After roofing Miami homes for over twenty years one develops preferences based on experience regarding which roof tile are better, stronger, more energy efficient or prettier. We may even be so bold as to suggest a roof tile to a client if they are at all in doubt. Some customers know what they want – and some don’t . . .
This concrete tile roof in Miami Springs tried my patience and, looking back, there really was no choice but to be patient. In that regard I did well, hopefully. If a client, we’ll call her Babs, needs a month or so to choose a tile and color then, by golly, I should be able to chill out and do something else until she’s ready. Actually, at first, I really did try to be helpful .
To experienced Miami roofers, over the years, certain types of tile roofs stand out as being superior for one reason or another. Babs had 9” flat concrete tiles – Spanish Red. Flat tiles allow the most rainwater to pass through to the underlayment and are the weakest as far as walking on them and resisting impact. I prefer full barrel tiles as they allow the least amount of water to pass through. They also add “texture”, if you will, to the look of the home. Double-S tiles are slightly stronger but I don’t like their appearance – that’s just me. If you like Spanish Red that’s fine but it is dark and, therefore, not at all energy efficient. I am ALL about efficiency and if I had my way all roofs would be white, get your color somewhere else. I’m only half-kidding. Well, after some discussion along these lines Babs decided she liked the flat tile. But she was unsure of the color – maybe greeen – and could she see some samples?
Samples? OK !!!
Well, I will bring samples of one or two or even three tiles when a client has whittled her choices down. We weren’t there yet. I emailed some links and dropped off catalogs from all the manufacturers and started processing the permit. Of course, I can’t submit the permit application until we have selected a tile. A week later I receive an email announcing the choice. These 13” flat tile in a blend looked like someone gave a 1st Grader some green, brown and orange finger paint and said, “Make it pretty”. No matter, I had a selection and could move on and pull the permit.
Patience IS a Virtue
A few days later I submitted the permit package and was ordering the first materials delivery. Everything was smooth except – those tiles. That “Bad Camouflage Blend” kept bugging me. The more I thought about it, the more I thought she would hate them once on the roof. I got some samples, the three tiles which make up the blend, and lined them up against the house and left them there to await a response. It was not long in coming. She did not like them and didn’t think they were the same as in the catalog. I explained that tiles in the catalog are photographed in a well-lit studio. Blends can can also differ from one production run to another. But, I assured her, these were the right tiles. Babs thanked me for the samples but declared she was starting over. She still wanted flat tile but we were starting over on color. That was progress. Color choice does not affect the permit and we soon had one.
Time to Replace This Tile Roof !!
So we replaced the attached flat roof in the back over the pool – inspection. Next we tore off the existing concrete tile roof, replaced the rotten wood, re-nailed the deck to code and dried in with 30lb felt. Inspection. Then we installed Tarco PS200ht self-adhered tile underlayment. This all took a week or so and typically I would be having the tile loaded on the roof but we still had no color choice. So we waited . . . and waited. Babs, God bless her, was in a daze so I stuck my neck out and suggested, “You can’t go wrong with white”, with a smile. She grinned back, “Booooring!”
A week or so later I think Babs surrendered – white it was – and white it is. All in all it worked out well and her concrete tile roof looks great. Sometimes it’s better to just let things marinate a little.
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