Tile is the material most associated with this region’s residential architecture, and in a lot of neighborhoods it is not really a choice — it is what the house was designed for and often what the association requires. Clay and concrete both offer genuine durability in this climate, with natural resistance to salt air, UV and high wind that few other materials match.
We install and replace clay and concrete tile in both barrel and flat profiles across all five counties, and we do standalone underlayment replacement where the tile is still good, which is a service a lot of roofers do not offer because it is a smaller job than the alternative.
The Underlayment Point
This is the single most useful thing to understand about a tile roof, and it catches people out constantly: a leaking tile roof is usually not a tile failure.
The tile can last fifty years, and good clay can approach a century. The underlayment beneath it — the actual waterproof layer — typically needs replacing every twenty to thirty years regardless of how the tile looks. So the standard tile roof failure in this market is a roof that appears immaculate from the street and is putting water into the ceiling.
Where the tiles themselves are structurally sound, we lift them carefully, replace the underlayment and reinstall the same tile. It costs a fraction of a full replacement and it resets the clock on the part that actually failed. A full tile replacement is only the right recommendation when the underlayment has gone across a significant portion of the roof and the tile system as a whole has reached the end of its life.
What We Install
Clay barrel tile
The premium option. A fired finish that resists fading rather than being surface-colored, the curved profile associated with Spanish and Mediterranean architecture, and a lifespan that can exceed a century where the underlayment is maintained.
Concrete barrel and flat tile
Comparable wind and weather performance to clay at a meaningfully lower price, with a much broader range of colors, textures and profiles. Neither is objectively better than the other — it comes down to budget and how long you intend to own the house.
Underlayment replacement on its own
Tile removed, underlayment replaced, tile reinstalled. Addresses the most common source of tile roof leaks without replacing tile that is still doing its job.
Structure Comes First
Tile is heavy. Clay can weigh three to four times what asphalt shingles do, and concrete is comparable. A home originally built for tile has framing designed for that load, so a like-for-like replacement is straightforward. A home being upgraded to tile from shingle needs a structural assessment first to confirm the framing can carry it.
We include that assessment in every tile project at no charge, and it matters most on older homes where the original framing documentation may not exist any more. If tile is not structurally feasible on your house we will say so and walk you through metal or shingle instead, rather than quoting something the structure cannot take.
Mortar-Set or Mechanically Fastened
We install both, and the right method depends on the roof geometry, on how the existing roof was installed if this is a re-roof, and on what the 2023 Florida Building Code’s Roofing Application Standard for tile requires in your case.
Mechanically fastened systems have become more common in high-wind coastal areas for their proven uplift resistance. Mortar-set remains appropriate for certain configurations and matches the original method on a lot of established homes here. Every tile installation is permitted through the relevant jurisdiction, and all tile carries Florida Product Approval before it reaches the site.
Why Owners Trust Us With Tile
- Structural load confirmed before anything starts, at no charge, and an honest answer if the framing will not take it.
- Both installation methods, matched to your roof’s actual requirements rather than to whichever one the crew prefers.
- Clay and concrete, barrel and flat. Full capability across both materials and both profiles, not a single tile system sold to everybody.
- Underlayment-only service available, so you are not replacing tile that has decades left in it.