For a dance of colour on the roof of your house
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Move over terracotta, coloured cement tiles are here
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ATTRACTIVE: (from top) the black-blue roof of Shettis' house in J.P.Nagar 3rd Phase; red-coloured roof of the house of Sourab Partha in Sector 3 of HSR Layout; plain grey roof of the house of industrialist Sushil Eapen in Sunny Brookes Layout, off Sarjapur Main Road; and red-grey tiles of Mohan Reddy's house in Eastwood Layout. -PHOTO: MURALI KUMAR K.
Sloped roofs with the cladding of terracotta tiles are environment-friendly and look great. But if you haven't chosen the right kind of tiles, the colour fades fast and they blacken. If the proper slope is given and quality tiles are used, you retain the charm even over a decade.
Many Bangaloreans with disposable incomes are no longer happy only with the architectural elegance of terracotta tiles. They are going for coloured cement tiles, being offered by the only manufacturer, Lafarge Roofing Pvt. Ltd., which has a manufacturing unit in Bommasandra.
The tiles, which cost Rs. 27 to 40 a tile (add about 13 per cent tax, transport cost and installation charges too), are available in red, orange, gray, combinations of black and gray, black and green, black and blue. And, of course, you have these tiles in terracotta colour too.
The house of Shettis in J.P.Nagar 3rd Phase, for example, has used the black-blue tile (also called antique blue) for all the sloped roofs. "Our roofs are the cynosure of all eyes," proudly claims its owner, Seshagiri, a retired bank officer. There are times when people even stand in front of the house and take a deep look at the roofs, he says.
Are the cement tiles warmer than the terracotta tiles? Opinions of the inmates of the houses where coloured tiles are used differ. Seema, who has used them directly (over a steel substructure) points out that the house is a bit warmer during summer, "though it is not a big problem."
Less heat
But Mr. Seshagiri, whose villa has concrete roof with a cladding of cement tiles, says his house does not get warm. "During my younger days I have lived in a house with Mangalore tiles. This house is not that warm." He says that these tiles radiate less heat. The company executives say heat insulation is possible where the tiles are laid directly on a substructure by providing a radiant heat barrier between the tiles and the substructure. The barrier is made of aluminium foil.
The tiles are put about 2 to 3 inches above the existing roofs and this provides an air gap. This results in the roofs radiating less heat and makes the life of those in the house a bit comfortable, says an executive of the company.
Advantages
The company supplies many accessories for the tiles to ensure that the roof is foolproof.
You get universal barge tile which can be laid along the edges, eliminating the need to lay a concrete strip; pressed round ridge end to make the ridge ends more presentable; clips to hold the tiles that are cut (for adjusting them where two slopes meet and create a valley); two-way, three-way or four-way round ridges to provide smooth deviation or ridges; vent tiles, transparent tiles for using them as skylights; V-pipe tile to fix over toilets to let the exhaust pipe; and the accessories that help seal the leaks easily.
Unlike the regular Mangalore tiles or terracotta tiles, these tiles come with a groove for binding the tiles to the substructure using self-tapping screws.
When these screws are used, they cannot be unscrewed. They will have to be cut open to remove the tiles. This eliminates the possibility of tiles flying away when strong winds blow. Also, thieves cannot break in.
The 17"x13" tiles are a little bigger than the conventional Mangalore tiles. Their durability is more than the Mangalore tiles and breakage minimal. Thus maintenance cost is less.
The company says that the colour of the tiles will remain intact for over 10 years. Two of the big projects coming up in the city — the 203-villa Chaitanya Samarpan project in Whitefield and Vaswani's Austenwood project off Sarjapur Road where 41 row houses are coming up — are using these tiles.
The company also supplies the glazed and colourful clay tiles sourcing them from its factory in Kozhikode. But these tiles are not popular in Bangalore. Besides, transport cost is heavy.
Coloured cement tiles cost Rs. 27 to 40 a piece.
They are available in red, orange, gray, combinations of black and gray, black and green, black and blue.
Some feel cement tiles radiate less heat than terracotta tiles.
They come with a groove for binding them to the substructure using self-tapping screws.
They do not fly away when strong winds blow. Also, thieves cannot break in.
Colour of the tiles will remain intact for over 10 years.
GOVIND D. BELGAUMKAR
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