Roofing Suppliers
This category lists suppliers of traditional roofing materials rather than the contractors who fit them: natural slate from UK and overseas quarries, handmade and machine-made clay tiles, stone slates, reclaimed materials, lead sheet, and the nails, pegs, laths and underlays that go with them. Material choice on a historic roof is usually driven by what was there and what the local tradition was, and the two are not always the same after a century of repairs. Suppliers who work with conservation projects can normally match samples, advise on sizing and blend reclaimed and new.
What this category covers
- Natural slate, including Welsh, Cornish, Scottish and imported
- Handmade and machine-made clay tiles and fittings
- Stone slates, including sorting, sizing and diminishing courses
- Reclaimed slates, tiles and stone for matching repairs
- Lead sheet, copper, zinc, fixings, pegs, laths and underlays
Aldershaw Handmade Clay Tiles Ltd
Aldershaw Handmade Tiles makes clay tiles by hand at Pokehold Wood, Sedlescombe, ...
Delabole Slate Quarry – Cornwall
Delabole Slate Quarry in north Cornwall describes itself as the oldest working ...
Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd
Heritage Clay Tiles is a Strood-based supplier of handmade clay roof tiles, ...
JH Building Restoration Ltd
JH Building Restoration Ltd is a heritage restoration and refurbishment contractor based ...
Keymer (Wienerberger Ltd)
Keymer, now part of Wienerberger, has made handmade clay roof tiles in ...
Organic By Design
Organic By Design is a heritage building maintenance and repair contractor based ...
Specifying roofing materials for a historic building
Match the material to the building and the area, not just to the sample board. Slate colour, texture, thickness and sizing vary widely by source, and a roof covered in uniformly thin imported slate reads very differently from one laid in graded local slate, even at the same distance.
Ask about grading and diminishing courses. Traditional slate and stone roofs were laid with larger, thicker units at the eaves reducing towards the ridge. Suppliers used to conservation work will sort and size to a schedule; suppliers used to new build usually will not.
Check reclaimed material properly. Reclaimed slate and tile can be exactly right, but it also carries risks of hidden delamination, nail sickness and unknown provenance. Ask how it has been sorted and tested, and how much of a batch is expected to be usable.
Do not let the underlay undo the roof. Impermeable membranes under a traditional slate or tile roof change how the structure breathes and have been associated with condensation and timber decay. Vapour-open underlays, or none with adequate ventilation, suit historic construction better.
Questions to ask
Should I use reclaimed or new slates for a repair?
It depends on the roof and the quantity. Reclaimed material can match weathering and sizing on a patch repair, but quality varies. For a full recovering, well-matched new slate of the right type is often more reliable, sometimes blended with reclaimed on prominent slopes.
Is imported slate acceptable on a listed building?
It depends on the authority and the building. Where a distinctive local slate defines the character of the roof, matching it is usually expected. Elsewhere a good-quality imported slate of correct colour, texture and sizing may be accepted; agree it before ordering.
Do I need breathable underlay on an old roof?
A vapour-open underlay is generally recommended on historic roofs, because impermeable membranes can trap moisture in the roof space and lead to condensation and decay in the timbers. Ventilation of the roof void needs to be considered alongside it.
All 9 businesses listed under Roofing Suppliers
- Aldershaw Handmade Clay Tiles Ltd East Sussex
- Cupa Pizarras Greater London
- Delabole Slate Quarry – Cornwall Cornwall
- Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd Kent
- JH Building Restoration Ltd Cambridgeshire
- Keymer (Wienerberger Ltd) Cheshire
- Merchant 701 Herefordshire
- Organic By Design Cambridgeshire
- Tudor Roof Tile Co Ltd Kent
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.