How Concrete Roofing Tiles Were Made
Concrete roofing tiles are among the best roofing materials recognized globally for quality in terms of durability, safety, beauty, etc. The roofing tile had been in use even before the invention of modern roofing sheets. We will be discussing how concrete roofing tiles were made.
The improvement in industrial production and subsequent introduction of special chemicals have made roofing tiles stand out among other roofing materials used in modern buildings.
Experts have analyzed the Concrete roofing tiles and said they can have a lifespan of more than 50 years when put to use.
Besides the aesthetic look it offers to build, the roofing sheet made with concrete tiles creates an appearance of originality, strength, and expensive building. It is a one-time installation roofing sheet believed to last as the age of the building itself.
The idea behind the concrete tile roofing sheet is to have a solid material made with concrete as a roof instead of the conventional materials with less strength such as aluminum roofing sheets and asbestos roofing sheets.
However, despite its unique advantages, the roofing tiles seem to be capital intensive in terms of purchase and installation than other roofing materials. This disadvantage can be the reason such roofing material has been limited to expensive buildings only.
Below are the procedures used in the making of the concrete roofing tiles:
The production process involves the collection of soft natural sand using a massive separation system to separate the fine particles from the large ones.
The collected soft natural sand is mixed with another soft sand obtained from crushed rocks to form a mixture of the two soft sand.
The mixture passes through a pipe channel to undergo an accurate ratio combination test. During this process, samples of the mixture are taken at various stages to analyze the mixing ratio.
The different samples can be used to determine the best mixing ratio based on results obtained from the laboratory. It also helps in handling any trace of incomplete mixing of the two soft sand.
The mixture passes through an open conveyor into an enclosed stirring system to form a homogeneous mixture of sand.
The mixture is fed into a silo using a large hose connected to the stirring/mixing machine.
From the large silo, the conveyor drops a specific amount of cement into the sand mixture, while still moving on the conveyor, the required pigments are added to give the concrete mixture a specific color. The pigment is first mixed with its solvent and forced to drop into the concrete mixture in a specific ratio.
The next stage is to feed the colored concrete into an extrusion machine. The machine extrudes the concrete in a continuous plain shape to form the shape of the roofing tiles.
The extruded length remains continuous as it passes through conveyors to several machines for further machining operations. One of the machines sprays the tiles’ surfaces with vegetable oil as the tiles pass through the row of brushes. The oil makes the tile withdrawal from the mold easier.
The next machine cuts the continuous length of the tile into specific lengths of uniform size.
The cut tiles pass through a rolling conveyor to have their edges smoothened by stone grinders.
The finished tiles are carried to the room containing the giant oven for curing.
After the curing, they pass through this conveyor to have their molds separated from them.
While coming out from the mold, sealants and other necessary chemicals are sprayed on the surface.
The last production stage is where all the finishing works are carried out such includes, including the removal of defective tiles, correction jobs, and separation of various tiles into barges for further action which is done by the quality control department.
The quality control unit subjects the barges of the tiles to various critical tests such are; water permeability test, hardness test, strength test, and fireproofing test. These tests will be used to make specifications on the body of the roofing tiles for the users’ awareness of the material’s capacities.
The video above the content reveals in detail how concrete roofing tiles were made.
