How to Tile a Roof Roof tiles are typically fired clay or coloured concrete, and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. This article deals with the key skill of tiling any roof, which is setting it out. If you meant how to slate a roof click the link provided, alternatively if you want to know how to replace all types of roof tile, including hanging tiles, see the link at the bottom of the page. This video takes you through the basics of how to tile a roof… Please take time to read the rest of the article… How to calculate how many roof tiles you need My technique on domestic properties has always been simple, I make an educated guess. By that I mean for estimation purposes I can stand looking at the face or faces of a roof and write down the Width and Height of each individual face of the roof on a piece of paper. Then when you add them up you are going to be left with a square metreage or square footage figure. You can also measure the width from ground level, I find it’s quite easy to work in metres from my minds eye, but then again I’ve done a lot of it. Alternatively get a nice strong tape measure, get up some ladders and measure it. Alernativley ‘Google’ a roof tile calculator like this one Calculating Roof Tiles Now you have a square metre or square foot figure, ring up your local roofing supplies merchant and they will work out how many tiles you require for your roof. Roofing laths roofing battens Roof lath or roofing battens, two different names for the same thing. Strips of tanalised timber often pressure treated with a wood preservative of some description. These are nailed into the roofing joists or roof trusses beneath and provide support for the roof tiles or slates, fixings can then be made into the roofing lath or batten if required. The most common sizes of roofing lath are… 18mm x 36mm (3/4 ” x 11/2 “) Commonly called slating lath or slating batten. 25mm x 38mm (1″ x 11/2 “) Commonly called tiling lath or tiling batten, often used on rafter spans of 450mm or less. 25 or 30mm x 50mm (1 – 11/4  ” x 2″) Mostly used in modern tiled roofs, often used on rafter spans of 600mm or less. Roofing batten – Common sizes of tile lath, slate lath or tile batten.       How to space roof tiles and space roof battens or laths An awful lot of people including Builders and Roofers get the layout of a new roof wrong right from the start, subsequently they end up with a leaking roof, or one that just looks awful. I’m going to show you the right way to space the tiles and battens so your new roof project is correct from the outset. The most common mistake made is that the tiling takes place at the bottom of the roof from the scaffold at gutter height, no thought is then given to whether the tiles will be correctly spaced by the time you get to the top of the roof. When laying roof tiles it’s important just to spend a little time planning tile spacings (gauge) first, as it pays real dividends later. Badly tiled roof with the wrong tile spacing – This is a good example of what goes wrong with tile spacing and batten spacing when it’s not thought through. The bottom tiles are stretched, the middle is passable with chaos at the top.     Here’s a good example of a nicely tiled roof, let see how it was done… New concrete tiled roof – This is a nice simple roof, here I’m going to deconstruct it to show you how it was achieved.     Once the old roof has been stripped all the way to the bottom, the rafters or roof trusses will be fully exposed. Make sure the rafters are clear of any stray nails or nasty splinters, so they are ready to take the under tiler’s felt or breathable roofing membrane and not rip or puncture it. One full width of 1F roofing felt has been fitted in the picture below and tacked in place using 25mm (1 inch) galvanised clout nails. How to lay roofing felt or roofing membrane Start on one edge of the roof and fix with two or three nails then roll out the roofing membrane or felt keeping it taught but with a very slight hint of sag, this will ensure any water that does end up on the felt will run between the rafters and end up in the gutter. Make sure about 30 to 40mm of felt hangs over the fascia and into the gutter, too much felt hanging inside the gutter will impair water flow and encourage dirt build up inside the guttering. On a traditional construction, if there is a cavity wall, make sure you bridge the gap over any cavity with the 1F or membrane. How to start tiling a roof – New 1F under slaters or under tile felt stretched across clean roof rafters. Secure in place with galvanised clout nails, don’t overstretch or go crazy with the nails. The roofing battens will also hold the felt in place when fixed.   Fitting under tiler’s felt or installing membrane… Joining felt or membrane – Avoid joins if possible, otherwise overlap any vertical joins by 100mm (4″) onto a rafter or truss Overlapping felt or membrane – When laying the next layer above the pervious overlap, make sure the cover is about 150mm (6″) On a Hip –  Make sure the felt or membranes overlap goes around onto the next face of the roof about 150mm (6″) On an upstand – Where the roof joins or abuts a wall turn the felt or membrane up the face of the wall for 50mm (2″) On the verge – Cut the felt or membrane at the outside edge of the last joist At the ridge board or … Continue reading How to Tile a Roof with Concrete Tiles – Do it The Easy Way