Tuff tiles or paving stones are made of plain cement concrete (P.C.C.); this is mostly used for outdoor flooring. Tuff tile flooring is very popular due to its easy-to-install and easy-to-remove characteristics. Outdoor flooring mostly needs to be removed for installation and repair of utilities; therefore, tough tile or stone paving is the best outdoor flooring option. Tuff tiles are made of different attractive colors and shapes that enhance the outdoor aesthetic beauty. This type of flooring is mostly used in parks, gardens, petrol pumps, footpaths, etc. This blog will provide you with complete details regarding tuff tiles, their type, uses, classifications, and complete installation procedure.
Tuff tiles of different shapes and sizes are available in the market but commonly used 8 types for outdoor flooring are Uni-Block, I-Section, Rectangle, Half Rectangle, Wavy, Hexagon, Delta, Square
Tuff tiles are classified as light duty, medium duty, and heavy duty based on their strength:
Light Duty tuff tiles having thickness of 50 mm are used at Residential, drive way, walk ways, parking patios etc.
Medium Duty tuff tiles having thickness of 60 mm are used at Residential, Streets, Public Parking, service road, maintenance area, canal lining, storage area, City petrol pumps etc.
Heavy Duty tuff tiles having thickness of 80 mm are used at City Streets, Loading deck Industrial floors, Highway petrol pumps etc.
Min 28 days Cylinder Compressive strength for LIGHT DUTY (50 mm thickness) shall be 35 MPa (5000 psi) and for MEDIUM & HEAVY DUTY (60 / 80 mm thickness) shall be 48 MPa (7000 psi).
The sub-base for approach roads, driveways and parking lots used for low speed traffic, should comprise of min 150 mm thick compacted. For areas to be used for pedestrians only, well-compacted earth is sufficient. The sub-base may have been used by site traffic, before the paving is laid. It must, therefore, be inspected to make sure that it is structurally sound, free of debris or mud and that its surface level is correct. Any faults must be rectified, before laying course is spread. Standard thickness of subbase for installation of different tiles is as under:
The Laying course, about 50 mm thick after vibration, consists of clean, washed, sharp sand, containing not more than 3% of Silt and Clay by weight. To achieve the best regularity in the finished surface, the sand should be uniform in type and moisture content, spread to a smooth level, without uneven compaction. To help maintain uniformity, the sand should be obtained from a single source, allowed to dry before use and sheeted over to minimize changes in moisture content.
Screeding is done by traditional methods. For roads upto 5 M wide, it can be done from the kerbs and for wider roads or over large areas, temporary screed rails set to level be used.
After final vibration, the Inter-lock pavers will be lower than their initial level, because, the laying course sand has been compacted and some moved up into the joints between the blocks. Thus, the sand has to be laid to a surcharge, the amount of which depends on the type and moisture content of the sand, but, is normally in the range 5-15 mm.
