“Facade clinker”is a broad term encompassing all ceramic products – facing or clinker – intended for use on the exterior of a structure. This group includes bricks, fittings and ceramic tiles, both facing and clinker. Although these materials have similar applications (facades, fences, elements of small and large architecture) they differ both in technical parameters and often also in appearance.
Clinker brick is one of the most durable man-made building materials, which is made by firing a mixture of clay and quartz with the addition of chamotte at very high temperatures, often reaching 1000 °C. Thanks to such raw material composition and thermal treatment, it is characterized by a compact structure and achieves extremely high technical parameters – compressive strength exceeding 30MPa, negligible absorption often below 6%, and resistance to harsh weather conditions.
Facing brick in short any ceramic brick that is frost resistant. These are often the only two features in common with clinker brick. Its structure can be both compact and porous, and it has a much higher absorption rate of up to 20% and a much lower compressive strength. However, due to its resistance to frost, it can be used to exactly the same extent as clinker brick and, along with it, enjoy the honorable title of “facade clinker.”
All types of façade clinker have in common the raw material from which it is made, the method of manufacture, and its peculiar beauty, aesthetics, and timelessness. These products are used in both traditional and modern construction, blending well with other materials – with steel, glass, or composites. Particularly noteworthy and distinctive here are the bricks from the PATOKA brickyard, whose rawness, metallic inclusions, and slagging make them unique and equivalents or substitutes are impossible to find on the market:
Facade clinker is not only about looks, but also, and perhaps most importantly, durability and practicality. It is resistant to harsh environmental conditions, high and low temperatures, heavy rain and hailstorms. Used on the façade, it significantly improves fire safety and sound insulation of the walls. Thanks to its high chemical resistance to even concentrated acids and alkalis, it can be washed with virtually any type of cleaning agent – including under pressure, if necessary.
The unique properties of façade clinker allow it to be used both on buildings and elements of small architecture, while its durability gives owners a guarantee of long years of trouble-free use.