How to make your own clay roof tiles
Too often, we tend to look at products manufactured today and simply assume that they were made using some kind of complex machinery or processes that are beyond our reach. However, the truth is that very often this is not the case, and clay roof tiles are a good example.
No gas oven required
Would you believe that you can make your own ceramic wares the same way they have been made for centuries, and in fact you don’t even need a gas kiln? It is in the same way that bricks and tiles continue to be made to this day in wood-fired ovens in Mexico.
You need to find a cheap source of clay
The first thing you’ll need is a bulky supply of good quality clay, and if you’re willing to search the area where you live, chances are you’ll find a natural source somewhere. Just dig it up, load it into garbage bags, and drive it home in the back of a truck.
It has to be worked well before being formed
The clay must be worked well before it is formed, and this is traditionally done with the feet in some kind of large container or holding area. To make the tiles, they are spread out on a table, using ¾-inch sticks on each side as guides to regulate thickness.
After laying out the sheet, the next step is to use a plywood template to trace and cut out the general shape of the clay tiles you plan to make. If they are going to be flat, stack them to dry flat. If they are going to be curved, place them on a curved drying surface.
Use a template to cut the clay tiles
After they have dried for several days, the next step is to place them in small piles in such a way that they do not break. Dry firewood is then arranged around the piles of tiles, taking care not to damage the unfired ceramic pieces.
Build a brick oven around your product
Then the way they do it in Mexico is they build a brick oven around and on top of the tiles. So where do they get the brick? The answer is simple. They form them with molds of the same clay with which they make the tiles. They then light the wood and allow the clay tiles to fire.