Tile roof cost

A concrete tile roof costs $800 to $1,900 per square installed, so a 20 square roof is $16,000 to $38,000. Clay tile runs higher again. A typical job lands near $25,000.

Tile is two to three times the price of asphalt and lasts two to three times as long, which makes the arithmetic close over fifty years. What decides it is usually not money: it is whether the roof structure can carry the weight, and whether the house is somewhere tile belongs.

What it costs

Clay tile costs 20% to 50% more than concrete for the material and installs the same way. It holds color better, because the color is the clay rather than a surface coat, and it is what most Spanish and Mediterranean houses actually have.

Weight is the first question, not the price

Concrete tile weighs 850 to 1,100 pounds per square. Clay is 600 to 900. Asphalt is 250 to 400.

So a roof changing from asphalt to tile is asking the structure to carry roughly three times what it was designed for. On a house built for tile this is fine. On a house built for shingle it is not, and the honest answer from a good contractor is that an engineer has to look before anyone quotes.

Reinforcing a roof structure to take tile costs $5,000 to $15,000 and occasionally more. That number belongs in the comparison, not in a surprise halfway through.

Lightweight concrete tile exists at 550 to 750 pounds a square and is the usual compromise where the structure is marginal.

Where the labor goes

Tile is slower than any other common roofing. Roughly four times the crew hours of asphalt per square, and the reasons are physical:

• Battens are fixed across the roof first, so the tiles hang rather than sit
• Each tile is placed individually, and they are heavy
• Every hip and valley tile is cut, usually wet-cut with a diamond blade
• Ridge and hip tiles are mortared or mechanically fixed one at a time
• The underlayment does the actual waterproofing, so it has to be right before a single tile goes down

That last point is the one homeowners miss. Tile is not the waterproof layer. It sheds most of the water and shades the underlayment from ultraviolet light. The membrane underneath is what keeps the house dry, and it is what fails first.

The underlayment is the real service life

A concrete tile lasts 50 years or more. The underlayment beneath it lasts 20 to 30.

So a tile roof is usually re-roofed once in its life without the tiles being replaced: the tiles come off, are stacked, the old underlayment is stripped, a new one goes down, and the same tiles go back. That job costs $600 to $1,200 a square, with maybe 10% of tiles broken and replaced.

Anyone quoting a tile roof as a fifty-year no-maintenance decision is leaving that out.

Where tile makes sense

Hot, sunny climates. Tile shades the deck and the air gap under it carries heat away. In Arizona, Florida and southern California it measurably reduces cooling load.

Fire-prone areas. Class A non-combustible, and in some wildfire zones it is what code or insurance requires.

Where the house already has it. Replacing tile with asphalt on a Spanish Colonial devalues the house and usually annoys the neighbors and any design review board.

Where you are staying. The break-even against asphalt is somewhere past year thirty.

Where it does not

Cold climates with hard freeze cycles, where water absorbed by concrete tile expands and spalls it. Low-slope roofs, since tile needs pitch to shed. Houses whose structure cannot take the load without work that costs more than the roof.

Frequently asked questions

Can I walk on a tile roof?

Carefully, on the lower third of each tile where it is supported, and ideally not at all. Cracked tiles from foot traffic are the most common damage a tile roof suffers, and they are usually invisible from the ground until something leaks.

How do I replace a broken tile?

Individually, and cheaply, which is one of tile's real advantages. A roofer lifts the surrounding tiles and swaps the broken one for $150 to $400 including the visit. Keep spare tiles from the original job: matching a discontinued profile is the hard part.

Is clay better than concrete?

Clay holds color far better and lasts longer. Concrete costs less and comes in more profiles. In freeze-thaw climates, high-fired clay handles it better than concrete does.

Will my insurance cost more?

Usually less, in fire and hail regions, because tile is non-combustible and impact-resistant. Ask before you assume either way; some carriers rate the repair cost higher.

What about synthetic tile?

Composite tiles imitate clay or slate at 400 to 900 pounds a square and $700 to $1,400 installed. They solve the weight problem and are the right answer on a house that wants the look without the structural work. They have not been on enough roofs for long enough to know whether the fifty-year claims hold.