Which Roof Tiles Should I Choose?

Customers looking for the best for their new roof often come to us with questions about the quality of roof tiles, and we are glad to explain the quality characteristics of “Panagiotopoulos” roof tiles and the advantages they offer.
Unfortunately, many have had bad experiences with inferior tiles from other companies: either they are looking for the best to replace their roof and now readily choose our products, or they have become very sceptical about ceramic materials.
Finally, others have been misinformed about roof-tile quality, so this is an opportunity to set the record straight.

Which roof tiles should I choose?

• Tiles that come with a guarantee of many years for frost resistance, durability and bending strength. Tiles that meet the specifications.

You know that “Panagiotopoulos” roof tiles are the best, and you choose them for your home because they come with a written guarantee of unlimited duration for their resistance to all adverse conditions and compliance with EN 1304.
Our roof tiles are continuously tested to the specifications of ELOT EN 1304 for mechanical strength, frost resistance and water permeability, in our own laboratory, by the highly qualified scientific staff of Panagiotopoulos S.A.

• Tiles made 100% from clay, with no colouring agents.

The shade of the tiles is achieved naturally, by carefully selecting raw materials in suitable blends that acquire the desired colour when fired at the right temperatures. The colour is a natural property of the tiles and does not change or fade with time and weather, unlike concrete tiles, whose colour comes from paint that sooner or later will fade.
In addition, being natural, genuinely ceramic materials, “Panagiotopoulos” roof tiles breathe, naturally expelling water vapour from the roof, regulating the home’s microclimate and offering ideal living conditions.

• Tiles that are ecological and environmentally friendly.

“Panagiotopoulos” roof tiles are produced from natural materials (clay) with no added chemicals.
They also have a practically unlimited service life, and if they ever need to be removed they are fully recyclable and do not burden the environment, while they are chemically inert and contain no substances that are toxic or harmful to the environment or living organisms.

• Tiles with no silicone, glaze or other coatings, so that they can breathe and release the water vapour that forms. This way our roof “breathes” without letting water through, because the tiles have an ideal body structure that makes them impermeable to water while still breathing and cooling the roof.

Thanks to the ideal porosity of their body, “Panagiotopoulos” roof tiles allow breathability without letting water drip through. This balance is achieved through careful selection of raw materials and firing at suitable high temperatures.
Competing products resort to silicone to achieve impermeability, creating a myth in the market that roof tiles should not absorb water. This is wrong: as porous materials, tiles can and should absorb water – it is thanks to this property that they achieve the positive qualities only ceramics have – but water must not drip through to the inner side (see our technical article on the impermeability of roof tiles and roofs).
This myth arose mainly because those particular tiles, without added silicone, let water through very easily and cannot pass the impermeability test. Without silicone, they are outside the specifications.
And silicone is a material that does not withstand the sun’s UV radiation for many years: after a few years the roof will leak and the tiles will break easily in frost.
So do not be carried away by marketing tricks showing a tile on which water beads and runs off as if it were something amazing: it is simply silicone.

Our company stands apart and innovates in this field, having chosen the difficult, demanding road of quality, with tiles that pass all water permeability and frost tests without the need for added silicone.
On request, we can add it if the customer wishes (it is nothing special in terms of production, as it is a simple dip in a suitable solution), but we are confident that our tiles will last without it, and will have no problem when the surface coating is burnt away by solar radiation.
Moreover, rather than following the market trend of silicone technologies, after extensive research we use, when requested, new advanced materials that make the surface water-repellent so that it does not absorb much moisture or blacken from fungi, while still allowing the roof to breathe.

• Tiles with no breakage on delivery, during installation or when cut by the roofer.

As you can read in more detail in our article “Roof Tiles: It’s All About Economy!“, our company’s roof tiles have the highest strength and are delivered to site with zero breakage. In addition, thanks to their structure they show zero breakage during installation and roof construction work, speeding up construction and saving time and therefore resources.

• Tiles that install perfectly because they are straight and do not break when walked on during installation.

The design of “Panagiotopoulos” roof tiles allows a perfect fit. Combined with their particularly high mechanical strength (up to 250 kg per piece, the highest on the Greek market), the tiles do not break during installation, allowing crews to work quickly and safely without fear of breaking a piece and having to repair damage.
So the roof is delivered quickly, economically and without wasted material.

• Tiles that the roofer recommends because he knows they are very good – tiles with a good name in the market.

Experienced roofers who have worked with our company’s materials recommend them without hesitation. Their trust in our products is such that some roofers prefer “Panagiotopoulos” roof tiles and will not swap them for any other material! They know that with “Panagiotopoulos” tiles the work will be completed quickly, economically and reliably, and they want peace of mind that their customer will not complain about the material they recommended.

• Tiles that meet European specifications (EN 1304).

“Panagiotopoulos” roof tiles are manufactured to European specifications, according to EN 1304, at every stage of production. In addition, laboratory tests are carried out under this standard, strict factory production control procedures are followed, and CE marking is applied.

• We choose “Panagiotopoulos” roof tiles because they are the best and are produced with processes certified to ISO 9001 & 14001.

Panagiotopoulos Bricks and Roof Tiles S.A. has integrated the principles of quality and environmental management across its entire operation, from the conception, study and design of the product and the selection and extraction of raw materials, to Production, Quality Control and After-Sales Service. It was the first ceramics company to certify its processes to ELOT EN ISO 9001 and ELOT EN ISO 14001, with TÜV Nord as certification body – one of the most reliable certification bodies in the world!

• The company respects its customers and stands by them.

Our relationship does not end with the sale. On the contrary, it is just beginning! Whatever you need, you will find us by your side!

If you have any other questions or would like a quotation, call us on +30 26220 27374 and +30 26220 27375. Our management and staff will be happy to help you and answer your questions!
Prefer to get in touch electronically? Send us an e-mail at [email protected].