Many homeowners are hesitant to consider a tile roof because of misconceptions about this material. However, this is actually the most popular roofing material across the globe. Here are some facts from the Tile Roofing Institute that deliver the straight scoop.

Weight Not Usually a Problem

Clay and concrete tiles are heavier than many other types of shingles. It’s a feature – not a bug. The weight of the roof material is a key factor in its stability and strength. This is especially important for areas where ice buildup is common. Most modern homes are able to support a tile roof. For houses that can’t handle traditional tile, lightweight varieties are available.

Resistance to Extreme Weather Events

When properly installed, air penetrates through the tile layer – reducing stress on the roof. At the same time, tile sheds water very well. Because of these characteristics, tile holds up better than asphalt shingles to tornadoes, hurricane force winds/rain, and hail storms. These weather resistant features have been lab tested with wind tunnels and ice cannons. Tile is also the only roofing material that has been tested for its ability to withstand earthquake activity. Class A fire resistance is another attractive benefit of tile.

Minimal Maintenance

Maintenance is required, but generally restricted to areas such as the gutters and flashing. Because of the modularity of tile roofing installation, damaged tiles can be replaced individually. Warranties on this material are generally 50 years (or longer). The color of the tile may fade a little over time, but the process is very gradual since the pigment is usually incorporated into the material itself.

A complete cleaning up after roofing repair is absolutely necessary for safety reasons and to make your property tidy again. A professional who does the repair for you should perform this service as part of the contract. You should sign off on their work only after you have inspected your yard to make sure they did a thorough job. It’s not unreasonable for you to ask them to check the yard one more time for nails before they leave.

What about DIY Roofing?

If the repair is a do-it-yourself project, you’ll need to really know what to look for when you do the cleanup. Loose shingles and packing materials are the easy things to spot and pickup. 

Look on top of the roof too. Some items such as tools or leftover materials might be left in places where they can subsequently be moved by wind and rain. These can damage the repair job that you just completed. In addition they can clog or damage your gutter system. Speaking of which, remember to check the gutters. Nails can easily find their way there during construction or repair work. From there they can end up near downspouts on the lawn below.

Check for nails on the lawn anywhere near the edge of the roof. Most will fall within a few feet of the edge, but you need to look six to ten feet out to make sure. This is especially true for a multiple story home. If there are slopes in the landscape or paving, then loose items can travel even further. Any leftover materials strewn out on the grass can damage your lawn equipment. Nails can also turn into dangerous projectiles if you hit them with a mower or weedeater.

You can usually purchase or rent a magnetic sweep from a home improvement store. This tool will help you locate nails more easily and effectively than searching visually.

There are many types of roofing tiles that are manufactured to resemble other (usually more expensive) materials. For example stamped metal may be used to make faux terracotta or clay tiles. This material is sometimes preferred because it is much lighter than clay. This means the underlying roof structure does not require additional reinforcement to support the weight of the tiles. Metal also does not require quite as much care in handling as clay products do.

Composite roofing slate is an example of what some people call semi-fake roof tiles. Powdered slate can be mixed with polypropylene (plastic) to form a composite blend. With a 60-40% ratio mix, it can be molded into almost any desired shape of shingle. The mixture tends to be color stable and usually no further additives are needed.

As with metal, the advantage of plastic-based composites is that they are much lighter than real slate roofing tiles. Quality throughout the composite slate tends to be very consistent from one tile to the next – a feature not found in all-natural stone material. These semi-fake roof tiles are fire resistant just like slate and have the added bonus of being 100% recyclable.

Not all imitation tiles are considered “fake”. Concrete tiles can be made to look like most other roofing materials and are quite durable. In fact, these represent an entirely different category of roofing product. You don’t get the weight advantage provided by other imitation tile or shingle products, but you do get premium performance. Some concrete tiles have lasted for more than a hundred years.

A little knowledge will help you identify the common warning signs of a roofing scam. Here are some basic ways to protect yourself:

• Be wary of any company that contacts you out of the blue.
• Follow up on any references and check with the Better Business Bureau for any complaints.
• Get a least 3 competing estimates and don’t always take the lowest bid.
• Ask contractors to justify their bids listing what work/materials it includes. This will allow you to make valid comparisons between any estimates.

Here are descriptions of common roofing scams and how they work:

Elevator Ride – You take the lowest bid from competing quotes for necessary roof repair. As the agreed work is done, additional problems magically appear. The contractor won’t get started on the additional work until he is paid for work already done. This cycle repeats several times until the cost of the entire repair is more than the estimate from the highest original bidder.

Free Inspection – In a door to door operation, representatives canvass the neighborhood near where there has been a tornado, high wind, or hail damage. Since work crews are already in the area, they claim to offer free inspections and special deals on repair for any roofing problem they find. These guys prey on the elderly and the handicapped because such customers cannot personally verify any damage on the roof. The scammers draw up contracts for unnecessary repair work.

Insurance Scam – The contractor convinces the homeowner that they can claim more damage than actually occurred. He will write up an estimate for insurance reimbursement. The problem is that insurance investigators look for exactly this kind of fraud. It’s too easy to get caught as a willing participant. The illegality will also tend to silence the owner against any other problem associated with the contractor. He cheats the customer and blames the homeowner if any fraud is discovered.

Take the Money and Run – These guys will ask for full compensation upfront and take shortcuts with inferior material or never do the job at all. Sometimes they will ask the customer to sign over their insurance check for the damages and then disappear.

Lightning rods are most commonly installed on the roofing of high rise buildings and houses located on hill tops. These structures are most vulnerable to million volt bolts. Lightning strikes on low houses are rare enough that most homeowners don’t worry much about them. However, when a lightning bolt does connect with an unprotected house it can destroy all the electrical systems present. Phone lines and metal plumbing are potential conduits for electricity from the lightning strike to cause injury to people inside the home.

It’s good to know that most home owner’s insurance will cover damage from a lightning strike. The insurance carrier will investigate the legitimacy of the claim by tracking the weather and checking satellite lightning strike data. However, it will take time to repair extensive damage. Preventing this inconvenience and protecting expensive electronics may be worth the expense of installing a lightning protection system. This is especially true for luxury homes that are several stories tall.

A lightning protection system generally has 5 parts:

1. A series of Air Terminals (the actual lightning rods) installed along the highest points of the roof
2. A braided conducting cable that connects the rods with the grounding elements
3. Ground rods or plates to redirect the electricity into the earth away from the home
4. High grade metallic bonds to the keep parts together during the surge
5. Surge arrestors to protect the home from indirect strikes on nearby electrical lines

Lighting protection systems add stress to the roofing system. Care must be taken to ensure that leaks do not occur from mounting the rods and cable. Extra flashing may be needed to ensure a proper seal around the various components.

The installation or replacement of roof flashing requires experience and attention to detail. Extensive installation and repair jobs are best left to professionals. A properly completed flashing project involves the layering of several roofing materials using methods and equipment that aren’t in the average homeowner’s “toolbox”. Any mistake will make a roof susceptible to a severe leak.

While you might not want to handle a DIY flashing repair job, you can periodically inspect both perimeter and joint flashing for weathering defects. Then, you can call a contractor out to prevent or limit damage to your roofing. This is not usually an expensive repair as long as you catch the problem early on.

Inspection and Repair Basics

Flashing is designed to redirect the flow of water in potential leak areas away from underlying material in a sloped roof. It typically does this by having the top edge of the aluminum or galvanized metal flashing piece lie slightly underneath the underlayment material, while the bottom edge lies on top of the upper section of lower layers of shingles.

Top layers of flashing are typically seen around vents, chimneys, and roof intersections with walls (such as around dormers). This creates a waterproof barrier that needs to be sealed with caulking or roof cement. This layering system is designed to withstand expansion and contraction due to seasonal changes in humidity and temperature.

In the case of perimeter flashing, the bottom edge will hang slightly over the edge of the roof along the spot where gutters are installed. This makes it convenient to inspect flashing anytime the gutters are cleaned or require maintenance. A quick look at the surface of the material is usually sufficient to let you spot any problem.

Cracks in old sealants or loose nails need to be discovered early before water penetration occurs. This is especially true for areas where heavy runoff tends to pool on the roof’s surface. A DIY flashing maintenance project will include cleaning and re-securing the layers, then applying new sealant.

Ongoing roof maintenance is an absolute necessity if you want to prevent damage that can affect the structure of your home. Biyearly inspections can catch many common issues in time to save thousands of dollars in repair costs. Here are the top 5 problems that lead to roof damage:

1. Shoddy construction may include improper design, inferior materials, flashing problems and unfinished jobs. Improperly installed vents or gutters can leave critical areas of your roof vulnerable to the elements. This type of error generally becomes apparent within the first couple of years after installation. Anytime moisture builds up or water stains wood in the attic, it’s a sign that something that needs to be fixed.
2. Sunshine deteriorates shingles over time and makes them crack. UV rays will gradually dry out asphalt and create pathways for moisture to penetrate the roof and into the attic.
3. Weather can create damaging hail, high winds, pooling of rain water (improper drainage from clogged gutters), ice heaves (freezing) and moisture buildup from humidity (improper ventilation). 
4. Animals including squirrels, mice, birds, and raccoons can do damage to your roofing and gutter system as they forage and build nests around your home.
5. Tree limbs that grow too close to your house can scrape and tear up roofing tiles very easily in even minor winds. Branches should be periodically pruned at least 5 to 10 feet away from your roof. Regardless, blown debris from trees may still do damage during any wind or heavy rainstorm.

Do you want the strength and durability of a steel roof without the “commercial building” look? Several manufacturers offer stone coated metal roofing products that might be just what you are looking for. Steel shingles are lightweight compared to other roof materials – including asphalt shingles. They don’t require as much special care in handling as tile; many products in this category can be safely walked on during installation and maintenance.

Benefits

Stone coated steel is more resistant to wind damage than most other roofing products. It is advertised as being able to withstand winds of up to 120 mph. These panels are much more fire resistant than cedar shakes (steel has a Class A rating). Plus they are not porous so you don’t have to worry about moisture damage from freezing/thawing. These features add up to a product that some manufacturers are willing to back with a 50 year warranty. From an environmental standpoint, metal roofs can be made with a significant percentage of recycled content. Then, at the end of the roof’s life, it can be recycled.

Looks

The decorative coating on these metal shingles is generally a combination of stone granules, ceramic, and polymer sealant. This highly durable surface can be provided in a very wide array of colors. The steel panels can also be molded to look like wood shakes, ceramic tiles, or traditional shingles. Each panel may be several feet square – and some models have interlocking features that further reduce the chances of leaks at the seams.

With metal roofing, the main body of the roof consists of paneling that may be ribbed, crimped, or otherwise molded for decorative effect and added structural integrity. There are even metal shingle options that are designed to resemble slate, cedar shake, or lapped siding. One thing that all these styles have in common is that they require various trim pieces to finish the roof.

Each trim component is designed for a different section of the roof. Valley pieces are installed wherever two downward sloping roof panels meet at an inward angle. Where a sloping panel meets a horizontal segment, transition trim is used. These components along with ridge caps, gambrel flashing, gable trim, and eave pieces are all pre-formed at the angles required for the residential application in question.

Many homeowners also choose to have the fascia provided in metal so that the overall style of the roof blends well with the siding. Fascia and soffits may be specified in a single piece to reduce the risk of leaks and make maintenance easier. The seams where metal meets metal are possible entry points for moisture, so the fewer separate pieces used, the better. Most contractors purchase roofing trim in 10’ segments, but there are a few manufacturers who can provide longer pieces upon request.

Unlike house fires (which can often be prevented), hail is a natural phenomenon over which you have no control. You also can’t predict how much damage a hail storm will do to your home. The size of the hailstones, the speed at which they hit your house and how long the storm lasts all play a role in roof damage. Roofing that is bruised by hail won’t start leaking immediately. However, the structural integrity of the shingles will be compromised causing them to wear out faster than they would otherwise. This means that even though damage may not be visible from the ground you might actually need your entire roof replaced.

Why You Should Get an Inspection

After a moderate or severe hailstorm, you should have your roof inspected to ensure that any damage is identified and fixed quickly. If you wait until the next storm, your insurance company may claim that the damage was from the previous event and refuse to repair/replace your roof.

Many roofing companies are happy to provide an estimate free of charge to confirm that there is significant damage before you file with your homeowners insurance. Some will even meet with your claims adjuster to point out areas of damage. This may help ensure the estimate from their company and the reimbursement offered by your insurance company are based on the same information.

Picking the Right Contractor is Critical

Working with a contractor who takes responsibility for negotiating the repair price with your insurance carrier and explaining the process to you at each step is ideal. This way, you know exactly what is covered and you won’t be left holding the bag for repair costs not provided for under the adjuster’s estimate. You do have the right to select the contractor of your choice to handle roof repairs when you file an insurance claim; so don’t settle for a company that doesn’t put forth the effort to provide excellent service.

In the 40 year period between 1920 and 1960, asbestos was a material commonly used in roofing products. Its extreme durability, resistance to chemicals, and virtually fireproof nature made it seem like the natural choice. Of course, when the truth about the deadly effects of asbestos exposure became evident, the issue of what to do about the existing roofs became a matter of public concern.

Fortunately, in most cases asbestos that is bound in a cement matrix is unlikely to cause problems unless the material is damaged. The health risks involved in tearing out an asbestos roof usually outweigh the potential hazard of leaving it in place. Since this material lasts much longer than a typical asphalt shingle roof, it may still be in good condition even if it was installed over 40 years ago.

However, if asbestos shingles are damaged it can be difficult and expensive to get repairs done. Many contractors lack experience in working with this material. They may actually do more harm than good if they treat it like modern roofing shingles. Any activity that breaks the asbestos cement shingles into smaller pieces should be avoided.

Simply tossing the worn out or damaged pieces from the roof to the ground is a bad plan. So is working on the roof if it has not been sprayed down with a wetting agent to settle any dust that may contain asbestos fibers. If the whole roof must be redone, an abatement specialist should be hired to make sure the work is performed with the highest regard for safety of the workers, residents, and neighbors.

These days, it seems like the only rooftop decorations most houses sport is a squeaky wind turbine or two. If you want to add some old fashioned charm to your roof, consider installing a weathervane. Designs range from traditional water birds and roosters to dragons and sailing ships. You can even have a custom piece made with your favorite animal or sports team mascot.

These timeless roofing accents are usually crafted of metal such as steel, aluminum, or copper. They may last for decades with little maintenance. Just a spray of lubricant now and then will keep this device spinning quietly atop your home from one year to the next.

Of course, proper installation makes a big difference. This type of decoration is designed to be exposed to wind and weather 365 days per year. That’s a good reason to avoid the use of external mounting brackets and have your weathervane installed through the roof into a wooden brace in the attic. This entire area will then need to be sealed to keep moisture from penetrating around the base of the weathervane.

The purpose of a weathervane is to show you which way the wind is blowing, so you will also need to make sure it is installed in the correct orientation. Otherwise it will simply be decorative – much like a sundial that isn’t designed for your latitude. Bear in mind that a weathervane isn’t a lightning rod. It shouldn’t be connected to the ground by a highly conductive material unless you are paying a professional to turn your vane into a lightening protection device.