What is Saltillo's tile?
Saltillo authentic tile is produced only in one place in the world: Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. These tiles are unintegrated clay floor tiles that local craftsmen make from the natural clay that surrounds the area. There are several ways to produce clay tiles and different levels of tile quality. Workers produce tiles by mixing clay with water, formed and cured them in the furnaces. The great demand for these craft tiles has resulted in the flooding of the market with lower quality tiles made of unclean clay. Craftsmen produce quality tiles using fine clay from the banks of the river. The worker sides for this clay to remove dirt, and then mix it with water to form a feasible substance. There are several methods for shaping tiles, but all tiles are left in the sun. Workers will cure the sun roasted tiles in furnaces.
Different methods of tile shaping, including two traditional methods and methods that use metal forms. Two original methods areU de agua and de Golpe . In the way de agua the worker places wooden frames directly on the ground and puts wet clay. Raises the frame away from the wet tile and let it dry. To create a smoother, cleaner bottom, many workers built newspapers on the ground before creating tiles.
The de Golpe method creates a denser tile of Saltillo because the craftsman uses less water. In general, this frame has a wooden bottom, which makes it more of a form than a frame. In the de Golpe method, the worker turns the tile to the ground and then allows it to dry.
Method Pueblo uses a metal form. The craftsman uses a stronger consistency of a mixture of clay and water and pushes it into a mold. This method gives the least rustic appearing tile.
After air drying, the workers will be cured at the furnaces. Traditionally there were furnaces caves. After stacking the tiles into the cave workers boreEtili the entrance of clay. A narrowly controlled fire at the other end of the cave warmed the cave and dried the tiles. As the fire burns, it runs out of oxygen in the cave and then draws iron oxide from the tiles.
When iron oxide burns, it causes a flash on the exposed surface of the tiles, which creates a lighter color on the surface of the tile. The areas where the tiles are stacked together are peach -colored because these areas are protected from oxidation. Other color variations depend on the heat of fire, dirt in the dirt and color ingredients. Some craftsmen add manganese oxide, a natural brown dye to change the colors of the tiles. Sometimes the fire causes green color.
lime are pieces of alkalia, or fast wars that set out on the surface of the Saltillo tile during the cure process. Small pieces of lime are not a problem. Larger pieces can leave undesirable holes on the tile. The tile installer usually tries to cut off this part of the tile, but because it is not always possible, one should order moretiles to compensate for this problem. The house owner should never use acid and vinegar muriata on the saltillo tile, because it worsens the problem.
Despite the method that the worker decides to use, the quality of the saltillo tile depends on the cleanliness of the clay. When the tile manufacturer uses clay with a river or does not use gentle scent, the resulting tile will have larger particles of residues. These residues often weaken the tile. For areas with high traffic, homeowners should choose high quality tiles.