Shropshire Building Supplies can source most clay tiles and do a matching service for you to ensure you have the roof of your dreams.
The external characteristics of a house can play a significant role in the purchasing decision. And first impresions last. A clay roof undoubtedly distinguishes a house as a premium ‘product’ and, to the builder, offers the potential for ‘added value’ which will exceed the marginal increment to the overall cost of the construction that may be associated with the use of clay tiles.
Aesthetics
Clay is a natural material, which in the form of clay tiles has played an integral role in the UK’s built environment for over seven hundred years. Clay roof tiles are durable, natural, sustainable products that improve with age and weathering. Their appeal adds value to buildings and enhances the built environment.
Sustainability
Increasingly, concern for the environment is becoming a major influencing factor for the prospective homebuyers and builders. Clay tiles are considered by many planners and specifiers, as a sustainable product because of their durability, long term visual effect on the environment, and their properties as a renewable natural resource. These factors, along with the fact that they are being specified increasingly by planners and conservation officers to preserve the character of buildings and the architectural landscape, mean that clay continues to be one of the most desired roofing products.
Colour
Colours range from deep reds, browns, warm oranges and plum coloured hues of heather to the muted blues of Staffordshire. Variations are obtained by controlling the kiln atmosphere to produce the rich heather shades.
Colours of the tile can also be enhanced through the firing process to create a brindle effect, which varies the colour between the outer edge and the centre of the tile. In addition, the firing process ensures that the colour of the tile is permanent and does not fade.
Character
Whilst durability is a major factor that influences architects, specifiers, conservation officers and planners, the ageing benefits of clay tiles also feature very highly.
Clay roof tiles bring warmth and character to the appearance of a building. They are available in a wide variety of permanent colours and textures which over time will weather and mellow, but never fade.
Clay roof tiles can withstand the natural climatic elements and improve with exposure, adding to the ‘kerb appeal’ of a building.
Shropshire Building Supplies source both Marley Eternit and Dreadnought clay tiles – for more information go to their respective pages.
Marley Eternit is the UK’s leading manufacturer of clay plain tiles and fittings, which are ideal for roofing or vertical hanging on both new and refurbishment projects.
Their extensive range of clay tiles contains colour, texture and camber options which meet the aesthetic and performance demands of all types of roofing applications, with dry fix systems and ventilation systems allowing rapid, weathertight installation and compliance with Building Regulations.
Dreadnought clay tiles
They are the only company continuing to manufacture a full range of high quality clay roof tiles fired in the traditional way; nobody else produces natural clay colours without the use of applied colours or pigments.
All Dreadnought Tiles are naturally coloured, produced exclusively by the delicate control of the kiln atmosphere, with no added pigments or dyes. Their colour will endure for the lifetime of the tile, as the colour is fired into the body rather than applied as a surface coating. This is what makes Dreadnought Tiles unique.
Dreadnought Tiles manufacture the widest range of clay roof tile colours, and offer solutions for new and self-build projects, re-roofing, matching existing clay roof tiles for roof restoration, extensions and conversions.
Tested to over 400 freeze/thaw cycles, Dreadnought clay tiles are the most durable in the industry.
