This is all what feature roofs are about, a cute, intricate, low level piece of roof that seats next to the pool in your backyard, or in a secluded spot in your estate, and gives you that little ting of pride in the chest every time it catches your sight.
Being a small object means you can afford the right materials and craftsmanship, turning a simple building into an outstanding piece of art.
The pool cabana pictured here has a timber structure built entirely from reclaimed Tasmanian bridge timbers complimented by traditional Mediterranean barrel tiles, that have the under side exposed, to add authenticity to the genuine look.
These traditional Roman tiles are found throughout the whole Mediterranean region from Portugal, Spain and South of France, to Italy, Greece and the Middle East. They are said to have followed the Roman conquests, as part of the spreading out of the Roman civilisation.
They are known by quite a few different names: Unders and Overs, curved, barrel, Spanish, Mediterranean or simply Roman tiles.
History has it that the typical shape was being given to a clay pan fashioned around the thigh of the maker.
They are very well suited to hot climate conditions, providing natural ventilation to the roof space, capable of handling sudden and torrential rains. They actually are more of a piece of engineering than you think at first glance, because the drops of rain hitting the top of the Overs are directed to the channels of the Unders where they form little streams that run much faster than drops crawling over a flat tile.
__________
On the other hand, heritage terracotta shingles are roof tiles designed for the cold and rainy countries of Northern Europe, where they also have to deal with snow falls, hence the steep roof pitch. The Gazebo pictured below exudes serenity in a peaceful Paul Bangay garden surround.
Terracotta shingles are the most expensive type of traditional roof coverings. Their small size makes installation quite labour intensive, with high roof angle requiring tiles to be secured. The need to overlap for water tightness means there is an average 60 to 70 tiles per square meter, which requires the roof frame to be stronger than average.
Feel free to contact us for your next roofing project. Over the last 20 years we have supplied and installed a very significant number of roofs covered with genuine French roof tiles across Australia.
