Hello everyone,
We initially planned to use concrete roof tiles from Nelskamp, but since we unexpectedly have to reduce the roof pitch from 23° to 12°, our prefab house supplier now wants/needs to change the brand. There are clay roof tiles from ERLUS that are supposed to be watertight even at such a low roof pitch (which we really hope is true).
I had already ordered samples from Nelskamp because of the color and shape, and I have now also ordered samples from ERLUS. I noticed that the ERLUS tiles seem to have color sprayed on only one side, meaning one side of the tile still looks red, like traditional clay tiles, while the other side is anthracite and black. The Nelskamp tiles appear to be colored through and through.
To me, this visually gives a somewhat lower-quality impression, since when putting the tiles together, you can see in some places the red tile showing through (scratches, small chips, etc.). The sample tiles all arrived individually and very securely packaged, but on the construction site, handling will probably be less careful. You might expect that many red spots will show through the black color...
Another point is the surface texture. The coating on the ERLUS tiles seems extremely rough! If you did a cotton swab test, you might think a lot of fibers would stick to these tiles. The Nelskamp tiles feel much smoother to me (though not completely smooth). This leads me to believe that dirt, moss, or other contaminants would settle much more easily there, and the roof might start looking untidy after a short time.
These are all personal impressions and assumptions from me as a layperson—I really have no expertise in this area. That’s why I wanted to ask if any of you can share your thoughts? Have you had experience with ERLUS? Or can you comment on the “roughness” of their tiles?
As always, I appreciate your feedback.
Best regards
We initially planned to use concrete roof tiles from Nelskamp, but since we unexpectedly have to reduce the roof pitch from 23° to 12°, our prefab house supplier now wants/needs to change the brand. There are clay roof tiles from ERLUS that are supposed to be watertight even at such a low roof pitch (which we really hope is true).
I had already ordered samples from Nelskamp because of the color and shape, and I have now also ordered samples from ERLUS. I noticed that the ERLUS tiles seem to have color sprayed on only one side, meaning one side of the tile still looks red, like traditional clay tiles, while the other side is anthracite and black. The Nelskamp tiles appear to be colored through and through.
To me, this visually gives a somewhat lower-quality impression, since when putting the tiles together, you can see in some places the red tile showing through (scratches, small chips, etc.). The sample tiles all arrived individually and very securely packaged, but on the construction site, handling will probably be less careful. You might expect that many red spots will show through the black color...
Another point is the surface texture. The coating on the ERLUS tiles seems extremely rough! If you did a cotton swab test, you might think a lot of fibers would stick to these tiles. The Nelskamp tiles feel much smoother to me (though not completely smooth). This leads me to believe that dirt, moss, or other contaminants would settle much more easily there, and the roof might start looking untidy after a short time.
These are all personal impressions and assumptions from me as a layperson—I really have no expertise in this area. That’s why I wanted to ask if any of you can share your thoughts? Have you had experience with ERLUS? Or can you comment on the “roughness” of their tiles?
As always, I appreciate your feedback.
Best regards
N
Neubau202231 May 2022 13:23Nixwill2 schrieb:
Hello everyone,
Originally, concrete roof shingles from Nelskamp were planned for our project. However, since we unexpectedly need to reduce the roof pitch from 23° to 12°, our prefab house supplier now wants/has to switch the brand. They offer ERLUS clay roof tiles, which are supposed to be watertight even at such a low pitch (fingers crossed).
At that time, I had already ordered samples of Nelskamp tiles because of the color and shape, and I’ve now done the same for ERLUS. What immediately stood out to me is that the color on the ERLUS tiles seems to be sprayed only on one side, meaning the tile’s other side is still the red color typical for clay tiles (the other side is anthracite and black). The Nelskamp shingles look like their color goes all the way through.
To me, this gives an impression of lower quality since, when placing the tiles next to each other, you can see the red tile underneath in some spots (scratches, slight chips, etc.). The samples arrived well packaged individually and very securely, but on the construction site, handling will most likely be less careful. So I imagine that there will be many red spots shining through the black surface.
Another point is the surface texture. The ERLUS tile coating feels extremely rough. If you did a cotton ball test by brushing over the surface, it seems like quite a bit of fiber would stick. The Nelskamp tiles feel much smoother to me (though not completely smooth). This leads me to expect that dirt, moss, or other debris would settle much more easily on the ERLUS tiles, making the roof look unattractive after a short time.
These are all just my personal impressions and assumptions as a layperson—I really have no expertise in this field. That’s why I want to ask if any of you have experience with ERLUS tiles? Or can you comment on the “roughness” of their surface?
As always, I appreciate your feedback.
Best regards First question: what is the point of applying color on the underside? You won’t see that through the roof covering. We have clay roof tiles from Jacobi, and theirs are anthracite only on one side as well.
Well, the issue with the color is not so much that only one side is colored, but rather that the color is merely "applied" on the surface. This means that even minor damage immediately reveals red showing through the black.
With the Nelskamp bricks, I get the impression that they are, how should I put it, fully pigmented. This means that even with scratches or chips, the underlying material has the same color and is less noticeable or doesn't stand out as much.
It gives the impression that these bricks are of lower quality or cheaper. Unfortunately, the latter is not the case; the new bricks actually cost us an additional 2,000–3,000 euros.
With the Nelskamp bricks, I get the impression that they are, how should I put it, fully pigmented. This means that even with scratches or chips, the underlying material has the same color and is less noticeable or doesn't stand out as much.
It gives the impression that these bricks are of lower quality or cheaper. Unfortunately, the latter is not the case; the new bricks actually cost us an additional 2,000–3,000 euros.
We have anthracite-colored clay roof tiles from Erlus. They were a cost-effective recommendation from our home builder. The master carpenter from the company that assembled our house is also my brother’s son-in-law. That’s why we trusted his recommendation, and so far, I haven’t noticed any disadvantages. Except that after cutting the roof tiles to fit the mounting hooks for the solar panels, the roof was covered in red dust. However, the next rain washed it away. To me, the roof tiles felt very smooth. By the way, at the time of construction, Erlus clay roof tiles were almost the same price as concrete roof tiles (for the entire house, the difference was less than 1000€ (about 1100 USD)).
@i_b_n_a_n
Could you provide more detailed information about your roof tiles?
I have four types here:
the "E58 RS" in anthracite and matte black,
and the "Karat" in titanium silver and diamond black.
The anthracite and matte black tiles are noticeably rougher than the other two. This could be due to the coating itself or possible quality variations (although I find that hard to believe).
I'm finding it difficult to say anything about quality since I have never had any experience with roof tiles before. No manufacturer is familiar to me, and just because certain brands come up repeatedly online doesn’t necessarily mean that others are worse.
So far, it’s generally said that clay tiles don’t get dirty as quickly as concrete tiles (exceptions aside). However, there must be significant quality differences even among clay tiles. In recent months, I’ve been walking through various new residential areas, and the differences after just a few years are sometimes shocking! Roofs on houses of the same age, even next to each other, can look almost new, while others appear as if they’re 20 or 30 years old.
I want to save money, of course, but not on things that are difficult to fix later. That’s why I’m a bit anxious when it comes to roof tiles, since I know absolutely nothing about them…
Could you provide more detailed information about your roof tiles?
I have four types here:
the "E58 RS" in anthracite and matte black,
and the "Karat" in titanium silver and diamond black.
The anthracite and matte black tiles are noticeably rougher than the other two. This could be due to the coating itself or possible quality variations (although I find that hard to believe).
I'm finding it difficult to say anything about quality since I have never had any experience with roof tiles before. No manufacturer is familiar to me, and just because certain brands come up repeatedly online doesn’t necessarily mean that others are worse.
So far, it’s generally said that clay tiles don’t get dirty as quickly as concrete tiles (exceptions aside). However, there must be significant quality differences even among clay tiles. In recent months, I’ve been walking through various new residential areas, and the differences after just a few years are sometimes shocking! Roofs on houses of the same age, even next to each other, can look almost new, while others appear as if they’re 20 or 30 years old.
I want to save money, of course, but not on things that are difficult to fix later. That’s why I’m a bit anxious when it comes to roof tiles, since I know absolutely nothing about them…
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