Natural tile roofing is beautiful, durable, and has been known to last 50 years or more. However, maintenance can be expensive, especially if you need a single tile or two replaced. Natural tiles like slate, terracotta, and wood shakes must be installed by specialists to avoid further damage, and locating installers may prove troublesome.
There is an excellent alternative to natural roof tiles that has the beauty of slate, clay, or wood, without the high costs of materials, installation and maintenance.
Replacing Damaged Roof Tiles
Roof tiles that need repair can cause serious or permanent damage to your roof structure and the framing below. Even small leaks can lead to mold, mildew, and eventually wood rot. Broken tiles can allow UV rays to penetrate to the underlayment below, causing early deterioration. Damaged tiles should be replaced as soon as they are noticed to avoid these issues.
Due to the danger involved in working on the roof, only specialists should handle repairs of this nature. Incorrectly stepping on slate, terracotta, or wood shakes can cause bodily harm if you slip, and if you misplace your weight, additional broken tiles may result. When professional repairs are performed, these are the steps usually taken:
Break the broken tile into small pieces and remove it.
Clear away any fasteners that remain, and fill the holes with roofing caulk to prevent further leaks.
If your roof has battens, apply adhesive to the new roof tile on the upper end and wedge it into place.
If there are no battens on your roof, first nail a piece of ½” plywood to the roof deck. Then, apply adhesive to the upper end of the new tile and wedge it into place, positioning it on top of the piece of plywood. Make sure the adhesive attaches to the tile above it.
Color Matching an Existing Roof
Finding replacement tiles that match your existing roof can also be problematic. Hopefully, the roofers saved some tiles from the original job. This would prevent you from replacing an entire section. If not, and you need to replace a considerable area of the roof, Brava Roof Tiles can color match almost any shake, barrel tile, or slate roof with their proprietary paint process, saving you the inconvenience and expense of a major repair.
Upgrade Your Roof With Synthetic Composite Roof Tiles
If it makes sense to replace your entire roof, or if you are building a new home, consider using synthetic composite roofing tiles. They are available in styles that perfectly mimic wood shakes, terracotta barrel tiles, and slate, and synthetic roofing is lighter than clay, slate, or concrete. Using synthetic tiles will give you all the benefits of natural tiles while allowing you to keep thousands of your hard-earned dollars in the process.
Synthetic roof tiles are much easier to install than their natural alternatives. To begin with, the installation does not require hard-to-locate specialists. Most professional roofers can handle the job. The process is simple:
- Apply a code-approved weather-resistant barrier, such as 30-lb felt or other synthetic underlayment, to the roof deck.
- Install drip edge on the perimeter of the roof.
- Lay out the roof to ensure the tiles are applied evenly to the ridge.
- Attach the new tiles with nails or screws.
- Nail down the ridge cap.
In addition, the following benefits make synthetic roofing a superior alternative to natural products:
- Environmentally friendly — can be recycled
- Synthetic tiles are not fragile and brittle
- No special fasteners are required for installation
- Easy to locate and inexpensive to transport
- They do not require additional structural support
Brava’s Synthetic Roof Tiles Set the Standard
Brava has the only third-party tested, and Miami-Dade County approved Spanish Barrel Tile on the market, and it is the only barrel tile that is available in white. Bravo offers 4 different tile options that meet California’s Title 24 Cool Roof requirements. This saves wear and tear on the AC system, which will lead to longer life and lower maintenance costs. All of our products are Class 4 impact-rated and available in both Class C and Class A fire ratings. Brava’s color options are almost unlimited, including the ability to mix multi-colors in the same shingle. If your roof design includes more than one type of tile, we can ensure the color pattern remains true throughout and that the color runs all the way through the tile, not only on the surface. Brava roofing tiles are suitable for all climates, and we back them with a 50-year limited warranty. Brava will ship shingles to most locations around the globe and has a full-time professional customer service team standing by to help you with any questions you may have. Contact us today for free samples of our roofing materials and see for yourself why folks around the globe are making Brava their choice for synthetic roof tiles.
