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How it’s done at Dreadnought Works

2 mins
Associate Director of Dreadnought Works, David Sherry, takes us inside to see how traditional clay roof tiles have been made for over two centuries.

Clay Preparation

Dreadnought Works clay preparation
Once the clay arrives at the factory, preparing it for the production process takes around seven days. It is a complex process of grinding and mixing to produce as consistent a material as possible. Regular monitoring of the mineral content is carried out to minimise variations affecting the final colour of the fired product.

Firing and Cooling

We extrude around 6,000 machine-made tiles an hour at our factory. However, ornamental tiles and fittings are all made by hand at a much slower rate. For example, 1,500 ornamental tiles, or 400 hips, are cut per day.

Extrusion

Dreadnought Works extrusion

We extrude around 6,000 machine-made tiles an hour at our factory. However, ornamental tiles and fittings are all made by hand at a much slower rate. For example, 1,500 ornamental tiles, or 400 hips, are cut per day.

Drying

Dreadnought Works drying

Drying tiles takes seven and a half days (gable tiles are bigger and take 14 days to dry). It is very important to dry them slowly so that the inside dries before the outside skin. If there’s any moisture left trapped inside the tiles, they will explode in the kiln.

Quality Control

Dreadnought Works quality control
Tiles are then carefully sorted by hand and palleted ready to leave the factory.

For more information please visit www.dreadnought-tiles.co.uk

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