Polymer antique tile vs clay tile: Who's better at antique building applications

In the evening of May 19, 2025, China's Anhui Province, Fengyang Drum Tower, a shocking scene: heavy eaves on the roof of the tiles such as mud and stone flow pouring down, stunned passers-by.

Investigation shows that the root cause of this accident directly refers to the traditional clay tile fatal flaws: the new mechanism of clay tile and the old tile thermal expansion and contraction coefficient does not match; pole hanging installation method there are hidden dangers ......

We have to face a sharp question: whether the traditional clay tiles has become a fatal weakness of housing protection?

Material Revolution, Six Breakthroughs of Polymer Antique Tile

In the face of the dilemma of traditional materials, polymer antique tile came into being to provide a revolutionary solution for the protection of ancient buildings. This polymer material is molded by BMC raw material at 300 degrees Celsius, and it has become the focus of the industry after the incident of Fengyang Drum Tower.

Cross-generation upgrade of materials

Compared with traditional clay tiles, polymer antique tiles have realized a qualitative leap.

Core material: BMC raw material is molded at high temperature of 300 degrees Celsius, with strong weather resistance.

Production process: extrusion molding through advanced mechanical equipment and automated production lines, avoiding the high energy consumption of the traditional firing process.

Environmentally friendly: All materials can be recycled and reused, and the production process is pollution-free.

Comprehensive performance beyond

polymer antique tiles show six core advantages, directly hitting the traditional clay tile pain points:

Light weight and high strength: only 15 kilograms per square meter, one third of the weight of clay tiles, reducing the structural load of the building by 50%. This feature is especially important for the Fengyang Drum Tower, which is a non-compliant reconstruction building, and can significantly reduce the safety risk.

Upgraded installation method: Nail fixing replaces the traditional clay tile pole-hanging installation program, and the tiles are more firmly connected.

Excellent waterproofing performance: zero water absorption, unique lap jointing process, completely solve the problem of leakage.

Super weatherability: high temperature resistance, frost resistance, corrosion resistance, and physical properties remain unchanged in extreme environments from -40℃ to 80℃. This feature can effectively withstand the severe test of 20 ℃ temperature difference similar to Fengyang on that day.

Revolution in service life: Long service life of more than 50 years, even up to 70 years, truly realizing the same life as the building.

Perfect balance between aesthetics and function

While the performance of polymer antique tiles jumps up, the aesthetic value is not compromised:

Elegant modeling: not only inherits the ancient style of sintered green tiles, but also integrates the modern atmosphere, realizing the perfect fusion of tradition and modernity.

Long-lasting color: 300 degrees Celsius high temperature molding, always keep clean as new.

Multi-functionality: decorative, heat-insulating, waterproof function in one, the thermal conductivity is similar to that of wood, the heat preservation effect is excellent.

Comparison of data, the performance of the two materials collision

When we put traditional clay tiles and polymer antique tiles in a professional perspective, the inevitability of material iteration is self-evident:

The data reveals not only the technical parameters of the difference, but also the concept of heritage protection of the generation across. If the maintenance project of Fengyang Drum Tower adopts polymer antique tiles, its budget can realize more than 40% of comprehensive cost savings, and can avoid the waste of resources for secondary maintenance in the short term.

Application fields, from cultural relics restoration to modern architecture

The application scenarios of polymer antique tiles are expanding at an accelerated pace, forming three types of typical scenarios:

Restoration and safety of ancient buildings

Wooden structure ancient building protection: lightweight characteristics to avoid structural damage to the cultural relics themselves.

Repair of historical landscape area: accurate reproduction of the shape of barrel tiles and slate tiles, realizing “repairing the old as the old”.

Preventive maintenance: establishing digital tile archives, realizing the replacement of individual tiles.

Cultural tourism commercial value highland

Antique commercial street: a commercial street case shows that the construction cost was reduced by 52% and the opening cycle was advanced by 40 days.

Theme hotel roofing: anti-freezing and thawing characteristics ensure year-round operation of high-altitude scenic spots.

Temple complex: the temple project realized 72 hours to complete the roofing of the main hall.

Carrier of modern architectural aesthetics

New Chinese-style villa: further exploring the connotation of traditional culture, combining modern technology and design concepts to meet the needs of high-quality life and promote the development of modern architecture field.

Assembled building: compatible with BIM system, narrowing down the scope of error control

Industry Awakening, Antique Tile Becomes an Ideal Choice

The emergence of polymer antique tiles provides a new idea for solving the pain points of China's antique buildings and has a broad application prospect.

The lightweight nature of polymer antique tiles (only 15 kilograms per square) reduces the burden on the building structure from the source, and its lifelong maintenance-free feature breaks the vicious cycle of “repair-damage-repair again”.

And compared with the performance of traditional clay tiles, the characteristics of light weight, high strength, waterproof and weatherproof, and lifelong maintenance-free make it an ideal choice for the maintenance of ancient buildings.

The choice of polymer antique tile is not only a renewal of the material, but also a reshaping of the concept of heritage protection. When a piece of lightweight and high-strength tiles cover the historical buildings, we guard not only the material carrier, but also the future of civilization inheritance.