Reclaimed Terracotta Roofing

RECLAIMED ROOFING FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD

Traditional Materials, procures reclaimed roofing from all over the world.

Our vintage terracotta recycled barrel roof tile offerings include Italian clay roofing tiles, vintage old flat French clay roofing tiles and antique roofing tiles from historic old buildings, churches chateaus, country estates, large residences, manor houses, military and government buildings in Italy, France, Spain, Europe, Portugal, Belgium, England and other eastern European countries.  We also specialize in roof tiles from South America and Mexico.

Many contractors, architects, interior and landscape designers specialize in the use and application of reclaimed materials and other vintage architectural elements because of the aesthetic value, patina and charm that they add to any building project.

Clay Roofing Tile

Reclaimed and recycled terracotta clay roofing tiles have been used in construction for many centuries We are known for our high quality reclamation building materials especially from Europe and mainly from the southern  Mediterranean areas of Italy, France’s Provence, and Spain’s Andalusia region. These recycled roof tiles are selected according to the clients’ requirements and specifications as to size, color and desired patination.

Greek, Middle Eastern, and Roman civilizations are the leading proponents of clay roofing tiles.  The Clay roofing tile is an ancient work of art that is as old as the Mediterranean itself. Many of the ancient buildings in these parts of the world had colorful terracotta barrel tiles as key components of their architectural designs. The one thing that these tiles are known for is their high level of their strength and durability. Perhaps, this is why today, they are still in excellent condition and can be used as materials in new and historic renovation projects.

The colors of the tiles range from ochre yellowish, umber sienna colors that come from terracotta clay with iron oxide-hydroxide known as limonite which give the tiles the desired yellowish range of colors. We also offer a “red ochre” which contains a larger amount of hemite and dehydrated iron oxide that causes the tiles to be more rose an deep reds.  Most of the reclaimed building tiles that we sell today are more than a hundred and fifty years old.  And of course, we carefully sort through them to offer the client what they are looking for.  We then  thoroughly inspect them before crating and delivery prior to ascertain how suitable they are for our client’s building project.

Barrel Clay Tiles

Barrel Clay Tiles are known as Mission roof tiles in the United States and are found in virtually every part of Italy. These installations involve the use of two-barrel terracotta tiles on top of each other – the one on top called the “Cap” and the one on the bottom called the “Pan” or in Italian “tegolla” Another type of barrel clay type installation is the Roman Pan system which is used in Umbria, Lazio, and Tuscany as well as in the southern regions of Italy. The reclaimed antique mission barrel roof tiles that we offer will add about a weight of 1500 lbs. per square to your roof structure. Therefore, a proper roof structure evaluation is important before installing the roof.

 Tuscan Roof Tiles 

This type of reclaimed roofing tiles originated from Tuscan Lazio, and Umbria in Italy. It is a variant of Central Italian roof tiles, and it contains a high amount of red. The roof barrels can be used for both pans  and tops and they come in a variety of sizes, aged patina,  and colors. They are easily matched with the flat “Roman Pan” called tegola in Italian.  We also source a very rare Italian cup and flat “tegola” pan in

ochre, light beige, talc,  and very light tan colors which are extremely beautiful and highly sought after by discerning clients worldwide.

Both the Pan tile (the one on the bottom) and the cap tiles (the one on top) have similar barrel shapes but please note that these reclaimed vintage (argilla clay) tiles are all hand made and will vary slightly from tile to tile which adds to their scarcity and demand.   These tiles have two ends, and most of them have one narrower end and one wider end. According to historical documentation, this shape is as a result of using the thighs to shape the tiles. This may be true for small batches of roof tiles, but most of the tiles from the Renaissance period were made with molds. The sizes vary from region to region within the European countries  depending on taste and local rules.

Southern Italian Tiles 

These are the most difficult type of roofing tiles to find. It is much easier to find roofing tiles from other regions than it is to find Southern Italian Tiles. Although, at Traditional Materials, we make sure we go all the way to get our clients whatever they want. And if you want Southern Italian Tiles for your building project, that is exactly what we provide.    Southern Italian Tiles are suitable for builders and architects who want roofing tiles with salmon pink or softer peach, ochre, talc colors. Southern Italian Tiles have smaller dimensions than Northern Italian Tiles.

French Roof Tiles

French Roof Tiles are available in different tones, shapes, and sizes. In most parts of France, barrel clay tiles are mostly used although they are also popular in the Burgundy and in Provence region of France. From Normandy and northern France we reclaim our French flat tiles which will add a weight of 2000 lbs. per square to the structure of your roof; so, make sure you evaluate your roof properly before installing. The barrel tiles can be purchased in lengths from 19inch long up to 24 inches. And the flat

Red “Normandy” roof tiles are about 14 inches long and 8 inches wide, although, we have found them in a larger size.  See our web page for pictures of all these roof tiles.

Northern Italian Roof Tiles

Northern Italian Roof Tiles come in a variety of colors in what we can call a color pallet. You can get northern Italian roof tiles in dark to medium red and in the south of Italy colors go to ochre,  light rose, salmon, and tan colors.  The sizes of Northern Italian roof tiles also vary in length from 16.5 inches to 18.5 inches. They also come with two types of openings – big opening and small opening as do all the reclaimed tiles we offer.  Please note that none of our roof tiles have any holes drilled in them and none of these old vintage tiles are rated.

At Traditional Materials, we offer a wide variety of antique terra cotta clay roof tiles from three major areas in Italy. These roof tiles have existed for more than several centuries and one of their major unique characteristics is that they come in irregular sizes, shapes and various patinas.  This is attributed to the craftsmanship involved in the production of these antique roof tiles.   According to history, most of these roof tiles were hand-made using molds of different sizes or on using workers legs and thighs as molds.  We also inventory a large quantity of terra cotta clay Argilla floor tiles in various colors, dimensions and thicknesses.  Please see our offerings on the flooring section on our web page.

We inventory a large range of highest quality reclaimed vintage roofing and antique building material. All of our reclaimed offerings and landscape elements like urns, pots, vases, well heads, planters and fountains are all sourced from the finest most reputable places available.  We carefully crate and deliver to the job site and supply materials to some of the finest builders, contractors, architects and designers for many different types of building projects both residential and commercial.  We have a very loyal clientele and boast that the majority of our new business comes from our reputation and referrals from our many satisfied loyal customers.

If you are a contractor, architect, designer or the owner of a building project who wishes to use reclaimed roofing and vintage recycled materials and antique elements  please get in touch with us at Traditional Materials.  Thank you.