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Q: Is clay or concrete tile better?

Clay holds its colour far better because the colour is the fired clay itself rather than a surface coating, and it handles ultraviolet without fading. Concrete costs less up front and is widely used in the valley. Both outlast the underlayment beneath them, which is the part you will actually replace.

Every profile we install, drawn in section, with the weight, the wind rating and the honest service life. Not a brochure.

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How to read this page

The profile decides the look. The spec decides whether your house can take it.

Most material pages show you a photograph and a color swatch. That tells you what a roof looks like from the street and nothing about whether it suits your building. Below is every profile we install, drawn in cross-section, with the numbers that actually govern the decision: what it weighs, what wind it is rated for, and how long the material really lasts.

Weight is the number that eliminates options

Asphalt runs 200 to 480 lb per square. Clay and concrete tile run 600 to 1,000. A house framed for shingles cannot simply take tile, and finding that out after signing is an expensive way to learn it. We check your framing during the inspection.

Tile profiles

Shingle profiles

Three tile profiles, in section

Three shingle profiles, in section

Clay and concrete tile in the profiles the valley actually uses. The drawings are cross-sections, so you can see how each one sheds water and how deep the shadow line sits.

The asphalt profiles we install, drawn in section so you can see how the layers stack and where the shadow line comes from.

Two piece

True Barrel

The oldest roof profile in use, and still the most recognizable. A pan tile laid concave up with a cover tile laid over the joint, so the roof reads as deep parallel ridges. It is the profile people picture when they picture a Spanish roof.

Weight	900 to 1,000 lb per square
Pieces	Two per course, pan and cover
Best on	Mediterranean, Spanish Colonial, Santa Barbara
Service life	50 years or more for the tile itself

One piece

Spanish S

Pan and cover formed as a single tile, which gives most of the barrel look at meaningfully less weight and less labor. This is the valley default, and for most Phoenix homes it is the right answer.

Weight	750 to 900 lb per square
Pieces	One per course
Best on	Most valley homes, ranch through revival
Service life	50 years or more for the tile itself

One piece

Flat interlocking

A flat profile with an interlocking side channel. Reads as slate or shake rather than as Spanish tile, and it is the lightest clay option, which matters on a structure that was not framed for tile.

Weight	600 to 750 lb per square
Pieces	One per course, side interlocking
Best on	Contemporary, Territorial, modern desert
Service life	50 years or more for the tile itself

Single layer

Three tab

The old flat shingle, one layer with cut tabs. Cheapest and lightest, shortest life, and increasingly rare on new work. Worth considering only on a property you are about to sell, and even then the saving is small.

Weight	200 to 240 lb per square
Wind rating	Typically 60 mph
Best on	Rentals and short hold properties
Service life	15 to 18 years

Laminated

Architectural

Two layers laminated together, which gives depth, a better wind rating and roughly half again the life of a three tab. This is the standard for good reason and what most homes should have.

Weight	250 to 300 lb per square
Wind rating	Typically 110 to 130 mph
Best on	Almost every home in our service areas
Service life	20 to 25 years

Heavy laminated

Designer profile

Heavier shingles cut to imitate slate or shake. Chosen for how the roof looks rather than for performance, though the extra weight does buy some wind resistance. Worth it on the right house.

Weight	350 to 480 lb per square
Wind rating	Typically 130 mph
Best on	Steep visible roofs, period homes
Service life	25 to 30 years

Asphalt is still an option here

Plenty of valley homes are framed for shingles and should stay that way. If tile is not right for your structure or your budget, architectural asphalt is a perfectly good roof in Phoenix. It ages faster under ultraviolet than it does in a cold climate, so expect fifteen to twenty years rather than twenty five.

Color

Fired color and surface color are not the same thing

On clay tile the color is the fired clay itself, running through the whole body of the tile. It cannot fade off because there is nothing on the surface to lose. That is why a hundred year old clay roof in Spain still reads as terracotta.

Concrete tile is colored with a surface treatment, which is why concrete tends to soften and chalk over decades while clay does not. Asphalt gets its color from the mineral granules bonded to the surface, and when those granules thin out the color goes with them, which is the visible sign that a shingle roof is aging.

Whatever the material, get real samples

A screen cannot show you how a color behaves in direct sun against your particular brick or stucco. We will post you actual pieces, free, and nobody turns up at your door because you asked.

Order free samples

Underneath

The material you choose is not the material that fails

This is the single most useful thing on this page. Whatever goes on top, the layer that actually keeps water out of your house is the underlayment beneath it, and that layer has a much shorter life than tile does.

Layer	Realistic service life
Clay tile	50 years or more. Often outlives two underlayments.
Concrete tile	40 to 50 years, with some color softening.
Underlayment beneath tile	15 to 25 years in valley heat. This is what a re-underlayment replaces.
Underlayment beneath tile	20 to 30 years in this climate. This is what a re-underlayment replaces.
Architectural asphalt	15 to 20 years here, where ultraviolet does the aging.
Architectural asphalt	20 to 25 years, correctly ventilated.
Flashing and pipe boots	10 to 20 years. Reusing old metal under a new roof is the most common corner cut in the trade.

So when someone quotes you a fifty year tile roof, ask what underlayment is going under it and what its warranty is. That is the number that governs when you next see a roofer.

Common questions

Can my house take a tile roof?

Not always, and it is the first thing to check. Tile weighs three to four times what asphalt does. A house framed for shingles may need structural work before tile goes on, and any roofer who quotes tile without asking about your framing has skipped a step.

Is clay or concrete tile better?

Clay holds its color far better because the color is the fired clay itself rather than a surface coating, and it handles ultraviolet without fading. Concrete costs less up front and is widely used in the valley. Both outlast the underlayment beneath them, which is the part you will actually replace.

If tile lasts fifty years, why would I ever re-roof?

Because the tile is only the rain screen. The waterproofing is the underlayment beneath it, and that has a fifteen to twenty five year life in valley heat. A re-underlayment lifts and stacks your existing tile, replaces what is underneath, and relays the same tile.

What does a square mean?

One hundred square feet of roof surface. Roofing material is sold and priced by the square, and weights are quoted per square, which is why we list them that way here.

Do you install the color I want?

Almost certainly. Availability varies by profile and by region, so tell us the one you have in mind and we will confirm it is stocked for your area before you commit. We will also mail you real samples free.

Free samplesReal pieces mailed to you, no charge and no appointment.What it costsPublished ranges for every material on this page.Book an inspectionWe will tell you what your framing can carry.

Not sure which material your house can take?

That is exactly what the free inspection answers. We look at the framing, not just the roof.

Book a free inspection 414.436.5036 602.715.5782

Which roof are we looking at?