Polymer shingles – characteristics and installation secrets

Recommendation points

• Spreading shingles
• Polymer in tiles
• Disadvantages of polymer shingles
• Technical characteristics of polymer sand tiles
• Price of polymer sand tile
• Installation of polymer sand tiles

In this article we will tell you about polymer sand tiles, their production, installation and operation. You will learn about the advantages and disadvantages of tiles made from a mixture of polymer material and sand. Here is a comparison with clay and cement tiles. Also in the article you will find a video on installation.

Clay tiles are a purely European product. Entire cities, especially their historic centers, are covered with this material, making them recognizable at first sight. The familiar fabulous look of tiled roofs has also come to taste in Russia.

Spreading shingles

The popularity of ceramic (clinker) tiles in the USSR was due to the availability of raw materials (clay). Of course, it was widespread in areas close to the quarries. Clinker tiles were produced together with red bricks in brick factories. Its transportation to remote areas was difficult due to the large weight and relative fragility of the products. The production of clinker tiles, like bricks, required high energy costs for firing.

Then the clay was replaced by a cement-sand mortar with the addition of slag. Produced in the “cold” method, the shingles lost weight, but remained quite heavy. At the same time, the porosity of the material increased, which made it a favorite place for fungus and moss. Over time, a need arose for a new material that would retain an interesting appearance, getting rid of the remnants of the past, generous in raw materials and energy..

Advantages of clay and cement tiles:

1. Exceptional appearance.
2. Convenience of partial replacement, repair, reconstruction.
3. Durability (from 30 years).

Disadvantages of clay and cement tiles:

1. Heavy weight, requiring strong crate and making transportation difficult.
2. Susceptibility to mold and mildew.
3. Sharpness (fragility).
4. Uniform appearance (color, size).
5. Outdated technology and imperfect form of elements.
6. Unprofitable energy and raw material costs of production due to energy-intensive processes.

The task of preserving the unique advantages of the tiles, while getting rid of the shortcomings, was brilliantly solved with the advent of the polymer industry..

Polymer in tiles

The idea of ​​using polymer formulations as a binder instead of clay and cement has been developed and explored at the molecular level. The meaning of the production of raw materials is reduced to mixing the heated polymer (plastic) mass with sand. As long as the mass keeps the temperature, it can be given any shape, which happens during the manufacture of tiles..

As a result, the new type of roofing material fulfilled the tasks assigned to it:

1. The traditional appearance has not only been preserved, but also acquired new interesting forms.
2. The dimensions of the elements remained approximately the same (300×400 mm).
3. Polymer tiles are twice lighter than clay and one and a half times lighter than cement.
4. The structure fused into a monolith does not have pores sufficient for the formation of fungus (moss). It is possible to produce elements with a glossy surface.
5. The polymer has given the elements sufficient hardness to withstand rough transportation and a drop from a height of 3 m onto concrete.
6. Convenient control of the raw material mass during production allows you to add pigments of any color. For true connoisseurs, there is an opportunity to make mother-of-pearl tiles. In this case, the entire layer of material is painted over..
7. More accurate molds provided the elements with sharp corners, which made it possible to equip them with edge locks.
8. Electricity costs for powering modern machines are incomparable with energy consumption for firing.

It should be added that shingles remain a unique and one-of-a-kind small piece roofing material. An attempt to mimic the appearance of this material led to the creation of metal tiles. The advantages of relative cheapness, speed of installation and ease of construction played a role. However, at first glance you can see where the original is and where the surrogate is..

Disadvantages of polymer shingles

Of course, the ideal material has not yet been invented: what is reliable is expensive, and what is cheap is short-lived. In this regard, polymer tiles have their own nuances:

1. Having lost a lot of weight, polymer elements remain relatively heavy..
2. Requires thick lathing – pitch 350 mm.
3. Installation requires the qualifications of the master.
4. Roof angle – at least 45 ° (snow lingers on the surface).
5. In addition to plane tiles, it is necessary to purchase wind, ridge, corner and other factory elements.

Despite certain features of the use of tiles, the number of its fans is only growing. Of course, all the inconveniences are eventually leveled out by the aesthetic appearance of a truly durable structure..

Technical characteristics of polymer sand tiles

Ordinary elements have the following indicators:

• composition: sand – 70%, polymer – 29%, dye – 1%;
• full size 305×400 mm (size of an individual element);
• laying size 285×345 mm (working surface of an element in a structure);
• tile thickness – 10 mm;
• weight – 2.1 kg;
• bending strength – 10 MPa;
• compressive strength – 15 MPa;
• thermal conductivity – 2800 J / m²sec;
• frost resistance – 250 cycles.

For 1 sq. m requires 9 pcs. ordinary elements, while their total mass will be equal to 22 kg. Polymer shingles are UV-resistant, environmentally friendly and chemically inactive.

Price of polymer sand tile

The cost of local tiles ranges from 8 to 12 USD. e. per square meter. The price depends on the structure of the element (glossy is more expensive) and color (pearlescent inclusions). If you decide to purchase products from a local manufacturer, we strongly recommend visiting the production and talking with the technologist..

There is one nuance that can play a fatal role in the “life” of the material. Unreasonable economy sometimes pushes the manufacturer to produce defective products that look like high quality. Their inability to meet the stated requirements becomes clear only after several years of operation. In the case of concrete paving stones, this is a lack of cement filling, in the case of polymer sand products, this is an underheating of the mass during pressing. The polymer does not have time to completely melt and react with sand, as a result, the strength drops significantly.

Video – an example of low-quality tiles

The normal percentage of such defects in a quality batch is no more than 1%. You can avoid such a nuisance only by selectively controlling the strength of the elements (if it was not possible to inspect the production).

There are not many quality European tiles on the market. The difference from the local one is noticeable, first of all, in the price of the product. Of course, the quality at the same time meets all standards, since European certification is extremely demanding on export goods. In Russia, you can buy a wide range of products from the German company BRAAS.

Installation of polymer sand tiles

Compared to the clinker and cement predecessors, the new roof tile has a big advantage in the form of a small part. Precision equipment made it possible to make mounting holes in the hidden part of the element. This significantly increased the resistance to wind loads and improved plane cohesion..

General order of work:

1. Stretch the vapor barrier along the rafters and press it with a duplicating counter-lattice made of 40×40 or 50×50 timber.
2. Mount the transverse lathing with a pitch of 350 mm.
3. If there is a valley, we act according to the instructions from the video tutorial.

Laying tiles on the valley video

4. Arrange the bottom ebb.
5. Lay out the first row from the bottom according to the location of the fasteners on the back of the element.
6. Lay out the rest of the rows.
7. Install side and ridge elements.

Laying tiles on video

Particular attention should be paid to screwing in self-tapping screws – you do not need to press the tiles into the crate, this can lead to distortions, since the wooden base of the roof will work under wind and snow loads.

Equipment for the production of polymer-sand tiles processes raw materials in small portions, which ensures total quality control from conscientious entrepreneurs. Thanks to small-scale production in small private workshops, customization takes relatively little time. In this case, the calculation department of the company will provide cutting of elements for any particular building. Your own house with a fabulous roof has become a reality thanks to polymer sand tiles.