Roofing Glossary

Fascia – timber or plastic fitted to the end of rafters to support the first course of tiles, and to offer a fixing point for the gutter.

Flashing – a section of lead at a roof-wall abutment to prevent water ingress.

Gable (end) – the triangular section of wall at the end of two pitched roofs. Gable also refers to a plain tile that is 50% wider than a regular tile.

Gauge – the batten spacing distance between each course. Each manufacturer specifies a maximum gauge for each type of tile (i.e. plain tiles are 100mm).

General Tile Repairs – repairs carried out to the main body of tiles, and excludes any and all tiles that are cut and/or have been bedded on mortar.  

Gutter – the water discharge system used to carry water from the eaves to a drain/the ground.

Handcrafted clay – plain tiles that are made by machine before being finished by hand to mimic an aged appearance to match handmade tiles.

Handmade clay – plain tiles that are made solely by hand.

Hip – the point where to pitched roofs meet to form an external corner. Can be finished with hip ridge tiles or bonnets. 

Hip End – a triangle of roof with a hip on either side.

Interlocking tiles – a tile with an overcloak and a channel, where the overcloak covers the channel of the adjacent tile. They come in a lot of different profiles.  

Machine-made clay – a plain tile made from clay using a machine. Usually quite regular in shape and profile.

Mortar – the sand and cement mix used to secure and weather hips, verges, and ridge. Commonly interchanged with “cement” and “muck”.

Natural slate – a slate made by splitting natural rocks into thin sheets. Vary due to the origin of the original rock (Welsh, Spanish, Canadian).

Peg tiles – a clay plain tile without nibs and hangs on peg drop nails.

Plain tiles – a flat-profiled roofing tile that has two projecting nibs at the back.

Profiled tiles – an interlocking tile with a definitive shape, such as rolls/peaks and troughs.

Pitch – the angle or steepness of the roof, usually measured in degrees.

Quilt Insulation – a thermal insulation for the flat areas of ceiling in the loft space.

Rafter – a structural timber that runs from eaves to ridge or hip.

Ridge – the highest point or apex of a roof, indicated by the horizontal line where two roofs meet. Also refers to ridge tiles (which are half-pipe or a similar shape) or the ridge timber beam between two sets of rafters.

Rigid Insulation – a thermal insulation for skeiling areas/pitched areas of ceiling in the loft space.

Roof window – a window set at the same pitch as the roof. Regularly referred to as a Velux window.

Slate – refers to natural slate. Also used to mean artificial slates.  

Soffit – timber or plastic on the underside of overhanging eaves. Runs perpendicular and joins to the fascia.

Undercloak – tiles or fibre-cement board that is used to hold the verge tiles and mortar.

Valley – where two pitched roofs meet to form an internal corner. Can be lead, fibreglass, or a purpose-made valley tile (similar to a bonnet)

Verge – the end of the roof where it meets a gable end. Also refers to a plain tile that is 50% wider than a regular tile.

Vertical tiling – an area of wall with plain tiles fixed to it.