Tile Roofing
Fort Worth and Dallas both still have many beautiful, older homes with classic clay and concrete tile roofing shingles.
Unfortunately, these beautiful clay tile roofs are slowly disappearing. North Texas hailstorms knock out most of them. What’s left is slowly plowed under to make way for a newer, larger, more energy-efficient home.
I’ve rarely seen a clay tile roof completely replaced with the same material. There are a few tile shops that warehouse spare used tiles for the occasional fallen tree damage or building addition, but by and far these roofs are replaced because tile roofing is #1 extremely expensive and #2 heavy.
Tile Roofing is Expensive
Tiles like the ones shown in the picture above can run as much as $1,500+ per square installed (10 x 10 area). A small home with 30 squares of new tile roofing would run $45,000. Yes, that’s forty-five thousand dollars! A similar looking stone-coated steel roof, like the Decra Villa Tile, would run almost half the price. Plus, the Decra Roof is light-weight.
Tile Roofs are Heavy
Most of the new homes being built today in North Texas can sustain the weight of a common composition shingle. Even a 50 year composition roof rarely weighs more than 300 lbs per square (again, a 10 x 10 area). But let’s face it – they don’t build homes the same way they did 30, 40 or 50 years ago when tile roofing was more affordable.
The rafters in modern homes are often spaced further apart to save money on lumber. Further, I doubt anyone would disagree with me, lumber isn’t the same quality as it was back then. All this means that new homes can’t support the heavier tile roofing at 600, 700 or 800 lbs per square.
What Can You Do?
If you have a clay tile roof that’s breaking, chipping or falling apart because of a hail storm, you may want to consider going with one of the more light-weight, energy-efficient alternatives like Decra, Gerard Stone Coated Steel or even an Aluminum Roof. There’s also several good synthetic slate products on the market today. Find out about more roofing shingles here.
If you have a tile roofing problem and your home is within 50 miles of the Dallas / Fort Worth Metroplex, Call Toll-Free (817) 455-5618 or fill out the form below...
