How each tile is held on
The batten is the horizontal timber lath fixed across the rafters that the tiles hang from. Every small tile roof depends on how the tile engages it.
A plain tile carries two nibs, small projecting lugs on its upper edge. The nibs hook over the batten so the tile hangs in place. Nails through nail holes add security, and on a re-roof the fixing is set under BS 5534.
A peg tile carries holes instead. A peg, or a nail, passes through the hole and engages the batten, so the tile hangs from the peg rather than from moulded nibs. The name comes from that fixing.
In the hand the difference shows at the top edge:
- Plain tile: a pair of nibs on the back, and nail holes.
- Peg tile: one or more holes, and no nibs.
Either way, the tile is not held by its own weight, and a roof that rattles in wind often shows where the hold has gone. The nail or peg and the batten do the work. When a tile slips, it is usually because that connection has failed.
How they look on the roof
From the street both read as a roof of many small tiles, with narrow courses and a fine texture. That is what separates them from larger interlocking tiles, which show wide, bold bands.
Laps matter to the look. Small tiles are laid so each course overlaps the ones below, which gives a double thickness over most of the slope. The tile length, the gauge between battens and the lap together set how much of each tile shows.
From the ground, plain and peg tiles are hard to tell apart. The back edge is the giveaway, and a tile in the gutter or a heap beside the house shows the holes or the nibs clearly. Tiles also vary in colour, camber and edge finish, which is more noticeable from below than whether they are pegged. A single slipped tile that has come down gives you the answer for the whole roof.
Because the two look so alike, the only reliable test is to examine a loose tile. Do not assume, and never go up on the slope to look: a tile that has already come down, or the underside seen from the loft hatch, will show it. Our page on plain tile roofs describes the common faults in more detail.
What it changes when you repair
For a repair, the fixing type decides which replacement tile will do. A peg-hole tile cannot be hung on nibs it does not have, and a nibbed tile used as a patch in a pegged roof needs its fixing worked out again.
Matching also reaches the size and the camber, the slight curve across the tile. A tile with the wrong dimensions also upsets the batten gauge, so the replacement has to be measured, not guessed.
Reuse is a choice too. Existing tiles can often be lifted, sorted and relaid, and our page on reusing peg tiles explains when that works. Damaged ones are replaced, and broken pegs or rusty nails are the usual cause of slipping, so the fixings are checked as well as the tile face.
Measurements and the fixing matter more than any label here. Handle one tile, measure it and note which way it is held, and you have what a roofer needs to quote the repair. The same notes help if you later order matching stock from a merchant.
Questions to ask before work starts
A roofer who has looked at your tiles should be able to say which kind you have, what is wrong with it and what will replace it. Ask before the quote is signed, because the answers shape the whole repair.
- Are my tiles plain or peg, and how can you tell?
- Are the nails or pegs corroded, and will they be renewed?
- Will you reuse the existing tiles, and how many will be replaced?
- What will match the ones I have?
On a listed or conservation-area home, add one more: whether the work needs consent. The roof's fixing may be part of its character, and the council can say. Our page on listed house tile repairs covers the route.
Everything with tiles is grouped under pitched roofing, which also names Kent peg tile work as part of the service. The tile and its fixing are named in the written price, and so is the plan for the old tiles, whether they are set aside for reuse or taken away with the waste.
