What Is Tile Roof?
Tile roofing — clay or concrete — is a long-life system common on Spanish- and Mediterranean-style homes in Central Texas. The tile is largely a weather shield: the waterproofing is the underlayment beneath it, and on most tile roofs the underlayment reaches the end of its service life long before the tile does. That is why a tile roof is frequently re-roofed by lifting, stacking, and reinstalling the existing tile over new underlayment rather than replacing the tile itself. Tile is brittle and heavy, and walking it incorrectly breaks it, so both inspection and repair call for specialized handling and staged access. Broken or slipped tiles are usually replaced individually, and matching profile and color on an older roof can take sourcing. Zilker Roofing repairs and replaces tile roofing systems, and photographs every inspection, including the condition of the underlayment wherever it can be reached.
Important Distinction
Note: The tile is not the waterproofing: on a tile roof, the underlayment beneath carries the water, and it wears out decades before the tile does. Intact tiles over a failed underlayment are still a leaking roof — which is why tile roofs get re-felted long before they get re-tiled.
Dealing with this on your own roof? Call (512) 893-7663 or get an instant online quote — Zilker Roofing inspects before recommending. Honest assessment, no pressure.
Also Known As
These are the search terms and phrases that commonly refer to this topic, so you can find it however you describe it.
How Tile Roof Relates to Other Topics
Tile costs more than shingle on both material and structure, because a tile roof is heavy and the framing has to carry it. Concrete tile is more affordable than clay and still extremely durable, which is the usual compromise when the look matters more than the material.
A tile roof is repaired by a tile roof repair service that treats the tile as armor and the underlayment beneath it as the waterproofing.
Tile outlasts asphalt shingle and suits certain architectural styles, at higher material and structural cost.
Tile roofing is a residential roofing system Zilker Roofing repairs and replaces.
A tile roof usually leaks because the underlayment beneath the tile has failed, not because the tile did - the tile is the armor, the underlayment is the actual waterproofing, and it wears out decades before the tile.
Concrete and clay tile crack underfoot far more easily than shingle - a meaningful share of 'tile roof leaks' begin as tiles broken by an AC tech or satellite installer walking the roof in the wrong places.
Related To Tile Roof
A tile roof usually leaks because the underlayment beneath the tile has failed, not because the tile did — the tile can outlast the waterproofing layer under it, so the repair means lifting and resetting tile rather than replacing the tile itself.
Tile is one of the few systems where a very old roof is still worth keeping — the tile itself can usually be reused, so the real comparison is resetting existing tile over new underlayment against a full re-roof in another material.
Many tile roofs survive hail better than shingles, but not always. Cracked tiles or a new interior leak after a storm are the signs worth an inspection, because a broken tile exposes the underlayment that is actually keeping water out.
A tile roof and its underlayment age at different rates. Tile carries a 40 to 50 year or longer lifespan, while the waterproofing layer beneath it does not — so an old tile roof often needs the underlayment replaced and the tile reset, not a whole new roof.
Tile is a durable residential replacement system Zilker Roofing installs where the structure supports its weight.
Roofing material selects the flashing kit: VELUX publishes tile-specific kits (EDW deck-mount, ECW curb-mount) whose patented sill flashing features pliable pleats that form to most types of tile.
The white haze on concrete tile is efflorescence - minerals carried to the surface by evaporating water; on tile it is cosmetic and weathers off, but the same haze on chimney masonry signals water actively moving through the material.
Tile and metal outlast the waterproofing beneath them: a 'lifetime' tile surface still needs its underlayment replaced at 20-30 years - the armor survives while the actual roof under it quietly reaches end of life.
Questions about Tile Roof?
Zilker Roofing inspects before recommending. Honest assessment, no pressure.