Concrete Roofing Tile History

There is nothing new about the concept of using concrete tile for roofing. Ancient records indicate that the Chinese were producing glazed clay roofing tiles 5,000 years ago. Various patterns of flat earthenware roof tile were used in Greece between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago.

The Romans adopted a variation of the Greek pattern they introduced wherever suitable clay was found in the Roman Empire. Until the Romans brought clay tile to England, the customary durable roofing materials were stone and slate, while straw, reed, and timber were used as comparatively short life roof coverage.

Recorded commercial production, using natural cement to form the concrete, commenced in Bavaria around the middle of the 19th century. There are still many roofs in the Staudach district over a century old which give unquestionable proof of the durability of concrete roof tile. When this product was introduced in the early 1900s to England, Holland and other European countries, it became the practice to add a coloring pigment, at least to the tile surface, in order to imitate traditional clay roofing tiles. These early concrete roof tiles were made on hand, or semi-hand operated machines.

The first practical power-driven tile-making machine was developed in Denmark in the early 1920s. This machine, known as the Ringsted, passed a line of cast-iron pallets or molds under a hopper that poured a concrete mix into the molds. Shortly after the Ringsted machine was introduced to England, about 1925, a young engineer named William Powell developed a power-driven tile machine that was a considerable improvement on its Danish counterpart. In 1930, H. A. Wilkinson, then managing his father’s factory in Surry, England, decided to eliminate the tedious handwork and designed a more efficient tile-making machine. Improvements were made to the tile making production plants year after year and the industry developed rapidly.

In 1961, 82% of all domestic roofs in Great Britain were comprised of concrete tile; the percentage in Australia approached 60% and in Germany concrete tile covered 30% of all new roofs. Recent estimates show that concrete tile now accounts for 90% of all roofs in Europe and the South Pacific Basin, with nations such as China, Japan and America rapidly converting from other products.

Unlike petroleum-based shingles, concrete tiles aren’t flammable.
Concrete roofing tiles often cost more than some of the cheaper tiling and shingling options, but generally last longer. Modern concrete mixing methods also allow the tiles to be manufactured to fit various style and color requirements. Instead of looking like gritty gray slabs of cement, concrete tiles can even have the appearance of fine ceramics.

(Source: Wikipedia)