Tile Roof

We use only High Temperature Ice and Water Shield for any tile roof substrate system, installed to the deck before the battens are laid up. This adds a significant amount of money to any project, but it is always a requirement in Colorado in our opinion.

Installing a tile roof can be a difficult and laborious process. A project of this size will take a great deal of planning and preparation, well before the actual tile installation is underway. Whether you are laying brand new roofing tile or replacing damaged ones, it is also important to have the right technique.

There are a number of different grades of tile to choose from, and you must identify the grade that fits the climate in which the building is situated. Just as vitally, you must determine whether you would prefer clay or concrete tiles (various grades based on climatic conditions are available for both). They differ in a number of ways, and so the choice is a significant one.

Clay Tiles are considered to be one of the longest-lasting roofing materials available, even substantially longer than concrete ones. While concrete roofing tiles are typically expected to survive 30-50 years, in the right conditions a well made clay tile roof should be expected to last 100 years if the right flashings and underlayment systems are used. And though durable, clay tiles can be more expensive (though either option is particularly cheap). One estimate illustrates the importance of the price difference: to place a concrete tile roof on a fairly common home with a roof area of 1,500 square feet could cost between $10,000 and $15,000; it could cost between $20,500 and $45,000 to give a clay tile roof to the same house.

Cement Tile is one of the most sustainable roofing materials in today's market. Boral, our choice of tile manufacturer, has a process that has a very small carbon footprint, and their tiles are made from 100% recyclable materials. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) conducted a study in 2007 assessing the life expectancy of a number of building materials, including roofing. The report states that a concrete tile roof should last up to 3.75 times longer than an asphalt shingle roof. More stable, and cooler energy saving attic temperatures, can be achieved with the use of the batten tile mounting system (provides ventilation between the tiles and the substrate) and the "cool" colors that are available in a wide variety of profiles.

S-Tile: Since all of Colorado is a region where the temperature drops below freezing, Boral's Grade 1 clay tiles are a good choice of roofing material. Grade 1 is the highest grade of clay roof tiles suitable for areas with repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Boral's Grade 1 clay roof tiles are designed and tested to exceed the freeze-thaw standards of ASTM C1167 specification for clay roof tiles. S-Tile design combines the cap and the pan of traditional mission tile shapes, often in a duplicate form for faster installation. Some manufacturers use colored or glazed concrete formulations as the material base.

Mission or Barrel Tiles: Traditional semi-cylindrical tiles laid in alternating columns of convex and concave tiles. Originally they were made by forming clay around a curved surface, often a log or the maker's thigh. Today barrel tiles are mass-produced from clay, metal, concrete or plastic.