Re-roofing

All roofs have a finite life and sooner or later the cost of continually patching up an old roof will overtake that of complete re-roofing.  Moreover many older properties were constructed without proper underlay or insulation.  A new roof enables the installation of these energy saving items as well as installing roof space ventilation to meet modern standards.

Clay tiles have been made at Dreadnought works since 1805, and an extensive list of re-roofing projects for Hotels, Schools, Churches, Civic Buildings and many more projects is available.

Tile matching

When re-roofing or extending an old roof, the key is to replace or match "like with like".  Shape, colour, size, weight and ornamental detail are the key factors.  Tiles of the same clay are the best starting point.  Old tiles will generally have been coloured naturally through control of the kiln atmosphere rather than through more modern techniques of spray on stains.  Dreadnought natural clay colours are still produced in the traditional way and offer excellent matches to old tiles.  

The traditional character of Dreadnought tiles make them an appropriate replacement for the many brands of manufacture that are no longer available.  Send us a picture of the tile you would like to match and we will let you know whether we can match it.

Avoid mixing old with new tiles

On a period property, it can be tempting to sort the old tiles and reclaim the best ones to reuse them on the roof, mixing them in with new ones  or even second hand tiles to create a pleasing aesthetic.   However, it is never a good idea to mix old and new tiles on the roof as the old tiles will have a shorter lifespan than the new ones, and it is impossible to assess how long it will be before the old tiles fail. The labour cost for a new roof is considerable, and if you are going to the expense of overhauling your roof, you want it to last as long as possible.  If you want to reuse your old roof tiles, its always better to keep them together, perhaps on a lower elevation where you can access them more easily in future.  

Achieving a heritage look

Dreadnought tiles are an excellent choice for heritage projects because of their traditional shape,character and colour.  Often a mixed blend of tiles will be a better choice than a single colour as it will introduce even more colour variation.  Dreadnought's heritage centre can also recreate any old and tired components such as bespoke ridges, finials and other fittings, working from either the original pieces or from photographs/drawings.  

View our re-roofing gallery             

See our re-roofing case studies