Clay Roof Tiles: Types, Prices and What to Specify for Your Roof

Specify the wrong clay tile in a conservation area and the council makes you strip the entire roof and start again. That's not hypothetical. Conservation officers have the power to require removal of unapproved materials, and clay tile roofs in protected areas are one of the things they actually enforce. Even a like-for-like replacement with tiles that don't precisely match the originals in type, colour, and texture can trigger an enforcement notice. Get this wrong and you're paying for the roof twice.

What they are and what they're for

Clay roof tiles are made from natural clay, moulded (by hand or machine) and fired in a kiln at high temperature. The firing creates a hard outer layer called the fire skin, which is what makes clay tiles weather-resistant and gives them their characteristic colour. That colour doesn't fade. It doesn't wash off. It's baked into the material. A clay tile roof looks better at 50 years than a concrete tile roof looks at 10.

They've been the standard pitched-roof covering in Southeast England, East Anglia, and the Midlands for centuries. If your house predates 1960, and it's in those regions, there's a strong chance it has clay tiles. Properties built after 1960 are more likely to have concrete, which took over as the mass-market choice because it's cheaper to produce.

Clay tiles must comply with BS EN 1304 (the European manufacturing standard for clay tiles). For UK use, they must also achieve Level 1 frost resistance under EN 539-2:2013, which means surviving a minimum of 150 freeze-thaw cycles. Quality manufacturers exceed this by a wide margin. Dreadnought tiles, for example, are tested to over 400 cycles. Fire performance is Class AA under BS 476-3, satisfying building regulations without additional testing.

Two situations force the choice towards clay over concrete. First: your existing roof is clay and you need to match it for an extension or repair. Concrete tiles weather differently, develop different moss and lichen patterns, and the mismatch becomes more obvious over time, not less. Second: you're in a conservation area where the local authority requires clay tiles to preserve the character of the streetscape. In both cases, concrete is not an acceptable substitute.

Types, sizes, and specifications

Clay tiles come in three distinct categories, and the differences affect tile quantities per square metre, minimum pitch requirements, and material cost.

Plain tiles (double-lap)

The traditional form. Small rectangular tiles (265 x 165mm is the standard UK size, unchanged since it was standardised by statute in 1477) laid in a double-lap pattern. Each tile overlaps the one below by at least 65mm, and each course overlaps the course two rows below. This double-lap system means you need approximately 60 tiles per square metre at a 100mm gauge (the exposed face of each tile).

Plain tiles need a steeper pitch than interlocking tiles. The minimum is typically 35 degrees, though some products allow 30 degrees with increased headlap. They're what you see on most pre-war houses in the South East. They give a textured, undulating appearance, especially in handmade form.

Interlocking tiles (single-lap)

Larger format tiles with a channel-and-rib system that locks each tile to its neighbour. They need far fewer tiles per square metre (typically 10 to 23, depending on the format) and can go on lower pitches. The Sandtoft 20/20, for example, goes down to 15 degrees at a coverage of 22.7 tiles/m2. They're faster to lay and cheaper per square metre than plain tiles because you need fewer of them and the labour is less intensive.

The trade-off is aesthetics. Interlocking clay tiles look cleaner and more uniform than plain tiles. On a modern extension that suits them. On a Victorian terrace it would look wrong.

Handmade vs machine-made

This distinction matters more than most homeowners realise. Machine-made tiles are pressed from clay in moulds. They're consistent in size, shape, and thickness. Each tile is virtually identical to the next.

Handmade tiles are shaped individually (or in small batches) before firing. They vary in thickness, have slight undulations in the surface, and show natural colour variation across each tile because different parts of the clay body reach different temperatures in the kiln. This variation is the whole point. It's what gives a handmade tile roof its character, and it's what conservation officers look for when assessing whether replacement tiles match originals.

Handmade tiles cost 30 to 50% more than machine-made equivalents. The clay itself is weathered for 9 to 12 months before use, and pre-fired clay (called grog) is added to reduce shrinkage and warping during firing.

Two things to notice. Plain tiles at 60 per square metre are six times the quantity of large-format interlocking tiles. That changes the material cost dramatically, even though individual plain tiles are often cheaper. And weight: a plain tile roof (71 to 90 kg/m2) is heavier than a large-format concrete interlocking roof (around 44 kg/m2). The common claim that "clay is lighter than concrete" is only true when comparing interlocking clay to interlocking concrete. For plain tiles, clay is heavier.

Click to enlarge

Key brands and what they cost

The UK market has a handful of manufacturers worth knowing about. Pricing is based on current merchant and manufacturer data (2026).

Dreadnought deserves a mention for colour range. They produce over a dozen colours from the same Staffordshire clay by varying kiln temperature and atmosphere: Red, Plum Red, Staffordshire Blue, Brown Antique, Country Brown, Blue Brindle, Dark Heather, and various blends. The Collingwood and Trafalgar blends (multi-toned tiles that replicate the look of a weathered historic roof) run about TBC per tile. Their frost resistance is tested to over 400 freeze-thaw cycles, nearly three times the BS EN minimum.

For conservation and heritage projects, Keymer (now owned by Wienerberger) runs a specialist heritage service that creates bespoke tiles and fittings no longer in mainstream production. They've supplied tiles for the Tower of London, Kensington Palace, and Windsor Castle. Their standard Shire range starts at TBC per tile, but bespoke conservation work costs more.

How to work with clay tiles

You won't be tiling a roof yourself. It requires scaffolding, experience, and specific safety training. But understanding the process means you can check your roofer's work and catch problems before they become expensive.

Cutting

Clay is harder to cut than concrete. It shatters if you try to snap it or use a standard disc cutter. Your roofer needs a diamond-tipped masonry disc to cut clay tiles cleanly. PPE for cutting clay tiles is non-negotiable: goggles, ear defenders, dust mask (ideally FFP3 respirator), and protective clothing. The silica dust from cutting clay is a serious long-term health hazard.

Fixing requirements under BS 5534

The same standard that governs concrete tiles applies to clay. Every single-lap interlocking tile must be mechanically fixed with at least one nail or clip. For double-lap plain tiles, BS 5534 requires fixings based on a wind load calculation specific to your site. At minimum, perimeter tiles (two tiles in from every edge) need two fixings. The specific pattern depends on your roof's height, pitch, location, and exposure.

Historically, plain clay tiles were often unfixed entirely, relying on their own weight and friction to stay put. That hasn't been acceptable under BS 5534 since 2014. If your roofer says "we don't nail plain tiles, they just sit there," they're working to standards that were outdated a decade ago.

All fixings must be non-ferrous or stainless steel (grade 304 or 316). Copper and aluminium alloy nails are also acceptable. Standard galvanised nails corrode over time, a defect called nail sickness. Corroded nails lose grip, tiles slip, and you get leaks. On an existing older roof, nail sickness is one of the two main failure modes (the other being frost damage).

Battens

Double-lap plain tiles use 38 x 25mm battens (note: smaller than the 25 x 50mm battens typical for concrete interlocking tiles). Single-lap interlocking clay tiles at centres up to 450mm also use 38 x 25mm; for centres between 451mm and 600mm, 50 x 25mm battens are required. Battens must be preservative-treated softwood.

Blending from multiple pallets

Every batch of clay tiles is slightly different. Even tiles from the same manufacturer in the same colour will vary between production runs because kiln conditions aren't perfectly consistent. If your roofer lays tiles pallet by pallet, you get visible colour bands across the roof.

The fix is simple: mix tiles from at least three pallets or crates before laying. Spread tiles from different pallets across the entire roof surface. This blends the natural variation into an even, attractive finish instead of distinct stripes. Every manufacturer recommends this, and any experienced clay tile roofer knows it already.

Conservation area rules

This is where clay tiles become a planning matter, not just a building matter.

Outside conservation areas, replacing a roof covering with the same or similar materials is permitted development. You don't need planning permission. Inside a conservation area, the rules change. Even replacing clay tiles with new clay tiles of the same type can require planning permission if the council considers the new tiles to be a material alteration to the building's external appearance. New tiles don't have 100 years of patina. Conservation officers know the difference.

If your property is in a conservation area:

1. Contact the conservation officer at your local planning authority before ordering tiles
2. Take a sample of your existing tiles to show them
3. Get written confirmation of what's acceptable
4. If in doubt, apply for a lawful development certificate (this gives you formal legal protection that the work is permitted)

An Article 4 direction can remove permitted development rights for roof changes entirely. Several councils have Article 4 directions that specifically list "substitution of clay tiles or natural slates with concrete or other materials" as requiring full planning permission. Check before you commit.

How much do you need

Plain tile quantity

Start with the plan area of your roof (length x horizontal span). Correct for pitch: at 35 degrees the correction factor is 1.22 (22% more area than the plan footprint). At 45 degrees it's 1.41.

Multiply the corrected area by 60 tiles per square metre (at 100mm gauge, standard for most plain clay tiles). Then add wastage: 10% for a simple rectangular roof, 15% for roofs with hips, valleys, dormers, or abutments that require cutting.

Worked example: an extension roof measuring 6m long by 4m rafter length at 40 degrees. Plan area: 6 x (4 x cos 40) = 6 x 3.06 = 18.4m2. Corrected for pitch: 6 x 4 = 24m2 (the actual rafter area). At 60 tiles/m2: 24 x 60 = 1,440 tiles. Plus 10% wastage: 1,584 tiles.

At £1,853 per tile (Dreadnought machine-made), that's £1,853 for tiles alone. At TBC (Keymer handmade), it's £1,853. The difference between machine-made and handmade across even a modest extension roof is over £1,853.

Interlocking tile quantity

The same pitch correction applies, but you need far fewer tiles. At 10 to 23 per square metre (depending on the profile), a 24m2 roof needs 240 to 552 tiles plus wastage. Material cost drops accordingly.

Other materials

You'll also need roofing battens, breathable roof membrane, ridge tiles (or a dry ridge system), lead flashing at any abutment with the existing house wall, and stainless steel or non-ferrous nails. These are the same regardless of whether you choose clay or concrete tiles.

Cost and where to buy

Clay tiles cost more than concrete. How much more depends on whether you're buying machine-made or handmade, and whether you're using plain tiles (60/m2) or interlocking (10-23/m2).

The wide range on installed cost reflects the difference between interlocking clay on a simple roof (lower end) and handmade plain tiles on a complex roof with hips and valleys (upper end). Labour is a bigger factor with plain tiles because there are six times as many tiles to handle and fix.

For a 24m2 extension roof using machine-made plain tiles at around £2,200-£2,800 each: materials (tiles, battens, membrane, ridge, fixings) come to roughly £2,200 – £2,800. Labour adds £2,200 – £2,800 depending on your area and roof complexity. Total for the tiled covering: £2,200 – £2,800 before scaffolding. That's roughly double the cost of concrete interlocking tiles on the same roof.

Where to buy

Specialist roofing merchants (JJ Roofing Supplies, About Roofing, Roofing Outlet) carry the widest ranges and often beat the big builders' merchants on price for full pallet orders. They stock Dreadnought, Redland, Marley, Keymer, Tudor, and Sandtoft ranges.

Builders' merchants (Travis Perkins, Jewson) carry mainstream ranges from Marley and Redland. Good for ordering alongside your other roofing materials. Pallet delivery is standard.

Direct from manufacturer is worth considering for Dreadnought and Tudor, both of whom sell direct and can advise on colour matching.

Screwfix and Toolstation don't stock roof tiles. Wickes carries a limited range of concrete tiles only. Don't look there.

Reclaimed tiles

If you're matching a period property and can't find a current product that works, reclaimed clay tiles are an option. Specialist reclamation yards (Gardiners Reclaims, Reclaimed Brick Company, Northern Roof Tiles) stock plain clay tiles sorted by type and colour. Prices range from £0 – £0 per tile depending on type, condition, and rarity.

The catch: reclaimed tiles from different sources don't always fit together. Even tiles that look the same may have slightly different profiles because they came from different manufacturers or different eras. Different makers used different moulds, and profiles varied by millimetres that matter when tiles need to interlock or overlap consistently.

Before buying reclaimed tiles in bulk, order 10 to 20 samples on a sale-or-return basis. Test-lay them alongside your existing tiles. Check that the nibs, width, and thickness are compatible. A batch of reclaimed tiles that look perfect individually but won't sit flat together on a roof is an expensive mistake.

Click to enlarge

Checking quality: what to look for

Whether you're buying new or reclaimed, inspect tiles before accepting delivery.

Fire skin is the hard, glassy outer surface created during kiln firing. Run your thumb across the face of the tile. It should feel smooth and dense, not powdery or gritty. If the surface crumbles or flakes, the fire skin is compromised and the tile won't resist frost.

Sound test: tap two tiles together. A clear, ringing sound means dense, well-fired clay. A dull thud suggests under-firing or internal cracks. This is especially important for reclaimed tiles.

Spalling: look for areas where the surface has flaked away in layers, exposing softer clay underneath. This is frost damage. Even a small amount of spalling accelerates because the exposed clay absorbs more water, which freezes, which causes more spalling. Reject any tile with visible spalling.

Nail holes: on reclaimed tiles, check that the nail holes aren't elongated or cracked. Enlarged holes mean the tile can't be fixed securely.

Frost resistance and longevity

Clay tiles can last 60 to 100+ years depending on type and maintenance. Handmade tiles generally outlast machine-made because the hand-forming process creates a denser, more varied clay body that resists frost better. Well-maintained clay tile roofs from the 18th century still exist.

The enemy is frost. Water enters the tile's porous body, freezes, expands, and breaks the fire skin from within. Once the fire skin is lost, the cycle accelerates. North-facing roof slopes show significantly higher frost damage rates because they stay wet longer and freeze more often.

Loft insulation can worsen the problem. A well-insulated loft keeps warmth inside the house, which means the tiles above get colder. Before modern insulation standards, heat escaping through the roof kept tiles marginally warmer and reduced freeze-thaw cycling. This doesn't mean you should skip insulation (you can't, building regs require it), but it does mean frost resistance matters more on modern builds than it did historically.

For any new purchase, verify that the tiles meet Level 1 frost resistance under EN 539-2:2013 (150 freeze-thaw cycles minimum). This should be stated on the manufacturer's data sheet. Reputable UK manufacturers exceed this standard substantially.

Alternatives

Concrete roof tiles are the budget alternative. Machine-made concrete interlocking tiles cost roughly half the price per square metre of clay plain tiles, and they need far fewer tiles (10 per m2 vs 60). They last 50 to 60 years. The trade-offs: they fade over time, they weather less attractively, and they're not acceptable in conservation areas where clay is specified. If your existing roof is concrete, use concrete. If it's clay, don't substitute concrete, the different weathering patterns become increasingly obvious over the years.

Natural slate gives a completely different aesthetic and is the vernacular material for Wales, Northern England, and Scotland. It costs more than clay and requires different fixing techniques. Unless your existing roof is slate, it's not relevant for matching.

Reclaimed clay tiles sit somewhere between new and alternative. They carry quality risks and matching challenges described in the reclaimed tiles section above, but they're the best option for small repair jobs on period properties where new tiles would look conspicuously different.

Where you'll need this

• Roof covering - specifying and ordering clay tiles for the pitched roof covering on an extension, particularly where matching an existing clay roof or meeting conservation area requirements

Common mistakes

Assuming like-for-like means no planning permission. Outside a conservation area, correct. Inside one, wrong. Even identical-looking new tiles can be treated as a material alteration. Check with the conservation officer first.

Using machine-made tiles where handmade are needed. A machine-made plain tile has a uniform surface. A handmade tile has natural undulations and colour variation. On a roof that currently has handmade tiles, machine-made replacements stick out obviously. Conservation officers will notice. SPAB (the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings) explicitly advises against this substitution.

Ordering from a single pallet. Clay tiles vary between production batches. Lay tiles from one pallet and they'll look fine. But the boundary where pallet one ends and pallet two begins will show as a colour band across the roof. Mix from at least three pallets.

Not checking frost resistance on cheap imports. The UK market includes clay tiles from manufacturers who don't test to EN 539-2:2013. If a tile doesn't state Level 1 frost resistance on its data sheet, don't buy it. British winters will destroy under-vitrified clay within 10 to 15 years.

Underestimating plain tile quantities. 60 tiles per square metre. Plus 10-15% wastage. A modest extension roof needs over 1,500 tiles. Builders sometimes underestimate because they're used to ordering concrete interlocking tiles at 10 per square metre. Check the number yourself.

Mixing clay and concrete on the same roof. They weather differently. What matches on day one looks mismatched within five years. If your existing roof is clay, the extension must be clay. The cost difference is the cost of doing the job properly.