Insight Into Tile Roofs, How They Are Constructed and Things You Need To Know
When considering purchasing a waterfront home in southwest Florida I recommend using an experienced home inspector. The key things of concern will be: roof, electric, air conditioning and plumbing.
Most of my customers that come here from the north are not familiar with Tile Roofs and have concerns about them. Here is some insight into tile roofs.
Many think that a tile roof, normally made of concrete, clay or steel is what protects the house from water intrusion. Actually, the tile roof acts as a protective barrier to the under layment underneath and is ornamental or decorative to the house. This under layment material below the tile actually provides a moisture barrier.
A tile roof house when constructed uses normal plywood 4×8 sheets that are attached with a specific nail pattern and attached on the underside with additional strapping. A “peel and stick” membrane is attached (see below) and the tiles are attached to that.
When considering the purchase of an existing waterfront home you can expect that the home inspector will find some broken or loose tiles. I would say that 80% of the homes will have a few of these. Not to worry! As previously mentioned this normally will not let water in. A roofer can easily glue the tiles together where cracked or replace which is seldom necessary. If a tile is slipped out of place than that can also be glued into place.
What maintenance is there with a tile roof? In our area, every 1-2 years you may want to have the roof power washed as mold will collect on the surface. The mold is not a big deal and is normal to develop over time and easily removed with power washing. This cleaning is done to make the roof look more beautiful.
Is it ok to walk on a tile roof? Generally, not a good idea and you must be very careful to distribute your weight so a tile is not cracked.
How long will a tile roof last? From my experience 30-50 years and possibly more.
Just a little tile roof history if you care to read. In 1993 Hurricane Andrew hit the south Miami area near Homestead Florida. After that, new roof attachment methods were developed to protect in a windstorm and the Miami-Dade County codes were implemented across all of Florida. Since then, there have been many improvements made to construction techniques. Nearly every home in our area got a new roof after Hurricane Charlie. Most houses did not need a new tile roof but if only 1 tile was missing the whole roof was replaced! It made no sense. But that is the way it was handled. Perfectly good roofs were removed and replaced on most houses. The good news for you is that basically any house with a tile roof you are looking at will likely have an excellent roof with a long life still remaining.
When Hurricane Charlie hit in the Punta Gorda-Port Chartlotte area many of the tile roofs were still in good shape and this was with houses built in the 70’s and 80’s. So, these tile roofs without all the modern improvements were still serving most homeowners quite well until Charlie. That’s 30-40 years and more of life. So, with that said, when you consider buying a home on the market today your concerns for roof longevity should be minimal or non-existent. Of course, if you talk to a roofer they might tell you something a little different for obvious reasons.
