexual intercourse did not affect prostate cancer risk. But frequent masturbation did -- in different ways, at different times of life. "Frequent masturbation during men's 20s and 30s increased their risk of prostate cancer. For men in their 20s, "frequent masturbation" was two to seven times per week. Compared to same-age men who reported mas...
Two flats in a one storey building at Nweke Nwobuchi Street, Umudioka village Awka, behind National secondary school was gutted by fire. The fire which alleged to be caused by a licked gas from a gas cooker, affected the top two flats destroying properties worth millions of naira. Speaking to newsmen at the scene, the owner of the building, Barrister Nnamdi Anagor, said that they were trying to fix the licking gas cylinder before the fire engulfed the building as they have earlier perceived the odour, and called on government and well to do citizens to come to their aid as they have lost their properties worth millions of naira. Barrister Anagor, disclosed that no life was lost to the incident but that one person sustained some injuries and has been hospitalized. Also speaking, a friend to the owner of the building, Mr. Maxwell Udechukwu, who alerted the Fire Service Agency through emergency number, thanked Governor Willie Maduabuchi Obiano for equipping the state's fire service...

Natural soil

 Natural soils are influenced by rainfall and temperature,heavy rain causes the soil to become leached. High temperatures increase the rate of decomposition of organic matter in the soil, thereby lowering its humus content. Thus, climatic conditions tend to produce poor soils in the tropics and rich soils in the temperate regions. Besides climate and vegetation, the parent rock material also contributes to the quality of the soil. For example volcanic rocks tend to produce fertile soils.    Laterite, a red soil which is a product of leaching, is commonly found in the tropics. It is composed mainly of iron and aluminium compounds,and poor in humus and essential plant nutrients, such as phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. The black and brown soil of the temperate grasslands are the world's richest soils, with a high mineral and humus content. The light coloured desert soils tend to be very rich in minerals but have a low humus content.    Mainly the soils ar...