Roofing throughout the Ages | History of Roof Tiles

At a glance, roofing is not the first thing one looks at when admiring architecture. Yet upon further inspection, roofing encapsulates a lot of the aesthetic brilliance that makes a building so eye-catching. It also varies so considerably from country to country. This may not be surprising to some, though the way roofing has developed and been implemented today has roots of a far-reaching past.

When looking a bit closer, for instance, roofing in the world is typically made of concrete slats. The majority of mainland Britain uses clay. Why is that? With a globalized industry in modern times, it would seem as though similar materials would be used on a universal level.

However, the determining factor is not preferences, the answer lies in a complicated past where certain materials were limited and not readily available in every region.

History of Roof Tiles

Tiling has its roots in the Roman times. Initially, the Romans used clay tiles in England in order to make rooftops waterproof. Eventually the fall of the Romans had an impact on artisanal tile making, which jump-started the move to making tiles from other materials.

The next international power house that influenced the world of tiles were the Dutch. The Dutch were known to use an S-shape tile and overlapped each one. This type of tile was introduced to the English as an advantageous option. Water could not as readily fall through the tiles. The trade routes between England and the Netherlands at the time initiated a larger trade of tiles from the Dutch into the 16th century.

Developments of tiling were certainly made, especially during the first half of the 20th century. Tiles began to be designed with raised weather bars, which formed an interlocking design. This allowed them to handle water in large amounts.

By the 1950s, clay tiling industry in Britain had been stunted due to a lack of investment and the aggressive competition for abroad. The booming housing industry during this time could not keep up with demand of the developments of clay tiles, which is really what spurred production for concrete tiles. Meanwhile, other mainland European countries continued using the clay variety.

By the 1960s, concrete tiles were regulated in size and shape, which made it easier for contractors to fix or replace broken units. The artisanal craft work of tiles has disappeared over the years, which makes the benefit of regulation and ease of skill to replace tiles attractive.

Roofing Today

In the 1970s began a resurgence of clay tiles in the UK with new technological industries focusing on making clay tiles more available in the mainstream. Today, there has been a resurgence of clay tiles. In recent times, there have been major investments in clay tile factories in the UK that has both led to further innovation as well as accessibility. The price of clay tiles have fallen. Now, clay tiles are a great competitor to concrete tiles, which is proof in itself that these two tiles can coexist in a modern world.

Louisa Jenkins is a freelance writer and a keen DIYer. Any DIY projects in her own home, Louisa carries out. She often documents her progress with these projects in her blogs – from installing new roofing slates to repairing broken pipes. Find out more about Selco roof tiles.