Tile roofing is popular in the southwestern part of the United States and in many areas around the world because it is durable, looks great, and requires very little maintenance. In the US, concrete tile roofing is an alternative to the tile roof that is becoming popular and still offers many of the same benefits at a lower cost than traditional terracotta tiles.
Price Benefits
In the United States, prices for genuine terracotta roofing tiles can run between seven hundred and fourteen hundred dollars a square (one hundred square feet). Still, you can cover the same area with concrete roofing tiles that are dyed to look like terracotta for between three and five hundred dollars per square.
The cost of replacing the tile roofing on your home could be significantly lower, and the tiles will look nearly the same from the ground. Only you and the contractor that installed the tiles will be able to tell the difference in the material when the job is complete.
The Lifespan of Tile Roofing
While terracotta tile roofing has been known to last seventy to one hundred years, dyed concrete tile roofing has a life span of fifty or more years, and at half the price, that may be a good trade-off. For many people, a roof that lasts fifty years is the only roof they will ever pay for because people do not tend to stay in one home for their entire life anymore.
There are very few roofing materials that can last as long as concrete tile roofing, and you are after the look and feel of the tile roofing; concrete can be a great option. You can visit a roofing supply and compare the two products side-by-side if you are not sure which you want to go with and ask the experts there about concrete tile roofing to better understand the product before deciding to use it.
Weight Concerns
Concrete tile roofing is heavy, so if you are thinking about using it on your home, you will need to have the roofing contractor you are working with do a full inspection of the structure to determine if it can support the weight of the tiles. The roof structure may need additional support added to it, but most roofers can do that once the old roofing material has been removed from the building.
If your home had tile roofing on it, then the support is already there in most cases, but it is still a good idea to have the roofing contractor inspect it and make sure that it will support the concrete tile roofing over time.