Roof tile terms explained

Roof tile terms from A to Z

Batten

A horizontal strip of timber fixed across the rafters (or a wall) that tiles hang from.

Gauge

The distance between battens, which sets how much of each tile shows. Tudor plain tiles go up to 100 mm, peg tiles up to 95 mm.

Lap

How far a tile overlaps the tile two courses below it. On plain and peg tiles the minimum is 65 mm.

Course

One horizontal row of tiles.

Pitch

The angle of a roof slope. Clay plain tiles need at least 40°.

Camber

The gentle curve of a tile. A double camber curves both down and across the tile, which gives a handmade roof its shadow lines.

Nib

A small lug of clay on the back of a plain tile that hooks over the batten.

Plain tile

The standard double-lapped clay roof tile, with nibs. Tudor plain tiles are 265 × 165 mm.

Peg tile

An older form of plain tile that hangs on pegs through two holes instead of nibs. Kent peg tiles are 10 × 6 in.

Double lap

A way of tiling in which every point of the roof is covered by at least two thicknesses of tile, as with plain and peg tiles.

Eaves

The bottom edge of a roof slope, where it overhangs the wall.

Eave and top tiles

Shorter tiles used for the first course at the eaves and the last course under the ridge.

Ridge

The horizontal line at the top of a roof where two slopes meet, covered by ridge tiles.

Vented ridge

A ridge tile with a slot that lets air out along the ridge line.

Hip

The sloping outside corner where two roof slopes meet, covered by hip tiles such as the bonnet hip.

Valley

The sloping inside corner where two roof slopes meet, lined with valley tiles or metal.

Verge

The edge of a roof at a gable end.

External and internal angles

Fittings that turn tiling round an outside or inside corner, mostly on tile-hung walls.

Ornamental tiles

Plain tiles with a shaped tail, such as club, fishtail or bullnose, used in decorative bands.

Tile hanging

Clay tiles fixed to a wall instead of a roof. Also called tile cladding or vertical tiling.

Creasing tile

A thin, flat tile laid like a brick to shed water from wall tops, sills and chimneys.

Oast taper

A tapered peg tile for the round roofs of oast houses and turrets.

Bat access tile

A tile, or set of tiles, that leaves a small tunnel so bats can reach a roost in the roof.

Under-Tile vent

Tudor’s patented vent that sits beneath the tiles and can’t be seen from outside.

In-Tile vent

A low-profile vent in the roof surface, covered with tiles so it is barely visible.

Sand-faced

A tile with sand pressed into its face before firing, which gives its colour and texture.

Etruria Marl

A dense, high-quality clay that Tudor tiles are made from.

Firing

Baking dried tiles in a kiln. Tudor tiles are fired to about 1080°C for 33 hours.

Bespoke

Made to order in a size or shape that isn’t standard.

BS EN 1304

The British and European standard for clay roofing tiles and fittings.

UKCA and CE marking

Marks that show a construction product meets the relevant standard, for the UK and the EU respectively.

Declaration of performance (DoP)

A document from the manufacturer that states how a product performs against its standard.

Freeze–thaw resistance

How well a tile survives repeated freezing and thawing without damage. Tested under BS EN 539-2.

Transverse strength

The load a tile can carry across its width before breaking. Tudor tiles reach 780 newtons.

Water impermeability

How well a tile stops water passing through it. Tested under BS EN 539-1.

2nd grade tiles

Tiles sold direct from the factory that don’t meet our first-grade sort.

Wikipedia has a longer history of roof tiles around the world.