Handmade Roof Tiles in Bedfordshire
Handmade Roof Tiles
The manufacture of handmade roof tiles
You may be surprised to learn that the clay used for making handmade roof tiles isn't processed as soon as it comes from the ground. Following the clay being excavated from the earth, it has to be weathered for around nine months to a year.
The clay is then ground into very fine particles with water added to make the clay workable. Even more surprisingly, a substance which is previously fired clay pieces that have been ground down is added to the fresh clay to help reduce the shrinking, cracking and warping that can happen during the firing process. This addition of pre-fired particles also adds to the texture of the handmade roof tile.
In the past, handmade roof tiles would have been hand thrown into the mould before being finished. Owing to time constraints in production, nowadays they are often mechanically pressed either by hand or by using a hydraulic press to ensure a more consistent density and to speed up production. The consistency that is desired extends to the shape of the handmade roof tile too. After all, without this consistency of shape, the builder would have a much harder job fitting handmade roof tiles to the building project. You want to achieve a handmade look to the roof tile, but they still need to marry up to prevent water and other weather ingress.
The handmade roof tiles are then handled and dried in several ways to create the different character variations of shape and colour. The shape is created either by hand or machine and the colour can be varied by adding different oxides or pigments.
Temperature variations within the firing kiln will also lead to variations in tile colour, with a higher temperature resulting in a darker handmade roof tile.
What to look for in handmade roof tiles
It is recommended that handmade roof tiles have been mixed from at least three different crates that are not part of the same manufacturing run, to allow for the desired variations within batches. Laying a roof using handmade roof tiles picked from sequential crates is likely to result in pronounced stripes or blocks of colour on the finished roof and this will detract from the natural look, or blend that you want to achieve.
Handmade roof tiles to withstand the English winter
The density of any handmade roof tile is vital as the denser the tile, the less water it is going to absorb, which means the tile, is less susceptible to frost damage. Frost damage can cause handmade roof tiles, or any other clay product to crack. It's important to check that your handmade roof tiles have been tested for frost resistance as a poor-quality handmade roof tile could lead to very expensive repairs or possibly a complete re-roof.
A handmade roof tile can cost up to 50% more than a machine-made, or stock clay roof tile, but they offer a far more pleasing shape, texture and colour variation. The real benefit of a handmade roof tile tends to centre on the aesthetic appeal and for period properties; this is what you will be looking for. A period property with an entire roof made from machine made, dimensionally perfect roof tiles just looks wrong. Handmade roof tiles simply enhance any period property, which is why they are so sought after.
So, if you have a building project and you feel that it would benefit from the aesthetic superiority of a handmade roof tile, why not drop us a line and discuss your options?
A little information about Bedfordshire
Another wild animal facility in Bedfordshire
Whipsnade Zoo is a zoo and safari park located at Whipsnade, near Dunstable in Bedfordshire. It is one of two zoos, the other being London Zoo in Regent's Park, London, that are owned by the Zoological Society of London, a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats.
The Bedfordshire Park covers six hundred acres and can be seen from miles to the north and from the air because of the Whipsnade White Lion, which is a figure that has been carved into the side of the Dunstable Downs below the white rhino enclosure.
Due to its size, inside the park, visitors may walk, use the zoo's bus service, or drive their own cars between the various animal enclosures, or through an area where some animals are allowed to roam free around the cars. There is also a train service that is called the Great Whipsnade Railway, also known as the Jumbo Express.
Whipsnade Zoo is the UK's largest zoo and one of Europe's largest wildlife conservation parks. It is home to over three and a half thousand animals, many of which are endangered in the wild. Most of the animals are kept within sizeable enclosures; others, such as Peafowl, Patagonian Maras, and Red-necked Wallabies, roam freely around the park, this is just one of the reasons why so many people visit the Bedfordshire Park.
History of the Bedfordshire Park
The Zoological Society of London was founded in 1826 by Sir Stamford Raffles with the aim of promoting the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. To this end London Zoo in Regents Park, London was established.
Almost a century later, Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell was inspired by a visit to the Bronx Zoological Park to create a park in Britain as a conservation centre.
Hall Farm, a derelict farm on the Dunstable Downs in Bedfordshire was purchased by the Zoological Society of London in 1926 for nearly fourteen thousand pounds. The Bedfordshire site was fenced, roads built and trees planted.
The first animals arrived at the Bedfordshire Park in 1928, including two Lady Amherst's pheasants, a golden pheasant, and five red junglefowl. Others soon followed including muntjac, llama, wombats and skunks.
Whipsnade Park Zoo opened on Sunday 23 May 1931. It was the first open zoo in Europe to be easily accessible to the visiting public. It was an immediate success and received over 38,000 visitors on the following Monday. The brown bear enclosure is a surviving feature from the earliest days of the Bedfordshire Zoo.
Bedfordshire Park acts as refuge during WW2
During the Second World War, the Bedfordshire Zoo acted as a refuge for animals that had to be evacuated from the Regents Park London Zoo. The celebrity giant pandas Ming, Sung and Tang were among these animals but were soon returned to London to boost morale in the capital.
Over the course of the war, forty-one bombs fell on the park with little damage to the zoo structure itself; with only one giraffe at the zoo being frightened to death by the explosions. Some of the ponds in the Bedfordshire Park are the remains of bomb craters from this period.
Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in East Sussex
Clay Roof Tiles in East Sussex
Clayhall Roof Tiles in East Sussex
Conservation Roof Tiles in East Sussex
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Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in West Sussex
Clay Roof Tiles in West Sussex
Clayhall Roof Tiles in West Sussex
Conservation Roof Tiles in West Sussex
Edwardian Roof Tiles in West Sussex
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Handmade Clay Tiles in West Sussex
Handmade Roof Tiles in West Sussex
High Quality Roof Tiles in West Sussex
Traditional clay tiles in West Sussex
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Products available from Heritage Clay Tiles Ltd in Bedfordshire
Clay Roof Tiles in Bedfordshire
Handmade Clay Tiles in Bedfordshire
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Further Information
If you would like to know more or are interested in a quote we would be happy to help. Phone us on 01634 471 344, email us at sales@heritagetiles.co.uk and we will be in touch as soon as possible.
