Tiles and stones are used everywhere in our buildings, our homes, and many other places within our built environment. But have you ever wondered where and how those stones and tiles on your living room floor or bathroom wall are produced? Or how quality stones and tiles are selected and classified?
The team behind the quality assurance of our built environment, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA)’s Quality and Certification Department officers, recently visited factories and quarries in China to study some of the latest technologies in the production of stones and tiles.
In the pursuit of higher quality, BCA quality officers Rajendran Ramamoorthy and Ong Boon Teck studied stone quarries, tiling factories, and visited the International Stone Fair in Xiamen, China
In order to gain a deeper understanding of the advantages and limitations of various materials, two officers from the department flew to China to attend the 9th International Stone Fair at Xiamen and visited the composite stone and tiling factories.
The 9th International Stone Fair in Xiamen is one of two major stone fairs held annually, the other major stone fair is held in Italy.
About 1200 exhibitors from Italy, Spain and other countries participated in the large-scale exhibition, which covered an area of 90,000 sq metres. It not only provided an opportunity for the participants to view the different varieties of natural and artificial stones and their applications, but also explore the various exhibits of innovative machinery, tools and other associated materials used in stone and tiling installations.
As quality assessors, knowledge on the industry’s latest developments enhances the officers’ ability to give technical advice on quality issues to the industry, while boosting their professionalism in providing CONQUAS and Quality Mark assessment and trainin.
The knowledge, which they had brought back with them are manifested in the new good industry practices guide that will be launched next year. The eco-friendly Composite Marble/Granite panels would be included in the “Design and Material Selection for Quality: Volume 2”.
About Composite Marble/Granite Panels
and allow for faster installation,
cutting energy and manpower costs
This new product consists of a thin authentic stone veneer bonded with a reinforcement backing and allows for the conservation of natural resources with a panel thickness of 3-6mm compared to natural stone thickness of 20-30mm.
Composite stone panels are also 40-60% lighter than their natural stone counterparts, reducing the need to design for heavy loads and excessive structural reinforcement. The reduced weight also allows for faster installation, resulting in savings of time, energy and manpower.
Dashany, one of the biggest composite stone manufacturing companies in China, shared with the officers how the latest Italian technology, coupled with the utilization of more automated processes allowed for better quality control of their stone products.
Homogeneous Tile
The other advancement that the quality officers studied was the Homogeneous Tile, a newer form of ceramic tile that is much more durable than its predecessor.
bathrooms
Composed of fine porcelain clays and fired at much higher temperatures than ceramic tiles, these tiles are harder, more homogenous and less porous.
They are also less prone to moisture and stain absorption, meaning you could spill a cup of your morning coffee on it and it will not stain easily unlike other materials such as marble.
This enhanced durability and maintainability makes these tiles mainstays at places with high human traffic such as shopping malls.
Cailing Ceramics, the tiling factory that the quality officers visited, also shared on the possible quality issues in the manufacturing process.
Ong Boon Teck checking quality of tiles in the factory
To promote Singapore’s construction industry to be both high quality and environmentally friendly, there is a need to explore alternative building materials and new methods of construction.
To achieve this objective, BCA is considering sending officers to future study missions to Spain and Italy, the pioneers in stone and tile production, in order for the officers to acquire further knowledge and even compare the differences between Asian and European perceptions of quality in stone works.
Three quick tips on selecting tiles for your home
- For flooring in dry areas such as living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms: polished rectified homogenous tiles for achieving consistent joint, better stain resistance and durability.
- For flooring in wet areas: semi polished rectified homogeneous tiles with good slip resistance (To reduce slipperiness)
- For walls in wet areas such as kitchens and bathrooms: glazed ceramic tiles with good crack resistance, for easy maintenance.
Rectified glazed creamic tile for kitchen