The most known material
“For centuries, the preference of human beings has been in the direction of tile. Tile continues to be both a traditional and an innovative roofing material in today’s conditions. There are many models and colors of tiles that are still produced in modern conditions. The use of the tile, which is involved in the formation of the architectural concept, will continue to increase. Of course, we know that there are many different roofing materials along with tiles due to the needs and expectations of the decision maker and the users. However, we are aware that technically tile is preferred due to its properties, while other roofing materials are preferred due to their functional and detailed solution properties. For this reason, I think that the production and marketing of each product in its own lane will continue. The main reason why tile is preferred all over the world in terms of its technical features is that it has four types of insulation, namely heat, water, sound and fire insulation. On the other hand, tile is the most widely sold roofing material in our country, the application of which is known by our craftsmen, and the highest availability even in small-scale building materials vendors.”
Tile usage will increase
“The number of tiles produced and offered for sale in Turkey is in the band between 400 and 450 million. These figures change every year in direct proportion to the growth momentum of the sector. The perspectives made for the future show that it will remain in these numbers again. Roof tiles produced in Turkey are not only available in our country; It is also exported to Europe, Africa and the Americas, especially to nearby countries. For this reason, I think that tile production will not decrease numerically, it can maintain its position in the market, or even increase it.
Tile From Past to Present
Man’s meeting with Clay
It is known that people built their houses on river banks and deltas in the periods when they started a regular settlement life. It has been determined that people made and used clay tablets with simple production mechanisms, which they would use in the construction of their houses when life began in these regions. Although the exact date cannot be given, in the studies carried out, BC. Dried clay tablets were found in the 13th century in Mesopotamia. These clay tablets brought the functional properties of brick and tile to homes.
Use of Clay Soil as Brick
B.C. It is seen that the fired brick, which was used in the construction of the Tower of Babel in the 4th century, was produced and used industrially for the first time. During the excavations carried out by the German Archaeologist Robert Koldwey between 1877-1917, it was determined that the bricks were similar to the bricks used today in terms of their technical and physical properties. It is estimated that more than 85 million bricks were used in the construction of the Tower of Babel.
Geçmişten günümüze kil kiremit.
Use of Clay Soil as Tile
After the use of baked brick, roofing materials to be used in buildings were needed. B.C. It is accepted that the first to produce and use tile in the 4th century were Corinthians. The Corinthians produced the concave tiles, which are still used today, by beating the prepared brick dough with a hammer and making it widespread, and they are thicker and larger than they are now.
Concave tile, which was first produced by the Corinthians, began to be used as the Greek tile, as it is known, by improving the size differences of the Greeks over time. By taking over this development, the Romans developed the Greek Tile in a rounder and smaller size. As a result of this development, tiles in a form similar to the Ottoman Tile produced in today’s conditions began to be produced and used in buildings.
Widespread use of tiles
The Romans contributed to this development by introducing standard features in tile. They even started to trade this tile. The Greek tile was introduced to Spain, England, Germany, France and Belgium by the Romans and its use was widespread. It was the Romans who developed the tile production as an industry branch and traded it by transporting it by sea and river.
Tile Usage in Anatolia in Antiquity
B.C. It is known that bricks and tiles were used by the Lydians in Anatolia, along with the bricks used in the construction of the Tower of Babel in the 4th century and the tiles produced by the Corinthians. Corinthian type tiles were used especially in Western Anatolia. As each roof tile has its own characteristics, it is also preferred in different forms on different roofs. In this period, tiles were not only used on roofs, but also used as stroter in ovens and in tombs to obtain a solid and flat floor.
Development of Tile in Anatolia
B.C. Since the 4th century, tile has shown differences in use in terms of shape and functional properties. The tile types used in ancient times were flat tiles (Stroter), Covering Tile (Kalypter), Corrugated Flat Tile, Ridge Tile, Stream Tile and Opaion Flat Tile.
Tile in the Ottoman Period
Brick and tile production after the Greeks B.
developed by the Byzantines. The Seljuks took over this work with their great contributions and created a unique architectural style, especially in the use of bricks and stones. The most important periods in the development of tile started with the Ottomans. The production of small-sized Concave Ottoman tiles was made and the use of products with standard features was made compulsory for the first time and became widespread. After this period, the tile, which did not experience major changes until the 18th century, started to be produced industrially in accordance with the standardization and physical changes with the Industrial Revolution.
Industrial Revolution and Tile
After the use of steam powered machines, the animal power used primarily in raw material preparation machines was replaced by steam powered machines.
After this mechanization, which was considered the pioneer of the sector in the 1700s, tile production continued with the development of spiral forming presses in the 1800s. The introduction of Hoffman and Tunnel type furnaces enabled more production with less raw material and less energy. With these developments, production increased. The use of tile, which has become a much easier and cheaper building material, has become increasingly common. In the process that started with industrialization in the 18th century, the preparation of raw materials by sieving turned into grinding machines, the mud pools where the clay was mixed with water became silos, the wooden molds used for shaping turned into plaster and metal molds. Drying of tiles is artificial drying in ovens instead of natural methods; cooking has left its place to furnaces using coal fuel.
Tile Production in Turkey
Tile production in our country is concentrated in regions such as Çorum, Tokat, Eskişehir, Manisa, İzmir, Bilecik, Sinop and Edirne, where clay, which is the raw material, is easily accessible. The number of production facilities currently operating is around 50 and their annual production capacity is more than 600 million units.
