Clay Tiles & Roof Features
Handmade clay tiles vary in camber, colour and texture in a way machine-made tiles do not, and that variation is what gives an old roof its depth when the light moves across it. This category covers makers and suppliers of handmade and hand-crafted clay tiles, peg tiles and pantiles, along with the fittings that finish a roof: ridge tiles, hip and bonnet tiles, valley tiles, finials, dragon and crested ridges, and purpose-made specials copied from an existing example.
What this category covers
- Handmade plain tiles, peg tiles and pantiles
- Ridge, hip, bonnet and valley tiles and fittings
- Finials, crested ridges and decorative roof features
- Bespoke specials made to match an existing tile or feature
- Matching for repair, patching and full recovering
Aldershaw Handmade Clay Tiles Ltd
Aldershaw Handmade Tiles makes clay tiles by hand at Pokehold Wood, Sedlescombe, ...
Specifying clay tiles for a historic roof
Match camber and size, not only colour. The double curvature of a handmade tile is what makes an old roof sit and weather as it does, and a flat machine tile of the right colour still reads as new from the ground. Size and gauge vary regionally, so measure the existing coursing.
Ask about fixing. Peg tiles were hung on oak pegs and are still made with peg holes; nail holes, clips and mechanical fixing suit different exposures. Fixing specification should follow the exposure and pitch as well as the tile.
Order specials early and generously. Bonnets, valleys, purpose-made ridges and finials are handmade to order and take time, and a shortfall discovered on site holds up a roof. Allow surplus for future repairs, since batches vary.
Keep sound original tiles. Salvaging and re-laying the best of the existing tiles on the most visible slope, with new tiles on rear and hidden slopes, is a standard and well-regarded approach on listed buildings.
Questions to ask
What is the difference between handmade and machine-made clay tiles?
Handmade tiles are formed individually, giving variation in camber, thickness, colour and texture; machine-made tiles are uniform. On a historic roof that variation is the point, because it produces the irregular, light-catching surface an old roof has.
Can missing finials and ridge features be replaced?
Usually. Several makers produce specials to order and will work from a surviving example, a photograph or a drawing. Where one original survives on the building, a mould taken from it gives the most accurate match.
Should I reuse the old tiles when recovering a roof?
Where they are sound, yes. Sorting the existing tiles and re-laying the best on the most visible slopes, with new handmade tiles elsewhere, retains the roof's appearance and is generally what conservation officers prefer to see proposed.
The business listed under Clay Tiles & Roof Features
- Aldershaw Handmade Clay Tiles Ltd East Sussex
Directory information is provided to help visitors identify potentially relevant specialists and suppliers. Inclusion does not constitute a recommendation, approval or guarantee by Tuscan Foundry Products. Please check current services, credentials, availability and suitability directly with each business.