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Classic Staffordshire blue

Classic Staffordshire Blue Handmade clay tiles

Dreadnought Classic Staffordshire Blue clay tiles produce a striking and unique coloured roof.   The varied texture of the handmade tile adds character.  These tiles are justifiably popular for self build homes and churches. 

Following a 25 year gap Dreadnought have re-launched this tile made using the same clay, care and delicate kiln control that is synonymous with a Dreadnought.

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Case Studies

New accommodation at Kings College Cambridge

Dreadnought Staffs blue handmade tiles and Ketley Staffs blue clay quarry tiles

Stephen Taylor Court Kings College CambridgeCroft Gardens Kings College Cambridge

The new Stephen Taylor Court at Kings College Cambridge is made up of 3 crescent terraces, a renovated Victorian villa and a new one, all surrounding generous gardens.  It lies within a conservation area, known for its Arts and Crafts houses which Architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios looked to reference in the design in a contemporary way. They  targeted a 100 year design life for the project, designing to Passivhaus standards to have as low a carbon impact as possible and material choice was an important part of this. Full details>>

 

Mixed blues

A blend of Staffs blue and dark heather Classic Tiles

mixed blue Aston Rowant 1mixed blue Aston Rowant

Self Builder Bernice Cuthbert had been searching for handmade blue roof tiles for some time, and had not liked the harsh look of the artificially coloured samples she had received.  When her Dreadnought samples arrived, she had finally found what she had been looking for; mellow shades of natural clay colour which would blend in perfectly with the blues in the handmade bricks she had already selected.  "I have been delighted with the tiles since day one and still get huge pleasure out of looking at them", she says.  Full details 

Once upon a hill

Once upon a hill case studyOnce upon a hill case study 1

Set high up on a spectacular 10km ridge near Shrewsbury, in SW Shropshire, rising to 536m above sea level is the wild and dramatic Stiperstones National Nature Reserve. When Ian Storey of Conservation Building Services Ltd was contracted by Natural England with support from English Heritage, Heritage Lottery Fund and the European Community  to restore Davies Cottage a 19th century miners cottage within the reserve,  a project called ‘Once upon a hill’,  they struggled to find a suitable rooftile.  Dreadnought are the only clay tile manufacturer in the UK to produce a genuine staffordshire blue tile.  This is achieved by careful control of the kiln atmosphere, using methods passed down through generations of family management. 

Fortunately, CBS learnt that Dreadnought had just re established their handmade range and their Classic handmade Staffordshire Blue tile was exactly what CBS were looking for.  It is a dark tile very similar in appearance to the Dreadnought handmade tiles produced between 1805 and 1984.  Its authentic shape and colour have recreated the charm and character of this historic cottage.  Full details

Technical Info

Dreadnought Tiles conform to BS EN 1304:2013 and should be fixed in accordance with BS5534 "Slating and Tiling" part 1 & 2 and BS8000 Part 6.
Frozen-Icon2 webFreeze Thaw Standards require plain clay tiles for use in the U.K. to withstand at least 150 freeze / thaw cycles under method E of European Standard EN 539-2:2013.   At Dreadnought Tiles we regard this as too low for our climate and we therefore test our tiles to withstand in excess of 400 cycles. 

Download Freeze Thaw Testing Report 

Download this page as pdf 

Download Specification Word Doc 

  Tiles Eaves Gable
Size 265 x 165 mm 215 x 165 mm 265 x 248 mm
Weight 1.5 kg 1.2 kg 2.3 kg
Pattern Handmade    
Material Etruria Marl Etruria Marl Etruria Marl

 

  Pitched Roofs Vertical
Minimum Lap 65 mm 32 mm
Maximum Gauge 100 mm 115 mm
Minimum Gauge 88mm 88mm
Approx Weight at
Maximum Gauge
90 kg/m2 79.5 kg/m2
Nails 38 x 2.65 mm alloy 38 x 2.65 mm alloy
Battens 38 x 25 mm 38 x 25 mm
Minimum Pitch 35 degree  

Quantity Guide

Tiles @ 100mm Gauge 60 per m2
115mm Gauge 53 per m2
Eaves/Tops 6/lineal metre
Gable (Tile and Half) 5/lineal metre of verge
Hips and Valleys 10/lineal metre of main rafter
Ridges Supplied in 300 mm and 450 mm lengths

Relevant Fixing Standards

BS 5534 2014 Code of Practice for Slating and Tiling
BS 8000-6.2013 Workmanship on Building Sites
BS EN 1991-1-4:2005+A1:2010 UK National Annex to Eurocode 1 -Actions on Structures - Part 1-4: General actions - wind actions

Environmental Info

Place of Manufacture: Brierley Hill, UK
Environmental Management:       ISO 14001        Download Certificate 
Quality Management:                    ISO   9001         Download Certificate  
Life Cycle: BRE 'A+' rating
Freeze Thaw Testing to in excess of 400 cycles  Download Freeze Thaw Test Certificate >>
Energy: Fired in gas kilns to 1130 degrees
Raw materials: Etruria Marl Clay from our local quarry in Brierley Hill, sand
Lifespan: > 60 years. Second hand tiles that have been on roofs in excess of 100 years often sell for more than new tiles on the 2nd hand market
Recyclability: Can be crushed and used as aggregate and/or as an inert bulk fill
Packaging: We keep packaging to a minimum using wooden pallets. We do not shrink wrap or use plastic straps.

Find out more about Dreadnought Tiles approach to sustainability

Download our Quality and Environmental Policy

Roof Components

BIM

Dreadnought BIM Objects

We have one Revit model file (.rvt) that contains all the available Dreadnought Roof Tile Revit Family types in Revit 2016 format.  

Please complete the following details to access the Dreadnought Tile Revit File.

Request Sample

Classic Handmade Sample Request Form

Please complete this form to let us know which samples you would like.  Due to the high courier cost in sending them out, we cannot supply them free of charge in all cases.

Important: The natural colour of our clay tiles means that no 2 tiles are exactly the same and this is what gives a Dreadnought roof its beauty and character.  Within a single Dreadnought colour, there can be a number of different tones and we will  include more than one tile sample to show you the range of tones you can expect. 

Choose Samples
Please complete details of your project in the space below, together with quantities and timescales if possible. We may need to contact you prior to sending samples out to confirm your requirements, so please provide your day time contact details with your sample request. Please also note there is a substantial courier cost to send out samples and we cannot supply samples free of charge in all cases.
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