Handmade clay roof tile (nibs)

[JACKIE]

We are being re-roofed next week and are having extreme difficulty finding a buyer for approx. 3000 of these mixed handmade clay tiles. Any suggestions would be welcome. Have tried local reclamation yards within a 30 mile radius of Camberley in Surrey/Hants area.
I can email photos if required.

 

[Schoolmarm]

Are you not re-using them on your own roof?

 

[JACKIE]

Unfortunately too many more needed which makes it too expensive!

 

[Schoolmarm]

Oh. So what will you be using instead?

 

[JACKIE]

As near a look alike as we can in a lightweight concrete. Vandalism I know, but the felting is shot and the price keeps rising. The loft space is now bedrooms and water comes in under the tiles and runs along the beams so we have to do something. At least they are going to use a new thin insulation layer that will increase the thermal efficiency to modern standards.

 

[Schoolmarm]

What about using your original tiles on one side of your house and new ones on the other side.

 

[Feltwell]

I too had to re-roof my house, the original (in my case machine made) plain clay tiles were delaminating quite badly - "shaling" the roofer called it - they were clearly at the end of their useful life. I replaced them with concrete replicas, which I do rather regret now.

They look absolutely fine on the main roof of the house - it's the tallest building around, and the neighbours have all commented on how much better it looks than it did before - the problem is the old scullery on the back of the house, which is single storey. Up close they do look a bit "false".

I'm taking heart in the fact that a neighbours house done 10 years ago didn't look great at first, but they have weathered in quite nicely now. Mine are only a year old.

Given the choice now, I'd check out the price of machine made clay tiles - you may find they're not much more than concrete ones. Sorry if it's too late and this puts you in doubt !

Do make sure your roofer uses a decent breathable membrane - mine recommended and used Proctor Roofshield, which seems really good stuff, very strong and tear-resistant. He used some cheaper membrane for some temporary waterproofing whilst we were repairing a dormer, and it was noticeable how much easier it was to tear than the Proctor stuff - it was half the price and the roofer told me many contractors will use it for the whole roof.

I was just lucky enough to get a roofer who was recommended and who didn't aim to be cheapest, but did do an excellent job.

 

[Moo]

I'd always understood that concrete tiles, because of their weight, can put considerable stress on the roof timbers.

Is this so?

 

[skier-hughes]

I believe so, our CO mentioned the fact that lots of our original roof timbers were probably removed so that new tinber could be put in to take the extra weight.

 

[Feltwell]

I'd always understood that concrete tiles, because of their weight, can put considerable stress on the roof timbers.?

Depends on what you're replacing. I had an ex-council house from the 1920's a few years ago, the original very light asbestos cement tiles having been replaced with a heavy large interlocking concrete tile at some point in the 70's. We had to put extra purlins in (20 years after the re-roof!) to strengthen the structure.

But - my current house had plain clay tiles, and the difference in weight for the concrete replicas was less than 10%. The roof structure was over-engineered / nice and sturdy as it was, depending on your point of view, so the small amount of extra weight wasn't a problem.