Clinker paving stones, or paving bricks - an environmentally friendly, aesthetic, durable material for arranging pedestrian sidewalks, paving the carriageway. The first production facilities were opened in the 17th century in Holland, where, during the firing of ceramics, the properties of certain types of clay were discovered, which, after processing, became very durable. By our time, the quality of paving stones has improved, several types have appeared for different areas of coatings.
Main production steps
Raw materials for the production of clinker paving stones are refractory types of clay, usually several grades. The extracted raw materials are mixed in the production in proportions according to the recipe, the main requirement is the melting point. For production, several varieties of clay are mixed, go through preparatory stages, which include moistening, extrusion, drying and firing. At the final stage, the clay should melt and "sinter", but the formation of a glassy material should not be allowed. The temperature in the kiln for the production of clinker lining is 1350-1580degrees Celsius.
Clinker pavers have a palette of natural colors. In the production of clinker types of finishing materials, dyes are not used. Color is achieved through a combination of clay types, temperature, or length of stay in the kiln during firing. It is for this reason that it is rare to find a batch of paving stones consisting of absolutely identical color bricks. The color scheme will vary by a tone or two in the total mass of the lot.
Destination
Clinker pavers have several types, each of them is used in its own operating environment.
- Paving clinker pavers. The thickness of the tile is about 4.2 cm. It is used for laying a sidewalk pedestrian zone, paths in personal plots, as a blind area around private or administrative buildings.
- Paving roads. The thickness of the load pavement tiles ranges from 4.2 cm to 5.2 cm. This type of pavers can be used for roads laid inside residential blocks, parking lots and car parks.
- Clinker lawn brick. As the name suggests, it is used for landscaping. The structure has holes through which the grass grows. Most commonly used in grass car parks.
- Clinker brick with through holes or aqua-transit clinker. Comfortable pavement pavers with the ability to quickly drain water from the pedestrian zone.
- Tactile clinker pavers. This type of pavementhas a textured surface and is placed on the edge of the sidewalk to mark the end of the pedestrian zone, easy to use for visually impaired people.
Types of pavers
Clinker pavers have several sizes, with a certain thickness and purpose of use.
Clinker Paving Size Chart
| Name | Dimensions of clinker paving stones, cm | Thickness, cm |
| Rectangular |
20x10x4 20x10x4, 5 20x10x5, 2 20x11, 5x5, 2 |
1, 8 – 7, 1 |
| Square |
10x10 15x15 20х20 24x24 30х30 |
1, 8 – 7, 1 |
| Mosaic | 0, 6x0, 6cm | 0, 5 – 0, 6 |
| Transom (popular) |
21, 2x0, 7x5, 2 29, 2x0, 7x5, 2 29, 2x7, 1x7, 1 |
4, 5-5, 2 |
| Curved | Round, diamond-shaped or other complex shape. Has no generally accepted standards. | |
Advantages of clinker tiles
Clinker pavers have practically no flaws. Environmentally friendly material does not litter the environment, even if the paving stones are damaged and left without dismantling in place, it will not harm nature and humans.
The high strength of high-quality paving stones allows you to withstand operationalloads up to 2000 kilograms per square centimeter. The low rate of water absorption allows this type of paving to be distinguished by a high level of frost resistance. Water practically does not penetrate into the pores of the material, which is very convenient for latitudes with different temperature conditions, because the service life is significantly extended. Also, paving stones are resistant to oils, acids and other aggressive agents.
Material imperfections
The main downside is the cost. It is due to the technological process, raw materials and delivery. Also, clinker paving stones are non-uniform in color. Each batch will contain samples of a different color close to the main one, but sometimes this is an advantage if you are a supporter of eco-design.
Laying clinker paving stones
Clinker tile paving involves the installation of several preparatory technological layers. The lowest layer is a leveled compacted natural soil, the next layer consists of sand or screenings, on which clinker paving stones are laid. The distance between individual bricks/tiles is covered with stone chips and fixed with bitumen with thermoplastic mixtures. The laying of clinker tiles is carried out in a simple form or according to a design pattern, which gives the space individuality and style.
Accessibility
The main producers of clinker paving stones, tiles and bricks are German industry leaders. In Russiathe production of clinker paving stones began to develop relatively recently. Domestic analogues are not inferior in quality to European ones, but so far they have a limited assortment.
Russian-made clinker paving blocks compare favorably in cost, since production facilities are located in the Russian Federation, logistics costs are insignificant compared to delivery from the EU, and the quality meets international standards. You can buy clinker tiles from Russian manufacturers anywhere in the country thanks to well-established distribution. Today, there are two major players on the Russian market, which means that the market for clinker production is practically free.
