TILE ROOF REPLACEMENT PROCESS

Concrete or Clay Tile

Tile roof installation is an intricate process and must be done by a professional and competent crew. At Atlantic Coast Contractors, we strive to install only the best tile roof systems and use the best attachment methods. When taking bids for your roof replacement you must make sure that you are getting the best roof possible! Roof installation methods can vary from contractor to contractor, and the installation method can determine whether you end up with a 10 year roof or a 50 year roof!

Below you will find detailed information about the tile roof replacement process. We hope this information will help you become more familiar with the job at hand.

#1 (Start)

The permit will be pulled by Atlantic Coast Contractors at the appropriate building department. We will take over the entire permit process and you as the owner can sit back and rest assured that you are in good hands!

#2 (Permitting and Scheduling)

Once the permit is issued, we will schedule a convenient start date with you and prepare our material order.

#3 (The Tear Off)

The next stage is the tear off phase in which the entire roof will be removed. We will bring our 20-30 yard dump trucks to job site and remove all of the debri and trash, typically in one day. Many roofing companies will use a roll on/dropped dumpster. This dropped dumpster can be unsightly and most likely will damage your driveway or driveway finish. And in addition to the eyesore will complicate your home parking situation. Atlantic Coast Contractors will never leave a dumpster sitting in your drivveway for days on end! During the tear off we will remove the entire roof covering and inspect the roof deck. Any rotted roof deck boards, rotted facia boards, or rotted trusses will be removed and new wood re-installed. Typically, our roof replacement contracts will include a set amount of wood replacement so you do not have to worry about a hefty bill issued to you for common minor wood replacement during this process. We come prepared with tarps and protective materials just in case we have any unexpected weather.

#4 (Re-Nailing The Roof Deck)

Now that we have your roof down to the roof deck it is time to start putting your roof back together! Before we do this there is a crucial step that cannot be neglected. We will re-nail your roof deck using 8d 2-1/2″ ringshank nails spaced 6″ on the edge and 6” in the field or 2 nails per board for tongue and groove roof decks. This is a very important step! Not only will this bring your current roof deck into compliance with the current building codes, but will also get you an additional credit applied to your windstorm insurance policy if it was not previously nailed to code! This nailing pattern will meet or exceed insurance company standards. And most homes built prior to August 31st 1994 will not meet these nailing requirements.

#5 (Installing The Roof Base Sheet)

Now it’s time to start installing the felt layers. The first step is to install an ASTM 226 30 lb felt to the entire roof deck. This 30 lb felt will be nailed per code with galvanized steel tin caps and 1-1/4″ ringshank nails. These tin caps will be spaced 4-6″ on the overlap seams and have 2 rows in the field that are spaced 12″ on center. All roof valleys will have a 16″ galvanized metal installed to them and nailed per code on the outside edges. Any deteriorated flashing will then be replaced using a 4”x5” “L” flashing metal and a counterflashing either with a sealant bead or one prepared for stucco stop installation. A 3”x3” white galvanized drip edge metal will be installed along the enitre perimeter of your home and nailed every 4 inches per code. All vents and lead plumbing stacks will be replaced with new ones as we will never try to cut corners and try to re-use the old ones! Now that we have all of the accessories and felt installed we will now prime all exposed metal using liquid asphalt primer to ensure a strong adhesion of the 90 lb tile underlayment. Now it’s time for our tin cap inspection so we can continue on!

#6 (installing The Tile Underlayment)

Now it’s time to install your tile underlayment. This is where getting roof bids can get tricky in addition to the tile attachment method! Many roofers will vary in the systems that they offer. Sometimes a peel and stick underlayment is offered because it is much easier to install than a hot mopped cap sheet. Sometimes it is offered due to a lack of having a hot tar kettle. Peel and stick is a relatively new product on the market and I am not a fan of it at all! Don’t get me wrong, it would be nice to just go out and slap on a peel and stick underlayment and call it a day. However, I do not feel that it is the right thing to do as I have seen several tile roofs that had a peel and stick underlayment which developed leaks within 5-10 years due to slippage, improper backnailing, and simple product inferiority. In my opinion it is not the best way to install a tile underlayment.
At Atlantic Coast Contractors we believe in the tried and true method of tile underlayment. And that method is a hot mopped 90 lb asphalt cap sheet! This has been used throughout history and there is a reason it has not changed much! After the 30 lb felt layed is installed and we have passed our tin cap inspection, we will begin the cap sheet installation. This 90 lb felt layer will be embedded into a hot tar layer and back nailed every 6″-12″. When this cap sheet is backnailed and glued down with hot tar, the chance of having cap sheet slippage from the weight of the tile is virtually zero. In addition to this, you will have an extra protection layer which is the hot tar tying the 30 lb felt and the 90 llb felt together.
At Atlantic Coast Contractors will always give you a roof that we can stand behind with full faith and you can be assured was installed the very best way possible. When done properly, it will last well beyond the 10 year warranty and be a true 30-50 year roof system! In my mind using a product that is inferior is simply unacceptable!

#7 (Tile Order)

Now we have passed our mop in progress inspection with the city and it is time to start seeing that beautiful new tile being installed! You will have already picked out a tile manufacturer and picked out a color or tile blend color scheme at this point. Once the cap sheet is completely installed our tile order will be placed either the same day or the next business day. Typically, we will not place our tile order ahead of time because if there are any unexpected weather delays during the cap sheet installation we cannot have the tile arrive before completion. The tile will be lifted up to the roof using a boom crane and the cap sheet must be completed for this to be done.

#8-A (Different Tile Attachment Methods)

There are 2 main methods for installing tile. When considering which method to use you must keep in mind that in no way is roofing tile water tight and tile is completely 100% cosmetic. It will keep the majority of the water off of the cap sheet if installed properly, but will never stop all of it.
The first method is Polyfoam tile adhesive which has replaced the mortar set tile method used in the past. This method is the absolute best way to have your tile roof installed. This method ensures that your tile will be attached “direct to deck” method and bonded directly to your new 90 lb hot mopped cap sheet with no penetrations! This method is key to ensuring a solid long lasting roof as it does not add unneeded penetrations into your brand new cap sheet.

The second method is a mechanically fastened tile. Using this method, a strip of roofing tar is applied to the new cap sheet where the back edge of the tile will line up.  Each tile is then attached to the roof using 2 screws with a square head. This method will then put thousands of holes into your brand new cap sheet and in my mind the absolute worst possible method! The reason that in my mind this is the absolute worst installation method is because (as all of us in the roofing industry know) roofing tar will only stay flexible for a few years. After a few years it becomes hard and brittle. This tar is the only thing stopping your new roof from leaking! Eventually, mechanically fastened roofs will develop leak issues much quicker than is acceptable. And, with a mechanically fastened roof, if a windstorm or a hurricane passes through your property, it can slightly move the tile which will still break the bond between the screws and the strip of roofing tar even if you do not lose any tiles in the storm.
At Atlantic Coast Contractors we value quality over our own profit margins. If we are not doing something the best way possible and we cannot stand behind our work with full faith. We will not install a mechanically fastened tile roof and if it is required we will simply walk away. However, we will do our best to match any mechanically fastened quote using the polyfoam attachment method instead. We do not want to lose important projects and valued customers. In the end, we just want each and every one of our customers to have the same faith that we do in our work quality, ethics, and integrity and anything less is unacceptable!

#8-B (Tile Installation Process)


Now the tile has arrived and it’s time start installing it! The tile will be strategically placed across the roof by the tile manufacturer and distibutor using the boom crane as mentioned before. We will snap chalk lines across the roof to ensure that our tile rows are straight and look amazing once completed! The first and third course will be fastened to the roof deck in addition to being attached with polyfoam. The polyfoam and tile will be applied meeting all manufacturer installation specification. Typically a double roll tile will be installed using a medium patty of polyfoam. Any high profile tile (such as the Entegra- Bella “High S” tile) will be installed using a large patty of polyfoam. All ridge caps will be installed on a 6”-10” ridge channel metal. This ensures that the polyfoam bond will be as strong as possible! All rake ends caps will be installed using a stainless steel 3-1/4″ nail to ensure it never oxidizes or rusts out in the future. Once all tile is installed we will now begin mortaring in all of the rake and ridge caps. When your tile order was placed we will have ordered a batch of oxide that is approved for your tile color and will match the most consistent tile color in a blend as close as possible. We will mix our batches of mortar to match the tile order and close in any openings between the ridge caps, rake caps, or flashing connections.

#9 (Engineer Uplift Testing and Final Inspection)

Now it’s time to get our engineer uplist test if you are in Broward or Miami Dade County. This will test random tiles throughout the roof to ensure the roof meets the uplift requirements and this report will be inserted into the permit pack for our final inspection. The engineer report is included in your roof contract price. Our final inspections will be scheduled for the next business day.

#10 (Job Completion)

Now your tile roof is all finished! You will be watertight and will probably have the best looking house on the block! Now you can tell your friends and family about how great of a job we did and take advantage of our referral program! For any replacement that you refer to us, once it is completed we will give you a crisp $100 bill!

I hope this detailed explanation helped answer some questions you may have had about the tile roof installation process. If you have any question about the process or would like to get a quote on a new roof please give us a call and we would be happy to come out to your home or business and give you a free estimate! 

Below are links to 3 of the most popular tile manufacturers in South Florida. Feel free to visit the manufacturers websites to get more information on roof tile profiles and roof tile color choices/blends. Click on a manufacturers logo below to visit their website.

Entegra Roof Tile - Atlantic Coast ContractorsEagle Roof Tile - Atlantic Coast ContractorsBoral Roof Tile - Atlantic Coast Contractors[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]