The time has come, you’re ready for your new tile roof and there’s an important decision to make, “Do you install flat tile or barrel tile on your roof?”

The answer really depends on the age of your home. The trusses that support your roof, the concrete walls & the structural tie-beams all settle differently over the years, especially in our South Florida climate. This is not a defect or a sign of poor craftsmanship, wooden roof trusses expand & contract with the change in temperature and humidity.

Flat Roof Tile: Pros & Cons

Aesthetically, flat tile roofs look best when installed over new trusses and decking/sheathing or trusses that have been adjusted with abutted 2×4’s to level the roof decking. This allows for the flat tile edges to line up better, giving you nice straight lines across your roof. Of course, the additional truss and decking work will increase the cost of your new tile roof, but it will provide the best look when finished. If you install flat tile over a 20+ year old roof without leveling the roof deck, the tile edges will not line up as well.

Barrel Roof Tile: Pros & Cons

If you would like to avoid the additional cost associated with leveling your roof trusses and decking, we would recommend a barrel tile instead of a flat roof tile. Installing a barrel tile helps hide such dips and offsets caused by the natural settling of your home’s trusses. There are several other rounded roof tiles that will also help hide these imperfections like S-Type & Double Roll roof tiles.

Rounded / barrel roof tiles are mostly made of 2 materials, clay or concrete. Clay tiles tend to be more fragile and are often imported from other countries, making them more expensive. Concrete roof tiles are more durable and are manufactured domestically. The concrete roof tiles we install most are manufactured right here in the State of Florida, making them the more economic option.