Issue 40 winter 23 web - Flipbook - Page 65
Using Tudor clay plain
tiles for vertical tiling
Roof tiling installed on walls is generally incorporated to add interest to a building, particularly where
the roof is a prominent aspect of a building. Tile cladding, or vertical tiling, can, in effect, extend the
dominance of the roof, ultimately all the way to the ground if desired.
and a lot of fixings; battens for double lapped plain tiles
are normally set at 114mm centres. For that reason alone,
it is usually better to use counterbattens. Although there
is virtually no chance of rainwater driving through the
vertical tiling, there is a possibility that condensation
may accumulate within the batten cavity, therefore
counterbattens will ensure water can drain safely away to
the eaves. All double lapped plain tiles laid vertically must
be twice nailed.
Early forms of tile cladding appeared in the southeast of
England towards the end of the 17th century as a way of
improving the weather protection of wattle and daub on
first floor walls. Bricks would have been too heavy for the
timber framed buildings of the time, so tiling offered a
lightweight and cheaper solution.
BS 5534: the British Standard Code of practice for slating
and tiling, defines a wall as any surface which has a pitch
of 75 degrees or greater from the horizontal. Building walls
are generally at 90 degrees to the horizontal, but the BS
5534 definition provides scope for tiling, or cladding, of
other faces, such as Mansard roofs.
Clay tiles are inherently fire resistant, but to prevent the
spread of fire within the vertical tiling batten cavity (the
space between the tiles and wall) it is important to use
fire resistant materials to close the batten cavity above
window and door openings and to ensure fire cannot
spread through the soffit into the roof space.
Installed clay plain tiles weigh around 60 to 65 kg/m2,
therefore, it is important to choose the appropriate fixings
for the walling material being fixed to. For new brick or
blockwork, the walling manufacturer should be consulted
for its recommendations on fixing into its products.
Alternatively, consult specialist fixing suppliers for their
advice.
Normally, vertical tiling is restricted to the first-floor level
or above, though it could be installed down to ground
level. However, consideration must be given to the local
environment – at ground level tiling would be vulnerable
to damage from vandalism or impacts such as footballs
and cricket balls etc.
The standard construction for vertical tiling is to install
underlay against the wall, with vertical counterbattens set
at up to 600mm centres secured into the wall, then tile
battens fixed to the counterbattens. Whilst it may be
possible to miss out the counterbattens and fix the tile
battens directly to the wall, this represents a lot of effort
Tudor Roof Tiles are the perfect choice for both roof and
vertical tiling. A comprehensive range of colours is
produced at its modern manufacturing plant in Lydd on
the Romney Marsh which can transform a building's
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Conservation & Heritage Journal
63