Does anyone know how much pressure (lbs/psi) is the minimum being used to make encaustic cement tiles?
I think this may be an interesting tile to experiment with using papercrete but I have to figure out how big a shop press I would need to attempt it.
Encaustic cement tile also known as Cuban tile, hydraulic tile and a bunch of other names is a three layer cement tile formed by high pressure. They are usually hand made by placing a mixture of marble dust, fine sand, white portland cement and color pigment in the first layer (approx. 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick). Then a second dry layer of fine sand and cement is added (1/8 to 1/4 inch. Finally a damp layer of portland,sand and lime is placed in the tile form, screed off and placed in a hydraulic or hand press. Apply pressure and then de-mold and cure in a water bath for 28 days.
The first mix is made into a thick pourable mortar. The second mix is used to collect the excess water from the first layer and the damp third layer gives the tile it's overall strength. Patterns can be added by placing a cookie cutter like die in the form and placing different colored mortars in different sections until the form is covered then removing the die and proceeding with the other steps as noted above.
Here is a link for what I am talking about
http://www.concretecottage.com/encaustic-cement-tiles.htm
alot of good info but I can't find much about nuts and bolts of the process.
Robert
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