Mission, or barrel, roof tiles

A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word κεραμικός ( keramikos) In Geology, rock is a naturally occurring aggregate of Minerals and/or Mineraloids The Earth's outer solid layer the ‘ Lithosphere Glass in the common sense refers to a Hard, Brittle, transparent Solid, such as that used for Windows many Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, and walls, or other objects such as tabletops. Vietnam roofjpg|thumb|The roofs of Vietnam.]] A roof is the covering on the uppermost part of a Building. A floor is the walking surface of a room or vehicle Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many-layered surfaces using modern technology A wall is a usually solid structure that defines and sometimes protects an area Another category are the ceiling tiles, made from lightweight materials such as perlite, wood, and mineral wool. A ceiling is an overhead interior surface that bounds the upper limit of a room. Perlite is an Amorphous Volcanic Glass that has a relatively high Water content typically formed by the hydration of Obsidian Wood is hard fibrous lignified structural tissue produced as secondary Xylem in the stems of Woody plants notably trees but also shrubs Mineral wool, also known as mineral fibers or man-made mineral fibers are Fibers made from natural or synthetic Minerals or Metal The word is derived from the French word tuile, which is, in turn, from the Latin word tegula, meaning a roof tile composed of baked clay. Less precisely, the modern term can refer to any sort of construction tile or similar object, such as rectangular counters used in playing games (see tile-based game). A tile-based game is a Game that uses Tiles as one of the fundamental elements of play

Tiles are often used to form wall and floor coverings, and can range from simple square tiles to complex mosaics. A wall is a usually solid structure that defines and sometimes protects an area A floor is the walking surface of a room or vehicle Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many-layered surfaces using modern technology Art History Mosaics of the 4th century BC are found in the Macedonian palace-city of Aegae, and they enriched the floors of Hellenistic Tiles are most often made from ceramic, with a hard glaze finish, but other materials are also commonly used, such as glass, marble, granite, slate, and reformed ceramic slurry, which is cast in a mould and fired. The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word κεραμικός ( keramikos) Glaze is a layer or coating of a Vitreous substance which has been fired to fuse to a ceramic object to color decorate strengthen or waterproof it Glass in the common sense refers to a Hard, Brittle, transparent Solid, such as that used for Windows many Marble is a nonfoliated Metamorphic rock resulting from the Metamorphism of Limestone, composed mostly of Calcite (a crystalline form of Granite (ˈɡrænɪt is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, Felsic, igneous rock. Slate is a fine-grained foliated homogeneous, Metamorphic rock derived from an original Shale -type Sedimentary rock composed of Clay

In the past twenty years, the technology surrounding porcelain tile and glass tiles has become more efficient, allowing more mass production. Porcelain tiles are Ceramic tiles with a water absorption rate of less than 0 Glass tiles are pieces of Glass formed into consistent shapes Similarly, the invention of automated tile lines that use diamonds to cut and finish stone slabs into tiles has made stone tiles more available. This has allowed these tiles to move from being niche items into broader markets. The DSAN U. S. Ceramic Tile Demand Index has shown a growth of 5. 0% annually for the 2000-2006 period, compared to 5. 5% annually for the 2000-2005 period. The DSAN World Demand for (finished) Granite Index has shown a growth of 15% annually for the 2000-2006 period, compared to 14% annually for the 2000-2005 period, The DSAN World Demand for (finished) Marble Index has shown a growth of 12% annually for the 2000-2006 period, compared to 10. 5% annually for the 2000-2005 period. The U. S. market for ceramic tile is over $3 billion.

Accompanying the growth in tile demand has been some shifts in the world ceramic tile industry. In 1990, Europe accounted for 54% of world ceramic tile production. By 2002, Europe was down to 25% of world ceramic tile production. In 2005, world ceramic tile production was about 7 billion sq. meters, of which China produced 35%, and Spain, Italy, and Brazil shared the next 25%, with their productions spaced neck and neck. Except for Spain, European ceramic tile production in the same period has dropped a little absolutely. Asia now has state-of-the-art equipment in its ceramic tile plants, which means much lower costs. The Europeans still do well with higher-priced ceramic tile with sophisticated and fashionable designs, and with porcellanato (high-quality porcelain) tiles. Beginning in 2004, the stronger Euro made it much cheaper to manufacture ceramic tile in the U. S. and distribute them from such a plant. The U. S. is the world's largest market for ceramic tile. A number of European (mostly Italian) ceramic tile manufacturers built or expanded their U. S. plants, or bought out domestic ceramic tile firms. The European tile firms not only benefitted from lower manufacturing costs but also from distributing at a lower cost and faster; of course, less inventory was required.

Things have been different in the dimension stone tile industry. By the beginning of the 1980s, automated stone tile plants were busy in Italy, the world leader that had close to a monopoly. The plants were not quite equivalent to those today, since additional innovations have crept in. Italy is now one among many; China has many plants with automated stone tile lines, as does Spain, Turkey, Brazil, and other countries. The three U. S. automated tile lines that were short-time producers of granite tile from the mid1980s to the mid1990s closed one by one; the last one actually closed in mid2002. Marble tile is still produced to a limited extent, but most American marble tile comes from tile plants in Carrara, Italy that make it from rough blocks of Vermont (Danby) marble. The amount of slate flooring tile has dwindled a little since 2000.

Roof tiles

Fancy Japanese roof tiles

Ancient Greek roof tiles

Roof tiles are designed mainly to keep out rain, and are traditionally made from locally available materials such as clay or slate. Rain is Liquid precipitation. On Earth it is the condensation of atmospheric Water vapor into drops heavy enough to fall often making it to Slate is a fine-grained foliated homogeneous, Metamorphic rock derived from an original Shale -type Sedimentary rock composed of Clay Modern materials such as concrete and plastic are also used and some clay tiles have a waterproof glaze. Concrete is a construction material composed of Cement (commonly Portland cement) as well as other cementitious materials such as Fly ash and Slag Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products

A large number of shapes (or "profiles") of roof tiles have evolved. These include:

• Flat tiles - the simplest type, which are laid in regular overlapping rows. This profile is suitable for stone and wooden tiles, and most recently, solar cells. A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device that converts Solar energy into Electricity by the photovoltaic effect.
• Imbrex and tegula, an ancient Roman pattern of curved and flat tiles that make rain channels on a roof
• Roman tiles - flat in the middle, with a concave curve at one end at a convex curve at the other, to allow interlocking. The imbrex and tegula (plurals imbrices and tegulae) were overlapping Roof tiles used in ancient Greek and Roman architecture In Mathematics, the concept of a curve tries to capture the intuitive idea of a geometrical one-dimensional and continuous object
• Pantiles - with an S-shaped profile, allowing adjacent tiles to interlock. The name pantiles originally referred to a form of Tile used in paving and (more often Roofing Today the name is also used to refer to an area in the town These result in a ridged pattern resembling a ploughed field.
• Mission or barrel tiles are semi-cylindrical tiles made by forming clay around a curved surface, often a log or one's thigh, and laid in alternating columns of convex and concave tiles. A cylinder is one of the most basic curvilinear geometric shapes the Surface formed by the points at a fixed distance from a given Straight line, the axis In humans the thigh is the area between the Pelvis and the Knee.

Roof tiles are 'hung' from the framework of a roof by fixing them with nails. In Engineering, Woodworking and Construction, a nail is a pin -shaped sharp object of hard Metal, typically Steel, The tiles are usually hung in parallel rows, with each row overlapping the row below it to exclude rainwater and to cover the nails that hold the row below.

There are also roof tiles for special positions, particularly where the planes of the several pitches meet. They include ridge, hip and valley tiles.

Invention

Roof fragment of the Roman bath in Bath, UK (England)

Roman roof tile fragment found in York, UK, showing the impression of a kitten's paw. Bath is a city in Somerset in the south west of England It is situated west of London and south-east of Bristol. York ( is an historic Walled city sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. Fragment measures 78mm wide by 97mm high

Fired roof tiles are found as early as the 3rd millennium BC in the Early Helladic House of the tiles in Lerna, Greece. Helladic is a modern archaeological term meant to identify a sequence of periods characterizing the culture of mainland Ancient Greece during the Bronze Age. The House of the tiles is an Early Bronze Age archaeological site in Lerna, Greece. In classical Greece Lerna was a region of springs and a former lake near the east coast of the Peloponnesus, south of Argos. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία ^{[1] [2]} Debris found at the site contained thousands of terracotta tiles having fallen from the roof. ^[3] In the Mycenaean period, roofs tiles are documented for Gla and Midea. Mycenaean Greece is a cultural period of ancient Greece taking its name from the archaeological site of Mycenae in northeastern Argolis, in the Peloponnese Gla (rarely Glas) (Γλα or Γλας was an important fortified site of the Mycenaean civilization located in Boeotia, mainland Greece Midea (Μιδέα is a municipality in Argolis, Greece, with a population of 6724 (2001 ^[4]

The earliest finds of roof tiles in archaic Greece are documented from a very restricted area around Corinth (Greece), where fired tiles began to replace thatchet roofs at two temples of Apollo and Poseidon between 700-650 BC. The archaic period in Greece ( 750 BC 480 BC) is a period of Ancient Greek history Corinth, or Korinth ( Greek Κόρινθος ( is a city in Greece. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία In Greek mythology, Poseidon ( Greek:; Latin: Neptūnus) was the god of the Sea and as "Earth-Shaker" ^[5] Spreading rapidly, roof tiles were within fifty years in evidence for a large number of sites around the Eastern Mediterranean, including Mainland Greece, Western Asia Minor, Southern and Central Italy. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest ^[6] Early roof tiles showed an S-shape, with the pan and cover tile forming one piece. They were rather bulky affairs, weighing around 30 kg apiece. ^[7] Being more expensive and labour-intensive to produce than thatchet, their introduction has been explained by their greatly enhanced fire resistance which gave desired protection to the costly temples. ^[8]

The spread of the roof tile technique has to be viewed in connection with the simultaneous rise of monumental architecture in Archaic Greece. Only the appearing stone walls, which were replacing the earlier mudbrick and wood walls, were strong enough to support the weight of a tiled roof. ^[9] As a side-effect, it has been assumed that the new stone and tile construction also ushered in the end of 'Chinese roof' (Knickdach) construction in Greek architecture, as they made the need for an extended roof as rain protection for the mudbrick walls obsolete. ^[10]

Floor tiles

6"x6" porcelain floor tiles

The elaborate floor pattern of the Sydney Queen Victoria Building

These are commonly made of ceramic or stone, although recent technological advances have resulted in glass tiles for floors as well. The Queen Victoria Building, or QVB, is a Victorian building in the Sydney central business district, in Australia. Glass tiles are pieces of Glass formed into consistent shapes Ceramic tiles may be painted and glazed. Small mosaic tiles may be laid in various patterns. Art History Mosaics of the 4th century BC are found in the Macedonian palace-city of Aegae, and they enriched the floors of Hellenistic Floor tiles are typically set into mortar consisting of sand, cement and often a latex additive for extra adhesion. Mortar is a workable paste formed by mixture of Cement, Water and fine aggregate Masonry to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between Sand is a naturally occurring Granular material composed of finely divided rock and Mineral particles In the most general sense of the word a cement is a binder a substance which sets and hardens independently and can bind other materials together LaTeX (ˈleɪtɛ The spaces between the tiles are nowadays filled with sanded or unsanded floor grout, but traditionally mortar was used. Grout is a Construction material used to embed Rebars in Masonry walls connect sections of pre-cast Concrete, fill voids and seal joints (like

Natural stone tiles can be especially beautiful. However, as a natural product they are a little less uniform in color and pattern and require more planning for use and installation. Since stone tiles are mass-produced, they have very uniform width and length dimensions. Stone tiles such as those of granite or marble are sawn on both sides and then polished or finished on the facing up side, so that they have a uniform thickness. Other natural stone tiles such as slate are typically "riven" (split) on the facing up side so that the thickness of the tile varies slightly from one spot on the tile to another and from one tile to another. Variations in tile thickness can be handled by adjusting the amount of mortar under each part of the tile, by using wide grout lines that "ramp" between different thicknesses, or by using a cold chisel to knock off high spots.

Floor tile in Karpas, northeastern Cyprus. Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía

Some stone tiles such as polished granite and marble are inherently very slippery when wet. Stone tiles with a riven (split) surface such as slate or with a sawn and then sandblasted or honed surface will be more slip resistant. Ceramic tile for use in wet areas can be made more slip resistant either by using very small tiles so that the grout lines acts as grooves or by imprinting a contour pattern onto the face of the tile.

The hardness of natural stone tiles varies such that some of the softer stone (e. g. limestone) tiles are not suitable for very heavy traffic floor areas. On the other hand, ceramic tiles typically have a glazed upper surface and when that become scratched or pitted the floor looks worn, whereas the same amount of wear on natural stone tiles won't show, or will be less noticeable.

Natural stone tiles can be stained by spilled liquids; they must be sealed and periodically resealed with a sealant in contrast to ceramic tiles which only need their grout lines sealed. However, because of the complex, non repeating patterns in natural stone, small amounts of dirt on many natural stone floor tiles do not show.

Most vendors of stone tiles emphasize that there will be variation in color and pattern from one batch of tiles to another of the same description and variation within the same batch.

Stone floor tiles tend to be heavier than ceramic tiles and somewhat more prone to breakage during shipment.

Ceiling tiles

Vinyl Ceiling Tile

Ceiling tiles are lightweight tiles used in the interior of buildings. They are placed on a steel grid and, depending on the tile selected, may provide thermal insulation, sound absorption, enhanced fire protection, and improved indoor air quality. Also frequently called ceiling panels, or drop-ceiling tiles, they offer the advantage of easy access to wiring and plumbing above the ceiling grid, and can be easily changed, removed, or replaced as needed. They are fabricated from perlite, wood, mineral wool, plastic, tin, aluminum, and fibers from recycled paper. Perlite is an Amorphous Volcanic Glass that has a relatively high Water content typically formed by the hydration of Obsidian Wood is hard fibrous lignified structural tissue produced as secondary Xylem in the stems of Woody plants notably trees but also shrubs Mineral wool, also known as mineral fibers or man-made mineral fibers are Fibers made from natural or synthetic Minerals or Metal They frequently have patterns comprised of holes, to improve their sound absorption properties, though many have a molded surface providing a textured, sculpted, or

A high school in the United States covered with tiles

pressed-tin look to the ceiling. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Some tiles are available with decorative photo/transfer surfaces, some are approved for installation under fire suppression sprinkler heads so the sprinklers do not show, some are approved for use in food preparation areas, and some are certified for indoor air quality by the GreenGuard Institute. Tiles are available that resist mold and moisture damage, that have enhanced acoustical properties, and that can be easily trimmed with household scissors. Recycling old tiles depends upon the material used to make them, and some landfills no longer accept traditional mineral fiber tiles, so they must be recycled to the manufacturer.

Panel of glazed tiles by Jorge Colaço (1922) representing an episode of the battle of Aljubarrota (1385) between the Portuguese and Castillian armies. The Battle of Aljubarrota (alʒuβɐˈʁɔtɐ took place on August 14 1385, between the forces commanded by King John I of Portugal and his general Lisboa, Pavilhão Carlos Lopes.

Decorative tilework

Ancient mosaic in the British Museum. The British Museum is a Museum of human history and culture in London.

Typical tilework on buildings in Santarém, Portugal. Santarém (sɐ̃tɐˈɾɐ̃j̃ is a Portuguese city and municipality

Decorative tilework typically takes the form of mosaic upon the walls, floor, or ceiling of a building. Art History Mosaics of the 4th century BC are found in the Macedonian palace-city of Aegae, and they enriched the floors of Hellenistic A wall is a usually solid structure that defines and sometimes protects an area A floor is the walking surface of a room or vehicle Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many-layered surfaces using modern technology A ceiling is an overhead interior surface that bounds the upper limit of a room. Although decorative tilework was known and extensively practiced in the ancient world (as evidenced in the magnificent mosaics of Pompeii and Herculaneum), it perhaps reached its greatest expression during the Islamic period. Art History Mosaics of the 4th century BC are found in the Macedonian palace-city of Aegae, and they enriched the floors of Hellenistic Pompeii is a ruined and partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples and Caserta in the Italian region of Campania, in Herculaneum (in modern Italian Ercolano) is an ancient Roman town located in the territory of the current commune of Ercolano. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation.

Some places, notably Portugal and São Luís, have a tradition of tilework (called azulejos) on buildings that continues today. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. The azulejo ( Portuguese:ɐzul'eʒu Spanish:aθuˈlexo refers to a typical form of Portuguese or Spanish painted tin-glazed

In the United States, decorative tiles were in vogue, especially in southern California, in the 1920s and 1930s. Southern California, or So Cal, is defined as the southern portion of the U Prominent among art tile makers during this period was Ernest A. Batchelder and Pewabic Pottery. Ernest A Batchelder (1875&ndash1957 was an artist and educator who made Southern California his home in the early 20th century Pewabic Pottery is a studio and school located in Detroit Michigan and founded in 1903

Digital Tile Decoration

Modern printing techniques and digital manipulation of art and photography have converged in custom tile printing. Dye sublimation and the application of ceramic based toners permit printing on a variety of tile types yielding photographic-quality reproduction. Using digital image capture via scanning or digital cameras, bitmap/raster images can be prepared in Photoshop and other photoediting software programs. Specialized custom-tile printing techniques permit transfer under heat and pressure or the use of high temperature kilns to fuse the picture to the tile substrate¹¹. This has become an increasingly popular method of producing custom tile murals for kitchens, showers, and commercial decoration in restaurants, hotels,and corporate lobbies.

Islamic tilework

Perhaps because of the tenets of Muslim law (sharia) which disavow religious icons and images in favor of more abstract and universal representations of the divine, many consider decorative tilework to have reached a pinnacle of expression and detail during the Islamic period. Sharia ( Arabic: ar شريعة) is the body of Islamic Religious law. An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn, "image" is a religious work of art most commonly a painting from Eastern Christianity. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Palaces, public buildings, and mosques were heavily decorated with dense, often massive mosaics and friezes of astonishing complexity. A "mosque" in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated for Islamic worship although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller privately owned mosque and the larger In Architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an Entablature and may be plain or &ndash in the Ionic or Corinthian order &ndash As both the influence and the extent of Islam spread during the Middle Ages this artistic tradition was carried along, finding expression from the gardens and courtyards of Málaga in Moorish Spain to the mosaics of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Al-Andalus (الأندلس was the Arabic name given to those parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Muslims or Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya Αγία Σοφία " Holy Wisdom " Sancta Sophia or Sancta Sapientia) is a former patriarchal Basilica, later Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS

Mathematics of tiling

Certain shapes of tiles, most obviously rectangles, can be replicated to cover a surface with no gaps. In Geometry, a rectangle is defined as a Quadrilateral where all four of its angles are Right angles A rectangle with vertices ABCD would be denoted as These shapes are said to tessellate (from the Latin tessella, 'tile'). Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. For detailed information on tilings see the tessellation page. A tessellation or tiling of the plane is a collection of Plane figures that fills the plane with no overlaps and no gaps

Further reading and popular culture

Roof tiles

• Marilyn Y. Goldberg, “Greek Temples and Chinese Roofs,” American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 87, No. 3. (Jul. , 1983), pp. 305-310
• Orjan Wikander, “Archaic Roof Tiles the First Generations,” Hesperia, Vol. 59, No. 1. (Jan. - Mar. , 1990), pp. 285-290
• William Rostoker; Elizabeth Gebhard, “The Reproduction of Rooftiles for the Archaic Temple of Poseidon at Isthmia, Greece,” Journal of Field Archaeology, Vol. 8, No. 2. (Summer, 1981), pp. 211-227
• Michel Kornmann and CTTB, "Clay bricks and roof tiles, manufacturing and properties", Soc. Industrie Minerale , Paris (2007) ISBN 2-9517765-6-X

See also

• Dimension stone
• Dropped Ceiling
• Encaustic tile
• Glass tiles

• Laying tile
• Marble
• Mosaic
• Porcelain tile
• Quarry tile
• Roof shingle
• Slate
• Topps Tiles
• Tile-based game
• Tile brands
• Tile Mural
• Tiling puzzle
• Toynbee tiles
• Zinc tile

References

Ceramic Tile

External links

• Dimension Stone Advocate News (DSAN) Issue 26
• Iznik Tiles Today
• International ceramic industry web-portal
• Characteristics of Tile and Tile Murals
• Historic Review of Housing Tile
• Italian Tile
• Dimension Stone Advocate News (DSAN) Issue 29
• Digital Method for Custom Tiles