Historic Tile Shapes for Distinctive Roofs

HOW INDIVIDUAL TILES ARE MANUFACTURED IN A SPECIALIZED WORKSHOP

By Stefan Thomas (Engineering) and Bianca Marklstorfer (Marketing)

Neufahrn. German quality combined with craftsmanship expertise: ERLUS plain tiles (beavertail tiles) offer clear advantages for carpenters and roofers and can be precisely adapted to individual customer requirements. ERLUS is one of the few roof tile manufacturers that produces beavertail tiles in its own dedicated workshop.

For decades, ERLUS beavertail tiles have been used in demanding renovations, high-quality new builds, and challenging heritage-listed projects, as these tiles stand out for their durability, stability, and versatile design options. End customers benefit from a wide range of shapes, surfaces, and thicknesses. Different cuts of the beavertail tiles – from straight-lined to traditional – allow for customized roof designs that suit both regional architecture and modern concepts. Especially in listed buildings, architects and heritage authorities value manufacturers who can reliably reproduce custom models.

Robust quality, historic shapes

Whether smooth, brushed, grooved, or scraped: ERLUS beavertail tiles are not only visually high-quality but also designed for a long service life. Greater material thickness increases durability and load-bearing capacity – both during installation and in operation, for example in frost, hail, or extreme temperature fluctuations. For trade professionals, ERLUS beavertail tiles offer one key advantage: planning reliability. ERLUS provides material and replacement guarantees for 30 years from the date of purchase. Custom productions are possible from as little as 150 m², manufactured directly at the plant on request, flexibly and project-specific. For special existing tile stocks, individual sampling can be carried out to identify a suitable replacement tile.

Variety of shapes, cuts, and surfaces

The extensive range of formats, cuts, and surface finishes makes it easier to adapt tiles to existing roof areas, dormers, towers, or complex details. The production of concave or convex tiles – for example for onion domes or curved roofs – is also available on request. At the same time, the high dimensional accuracy ensures clean and efficient installation on site.

Renovation, refurbishment, or new construction

ERLUS beavertail tiles stand for high mechanical strength, proven clay quality, long-lasting color and surface stability, and versatile applications in both new construction and renovation. Like all other roof ceramic products from the German manufacturer, the clay tiles are tested for hail resistance by the gbd group. The beavertail tiles achieve the highest hail resistance classes. For example, the 18 mm thick “Kirchenbiber” reaches hail resistance class 5, meaning hailstones with a diameter of 5 cm cause no damage.

The weather-resistant ERLUS roof

With ERLUS beavertail tiles, new builds, extensions, or renovations receive a durable and secure roof that also reflects regional roofing characteristics. The full range of branded accessories for roof safety and protection, as well as ridge and verge tiles for clean roof finishes, is available. Particularly popular is the “Saxon Berlin beavertail” with a thickness of 1.2 cm and hail resistance class 3. The small-format “Turmbiber” has a thickness of 1.4 cm and reaches class 4. For distinctive roof designs, 1.5 cm thick tiles are especially suitable and are frequently used in Germany on heritage buildings. With hail resistance class 4 and a variety of lower-edge cuts – from round and square to triangular and rounded – highly individual roofs can be created. These include models such as round cut, straight cut, Gothic, tower tile, straight cut with rounded edges, diamond point, segment cut, and Gothic pointed tile.

Robust and long-lasting

At 1.8 cm thickness, the “Potsdam beavertail with grooves” is among the strongest tiles and reaches hail resistance class 5. The most robust and traditional ERLUS tiles are the handcrafted “Handschlagbiber” at 2.2 cm thickness. These are available in both brushed rounded and straight-cut versions and even achieve hail resistance class 5+.

Custom workshop production

With its beavertail tiles and dedicated workshop, ERLUS offers a wide range of solutions for heritage conservation and regionally valued roofing craftsmanship. Specialized staff in field service and engineering are familiar with both heritage requirements and modern building physics and are happy to advise customers. Whether segment cuts, pointed, rounded, or straight shapes in smooth or textured surfaces, with grooves, ribs, or hand-formed finishes – variations and custom designs are possible based on around 30 existing reference models. Production of project-specific tiles takes approximately two months. If no suitable tile exists, ERLUS will, after feasibility assessment, create a new mold matching the original tile. These custom productions require additional preparation time. In this way, ERLUS has reproduced tiles from nearly 1,000 years of roofing history for numerous heritage projects – all in consistently high quality.

Info box for contractors:

ERLUS beavertail tiles are particularly suitable for companies that regularly carry out renovations of existing buildings, heritage projects, or complex custom roofing.