Roofing Throughout History

clay roofs

There is something so beautiful about historic roofing. See, clay tile, slate, metal and thatch roofs remind us of simpler, bygone days.

Clay Tile Roofs

Clay tile roofing began over 10,000 years ago. Early structures in Greece, Rome, China, Babylonia, and Egypt had clay tiles adoring them. Plus, in America, Europeans brought this beautiful roofing system with them. An ancient craft, historical evidence of early clay roofs can be found in New Orleans, Jamestown, Roanoke and elsewhere. Later, building and fire codes encouraged the installation of clay tile. After all, clay tile is flame resistant!

Slate Roofs

Archaeological evidence shows that slate roofs existed at least a thousand years ago. This historic roofing system also came to America via early European settlers. Slate is durable, beautiful and, of course, fireproof. They are unique, because of their removable and interchangeable pieces. If one piece breaks, replacement is swift and easy! Depending on the slate pieces, these roofs lasted 40 to 400 years!

Metal Roofs

Roofers turned to metal many centuries ago. They used lead, tin, and copper. Copper of course, slowly turned to a beautiful patina that many upscale builders still employ for aesthetic purposes!

Thatch Roofs

Of course, thatch is our personal favorite historical roofing product. All of our maintenance-free synthetic thatch is modeled after this beautiful roofing material. Thatch had its pluses and its problems. Obviously, thatch fires, pests and mold were issues for thatched roof homeowners, but they sure were lovely! These days, natural thatch is falling into antiquity thanks to multiple modern problems. Yet, we still enjoy seeing a naturally thatched roof in its splendor. We just know that changes in agriculture, building codes, and consumer requirements permanently altered the possibility of thatch roofs in modern building.