Clinker steps: advantages and disadvantages

The steps and the porch of the house are continuously exposed to weather conditions, including temperature fluctuations, and are subjected to mechanical stress. The combination of these factors adversely affects the state of the material with which these surfaces are faced. That is why the choice of finishes for such surfaces should be taken seriously.

A product capable of well tolerating the above loads is a clinker tile. With its help, you can arrange home gardens, staircases or porch of the house, because the material has all the relevant qualities, and therefore is very popular among consumers.

The clinker tile is a product that has established itself as an ideal option for cladding walls, steps, platforms and stairs.If we compare the price component of similar products for the purpose, then the clinker is a category of goods produced at a more reasonable cost. In addition to the low price, the tile is much easier to fit, and it also has a number of positive features, thanks to which it makes a worthy competition to natural raw materials.

In the process of making clinker tiles, only ecologically safe components are used, the main of them is clay, which has fire-resistant properties. Additional materials include feldspars, silicate raw materials, loamy nodules.

There are two main ways of producing such products:

• semi-dry pressing technology, which eliminates the drying of elements;
• extruded method, which consists in pressing the raw material with further firing at the highest possible temperatures, as well as drying the product.

The first production version allows to produce products with a low level of thermal conductivity. Therefore, it is recommended to veneer the facades of houses, as for such surfaces resistance to abrasion and mechanical loads is not as a priority, as, for example, for stairs.

The second production method makes products durable and resistant to mechanical stress, including the influence of aggressive environment. It is recommended for use on pedestrian sidewalks, streets and paths.

The main feature of the material is considered to be excellent resistance to temperature fluctuations of tiles. This characteristic is particularly relevant when the zero indicator is outside the window, since during this period one aggregative state of the liquid changes to another.

As practice shows, clinker tiles show themselves well in such situations. and can go through up to three hundred similar cycles without any loss in quality.That is why the feature described above is relevant specifically for stairs, due to the fact that the areas between the steps and under them are subject to a very large load. Freezing of moisture with the subsequent melting is fraught with the formation of small defects on the surface, which further lead to the destruction of the whole structure.

The material with which the street is veneered must have good wear resistance indicators. Such products belong to the V or IV class of abrasion. This indicator indicates a long service life of products.

The positive features of the material include:

• attractive appearance;
• wear resistance;
• resistance to moisture and temperature fluctuations;
• specific antiskid surface of products;
• ease of care.

Clinker products for the porch must be anti-slip so that its use in the winter period does not pose a threat to human health.

There is a single European standard DIN 51130 for ceramic products, which divides one into four classes:

• Clinker R9 involves laying products on large flights of stairs with several tiers.
• R10 is recommended for general use. She revets not only steps, but also the rest of the surface.
• R11 is available for use on staircases in art workshops, factories or laboratories.
• Tile R12 should be used for outdoor porch. Such products are often purchased for finishing fire stations, freezers and cleaning systems, because it has the highest characteristics of wear resistance and resistance to negative temperatures.

Among the most important indicators for the tile, which is produced as a product for lining floor coverings, we can note the resistance of the product to bending loads. This value for clinker is 20 MPa.

Street clinker products are of several types. - facing, technical and waterproof. The latter type of product is recommended for finishing saunas, swimming pools, showers. Facing products are available for work with the facades of houses, external or internal stairs. Technical products are needed for laying the sidewalk, various paths and platforms in the territory, inside the premises with a large flow of people - at train stations or in underground passages.

Manufacturers of goods offer customers several formats of material:

• ordinary steps and plinth;
• steps with a notch;
• products for balconies;
• corner plinth;
• steps with an angle;

• angle under the step;
• corner, left and right plinth;
• corner and frontal steps;
• products with a florentine profile.

The elements have a variety of colors and geometry, making it possible to revet even the intricate design of the stairs. Products are produced that do not have a large functional significance, but perform a lot of decorative functions, thanks to which they are in demand among designers.

Products with curved eaves are produced ready-to-work - solid or collapsible. The second version of the configuration is more interesting, since it provides almost unlimited possibilities for decorating the beautiful decor of the steps, using various shades and textures for this.

To complete the ensemble, products are produced for facing the floor covering in accordance with the staircase. This makes it possible to use a single style in creating an interior in private houses, on open terraces and on the street.

The characteristic color of floor tiles is achieved by the effect of temperature on the natural components of clayfor example, magnesium or iron. As a result of heat treatment, the components change shape and give the product a certain shade. The organic composition of clinker has a beneficial effect on a wide color range of products.

Most often masonry from clinker tiles prefer the owners of private households, made in the style of country or Provence.In combination with natural stone or paving stones, they will be in harmony with modern stylistic ideas, for example, in the direction of high-tech. Many designers distinguish the nominal black color from the entire color range of the tile. It allows you to give the lined surface clarity and severity of the lines, so that the surface will have strict and correct boundaries, which allows to emphasize the advantages of the design both inside and outside the room.

The tile for steps includes several elements:

• tread - a product with a rounded corner, due to which the joint with the risers is closed;
• the riser has the shape of an ordinary clinker, resembling a brick;
• plinth - component, which is used for decorative decoration of the bowstring of the stairs.

Clinker steps have the following dimensions:

• length - 328 mm, width - 325 mm, thickness - 20 mm;
• length - 334 mm, width - 245-310 mm, thickness - 20 mm.

The brick tile is made in Italy, Spain, Germany, Russia, Poland and other countries.German manufacturers offer the consumer clinker tiles with the highest wear resistance.

The leader in this area is considered firm Stroeher. The range of steps is presented in the following modifications: convex and rectangular products, Florentine products, elements with notches. The color of the tile varies from brown to dark shades of gray. Products are characterized by anti-slip properties, due to which they are often used in the yard and outdoor areas.

Spanish made clinker, in comparison with products from Germany, several times inferior in material properties to withstand mechanical stress, therefore, has a lower cost. However, the main difference between Spanish-made products is the structure of the material, the components of which are white and calcined clay. Spanish products are represented by a large variety of decorative clinker tiles, which perfectly tolerates Russian frosts, has a rough anti-slip coating and fits perfectly into any interior inside and outside the room.

Clinker from Italian manufacturers produced with the use and observance of the ancient traditions of this skill. The main advantage of such products is the riot of colors that retain their color without fading from ultraviolet exposure for decades.

Clinker products is a high-quality facing material of the elite class. Such products allow you to choose a product for facing any staircases, porch, platforms and paths. Work on the installation does not require special skills, the elements are easily and very firmly fixed on a special adhesive composition.

Such a product is successfully used indoors and outdoors. Buyers note a large selection of various geometric shapes of tiles, as well as a distinctive feature of the material - the ability to absorb moisture. The advantages of the product most consumers include the resistance of the surface, lined with clinker tiles, alkali and gasoline - they do not leave any stains on the steps.

Fans of such products emit a positive feature almost not frosting. Even if it rains and the temperature drops sharply, frost on the clinker steps will not occur, so the railing on the porch will not be mandatory for safety. They can carry only a decorative function or be completely absent.

Specialists involved in facing surfaces, distinguish clinker among other materials used for the design of stairs, since the products are quite easily and quickly fit on the prepared surface.

To learn how to mount clinker stages, see the following video.