When it comes to replacing your roof, one of the most difficult items that needs to be addressed is the replacement tile.  There are many reasons for this, but let’s start by understanding WHY you need to replace tile on your roof.

On a typical roof there are between 15,000 and 30,000 individual pieces of tile. When a tile roof is “replaced” we are more often than not referring to the underlayment, In this process every piece of tile is picked up, set aside – whether on the roof or on the ground – and then after the underlayment is replaced then it is all stacked back on your roof and then installed. In all that stacking and restacking some of the tile will break. This can be because of pre-existing issues with the existing tile – small hairline cracks that are not visible to the naked eye – or possibly the tile was manufactured and there were small issues with the cement in individual tiles. 

 Another issue we run into is there are certain tiles that have  design flaws that create a structural issue at certain points in the tile. These tiles have been taken out of production, but may have been installed on your roof and functioning fine for 20 years or more, but will break when handled and walked on.

 Even if the utmost care is taken some are bound to crack. At that point you have 2 options, you can do it right and replace as many tiles that are broken or you can try to get by with the same tile. Hiding the tile brings with it certain issues that will arise down the road, possible after any warranty the contractor gives you is over. That is why we recommend replacing any tile that have any crack that is larger than a silver dollar (about 1 inch).

This is where it gets tricky. At one point there were 6-8 different concrete tile manufacturers here in central Arizona ( it depends on how you count them ). There are currently only 2 left. That means that there are at least 4 kinds of tile that may not have an exact match in current production. The good thing is that tile has always come in 3 basic profiles – high -medium and low. The bad news is that the tile from the individual manufacturers is not universally interchangeable. So we get into the tricks of our trade. The best and easiest way is to just replace all the tile on the roof. That way there is no issue with type and color and hopefully your tile will be supported for years to come. 

The second option is to replace an entire roof deck with a tile that is the same type and color. While the different manufacturer tiles may only be ¼ inch different, when you have 10 tiles in a row with a ¼ inch difference you will be off 2.5 inches and that will cause serious issues. So if you replace an entire roof deck none of these issues come into play. They are separated by a wall, ridge, hip or valley that negates the necessity for them to interlock. This also helps break up the color difference and make it less noticeable.

There are several other ways, some more desirable than others. For instance on a flat tile roof you can replace an entire row. Or in extreme examples you do what we call “railroading” which involves ending the old tile in a vertical line on your roof and then starting with new tile. The issue there is that the old and new tile will sometimes not interlock properly and it is almost impossible to find a tile with the exact color, so it will be noticeable on the roof.

As stated there are several major types of tile that have been used in central Arizona. The following list by no means is meant to be a complete list, but the types listed below represent more than 90% of the concrete tile that has been installed in the last 40 years.

This is the easy part, but also the hardest. A tile color must be selected and agreed upon.  The problem is it will seldom match exactly, and sometimes not closely. This is due to the tile being discontinued. Color lines being consolidated, and general availability.  We recommend taking a tile to the following show rooms

You can visit each location to see physical samples and colors.   Or, you can also use their online color pallets found on their websites in your color matching process.