How about a paved porch
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Pavement tiles come these days in a variety of hues, patterns and sizes.
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BEAUTY AND UTILITY: The advantages of pavement tiles are many.
Much thought is given to selecting tiles and the way these should be laid to create beautiful patterns inside houses. At the time of construction, the house owner gives prime importance to designing the interiors.
But not much thought is given to exteriors. However, new products in the market can make the customer think quite creatively about how the courtyard look. With new building materials flooding the market, customers have been quick to appreciate the beauty of paved tiles.
The architects and builders who work in this field know them, but the public is less aware of pavement tiles, said a marketing official of a branded pavement tile company.
But paved porches are slowly catching on. Till recently, only builders used to buy pavement tiles — that too just for large projects. Available in different shades and offering the possibility of many designs — geometric or flower-shaped by using colour combinations in a specific manner — paving tiles are, perhaps, going to be part of every household soon.
All major builders use pavement tiles to beautify the approach and the exteriors of the building. With new types of tiles available in a variety of sizes and thickness, customers can choose their tile according to the use of the porch.
Price range
If the porch is used only to park a car, tiles in the lower price range can be chosen, said a marketing official of Pavit Ceramics Private Ltd. The pavement tiles of the Pavit brand are available in three series. The price range is from Rs. 38 a sq.ft to Rs. 70 a sq.ft. Certain colour pigments are costly and hence these are considered premium.
Small paving tiles of 4x4 square inches; 8x8 square inches and 12x12 square inches are available. Such small sizes help provide good tyre grip if the paved ground slopes. There are also plain surface tiles as well as undulated ones.
Thickness of a tile is of much importance. Eight-mm thickness is the lowest range available in Pavit. For pavements where moderate to heavy traffic is expected, tiles of 12-mm and 16-mm thickness are available.
A crude but cost-cutting practice some time earlier was to create a design on the porch out of marble or granite left over from the construction work. The chipped marbles or other stones become the raw material for the porch floor.
Popular ceramic tile manufacturer H.&R. Johnson (India) has launched Endura, a brand of pavement and industrial tiles that can withstand heavy load.
Interlocking tiles made of cement and granite powder are popular with affordable ranges available among locally made and branded ones. These have been used in many newly constructed households, petrol pumps and other commercial areas. Ultra, Scorpio and Ferrocon are some of the popular brands of interlocking tiles available in the market.
SHYAMA RAJAGOPAL
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