Facing buildings with tiles - technology and materials
In our climatic conditions, the materials used to decorate the facades must withstand sharp temperature drops and have heat-insulating characteristics. Or the technology of their installation should allow the installation of insulation between the wall and the decorative facade.
Facing buildings with tiles is one of the most popular methods of exterior decoration that meets these requirements.
The content of the article
What tiles are used for cladding facades
Plates for wall cladding buildings can be natural and artificial. Only low-rise buildings are finished with natural stone, since it has a large weight and creates a serious burden on the foundation.
In addition, consumers are repelled by the high price of both the material itself and its installation, while the artificial counterparts look no worse, but they are much cheaper.
What are these analogues:
- Brick tile. It is produced from pure refractory clay by extruding the raw material mass into molds and prolonged (up to 36 hours) firing of billets in an oven at a temperature of about 1000 degrees.
In the process of heat treatment, clay is sintered to a monolithic state. According to its characteristics, this tile for exterior cladding of buildings is similar to clinker brick: it is characterized by high strength, low water absorption and resistance to negative temperatures. The building she trimmed looks like a brick.
But its use allows you to save money on the material, work and construction of the foundation compared to brick cladding.
It is interesting. Experts say that clinker not only does not lose strength during operation, but even gains it over several decades.
- Ceramic tile for facade cladding Buildings are made of fusible clays by pressing, and it takes much less time to burn them. This affects the strength - ceramics is a rather fragile material, which should be taken into account during transportation and loading and unloading.
But as a facade cladding, it behaves perfectly, not letting moisture in and not fading for a long time. A simplified manufacturing technology affects the price - ceramics are cheaper than clinker.
- Porcelain tile. This material is made from the same raw materials as ceramic tiles, but various minerals are introduced into its composition, and increased strength is achieved by pressing under high pressure and high-temperature firing (1300 degrees).
Finished products are a monolith with characteristics not inferior to natural granite.
The choice of material depends on many factors: cost, owner’s preferences regarding the appearance of the house, installation method.
Facade cladding technology
Facing buildings with tiles is carried out dry or wet. The choice of one of them depends on the need to warm the building, the material of its walls, the type of cladding.
There are tiles that can only be fixed by one of the listed methods or by any of them.
Tip.To calculate the required amount of material, add the area of all surfaces to be trimmed, subtract the area of window and door openings from it and add 10% to the battle, substandard and trim.
Dry method - frame mounting
Porcelain tiles, ceramic tiles, as well as clinker tile panels are mounted on a frame fixed to the wall. The ventilation gap created during the installation process between the load-bearing wall and the decorative coating contributes to the rapid drying of moisture that enters the lining or is released on the surface of the walls in the form of condensate.
Such facades are called ventilated facades. If necessary, they can be insulated by fixing heat-insulating plates to the walls, which will be hidden by decorative panels.
This method has many advantages, including the ability to do it yourself, leveling walls without using plaster, and improving the indoor climate.
The frame may be metal or wood. Many manufacturers of facade tiles also produce a hinged system for it, calculated taking into account the thickness and size of the cladding.
Schematically, the process of mounting the frame and tiling the buildings looks like this:
- On the walls are vertical marking. The distance between the lines when using a special frame is taken equal to the width of the tiles, taking into account the thickness of the seams between them.
- Adjustable support brackets are fastened along the marking lines to the walls with dowels.
- Further, if necessary, the building is insulated with rigid heat-insulating plates, which are mounted using special dowels with large flat hats.
- Guide brackets are mounted on the brackets. They must be set in level so that the entire frame lies in one vertical plane.
Attention! Guides can be mounted in a vertical or horizontal direction depending on the type of facing tile. Instructions for its installation, which can be requested from the seller, should contain such information.
- Plates are mounted on the frame using self-tapping screws or special clamps. In the previous photos you can see both options.
Wet method - gluing
Facing the facade of the building with tiles (seeFacing with facade tiles) this method is similar to laying tiles or porcelain tiles on the internal walls. The only difference is the use of special glue, which must withstand the aggressive effects of the external environment - high humidity, frost, sudden changes in temperature, etc.
But, if you can finish the facades in a dry way at any time, making allowance for the thermal expansion of materials, then gluing is possible only with positive values of air temperature. Otherwise, the glue will not gain the required strength and in the spring the tile may sprinkle.
How the installation is carried out, you can watch the video.
Here is just a brief instruction:
- If the surface of the walls is very uneven, it is pre-leveled with plaster. In case of slight deviations from the level, alignment can be carried out during the lining process by varying the thickness of the adhesive layer under the tile.
- You can proceed with installation when the mortar is firmly set. To begin with, on the lower edge of the cladding, it is necessary to beat off a horizontal line or temporarily fix an even rail.
- Then everything is as usual: glue is applied to a small section of the wall, starting from the corner, distributed by a notched trowel, tiles are glued to it.
- In the process, it is necessary to constantly monitor the level of laying and maintain the same thickness of the joints between the tiles, setting it with special plastic pegs.
- If the tile needs to be cut off at the end of the row or near the opening, make it a small grinder with a special stone disc, previously marking the cut line on the back side.
- A few days later when facing tile it sticks well for buildings (the waiting time depends on air temperature and humidity), you can do seams - fill them with facade grout using a construction gun or a special tool - embroidery.
Wet-tiling does not exclude additional warming of buildings. To do this, a hard insulation (foam or polystyrene foam) is first attached to the walls, on top of which plaster is applied along the reinforcing mesh.
Further work is carried out according to the technology already described.
Attention! This method is not recommended to finish the facades with heavy porcelain tiles of large sizes. In the case of poor installation when it is torn off the wall and falling, it can harm people, animals or plants located near the wall.
Conclusion
Thanks to modern production technologies, facing facades of buildings with tiles is able to work miracles, turning dilapidated buildings into new, old - into modern, and wooden - into brick. At the same time, improving not only their appearance, but also making the indoor microclimate more comfortable.
This primarily relates to ventilated hinged systems in which the tile performs a decorative and protective function. But traditional gluing gives a tangible result, especially if you combine it with insulation.
