Contractors sharing knowledge, supported by industry.
Re-roofing with Tile
Re-roof and custom homes provide the opportunity for better margins. Your customer has a direct interest in the outcome and is willing to pay for quality.
But, they need to know the options, benefits, true cost and value to them for making quality choices. Some contractors thrive in the re-roof business because they can communicate the value of quality. You are their resource, their expert.
Below is an excerpt from an article in the September 2016 issue of Roofing Magazine, that offers help. See the complete article here.
Help Homeowners Understand the Quality Proposition of a Tile Roof
Buying a home is the largest purchase most people ever make. Buyers work intensely to identify their needs and wants, assess the individual benefits of various choices and evaluate the long-term financial return to ensure they make a quality decision. Once living in that new home, kitchen remodels and reroofing can be the largest expenses faced by homeowners.
We all have firsthand, daily experience with our kitchen. We know what we like and what we don’t. Advertisements showing features and benefits of new appliances, more spacious cabinets and better lighting are appealing. Learning and planning for a new kitchen is fun and exciting. We know we will use it every day and we can show it off to our friends. We choose to do a kitchen remodel.
Reroofing is different. The process usually starts with a surprise-a roof leak a repairman fails to resolve. Then a second attempt, maybe a third, followed by an explanation that the system has reached the end of its useful and serviceable life. Reroofing becomes necessary to preserve the integrity of the home. It’s not fun and it’s not by choice. Compared to new stainless-steel appliances, soft-close drawers and a built-in wine cooler, it’s not exciting.
With little understanding of modern roofing, the first (and often only) question asked is, “How much is it going to cost?” If lowest initial cost was the only criteria for a roof, we would all have blue tarps overhead.
The true cost of roofing is defined by the life-cycle cost, which includes consideration of the initial cost, life expectancy, potential energy savings and potential insurance discounts.
A quality tile roof installation will set a home apart from neighboring homes now and will be a great investment to help the home garner the best sale price later. This is where a knowledgeable contractor can help a homeowner identify his or her needs and wants, assess the benefits of various choices and calculate the value of the given system. Read more at Roofing Magazine.
“Ask the Expert” – Title 24 and Fastening Tile
Question – I have a contractor who is trying to meet Title 24 requirements on a new project. They are asking about installing 1/2″ polyiso insulation over the roof sheathing before applying 2-layers of 30# felt and concrete S-tile.
Response – As you have identified, Title 24 does create some challenges for the roofing professional. In essence there are prescriptive and design options for meeting the requirements that include the building design, A/C, lights windows and roof systems. For tile they have generally been met through using higher solar reflective colors that have been formally rated by the Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC). The air space above the sheathing called the Above Sheathing Ventilation (ASV), will also increase the thermal barrier and has an R-value in the equation. With some designers, they are trying to maximize additional benefits by looking to add thermal radiant barriers either above or below the sheathing. In your case they are trying to add insulative board above the sheathing.
The challenge is that such materials are not code approved substrates for our tiles to attach to. The fasteners would need to be of sufficient length to penetrate 3/4″ into the actual sheathing. We call these pre-engineered systems and look to the manufacturer of the insulation board to provide proper fastening requirements.
As the tile industry we have done extensive uplift testing on traditional fasteners into plywood, but do not have testing to support the use with Polyiso style of insulation materials. We have raised our concerns to the California Energy Commission to look beyond just the radiative properties and review the actual installation requirements for wind, fire, and seismic code requirements as well.
I hope this helps answer your question. I know it is a little more detail than required, but it helps show the challenges we are facing as the Title 24 raises the thresholds.
Upcoming Training Events
TRI Installation Manual Certification classes are scheduled in
- Corona, CA – November 3rd – with added events on Nov. 2nd and 4th
- Phoenix, AZ – November 9th
Check for schedule updates at www.tileroofing.org.
If you have suggestions for a TRI Installation Manual Certification class in your area or would like to arrange customized training for your organization, contact John Jensen at JJensen@tileroofing.org or 206-241-5774.
Renew Your Certification* & Stay on the Map!
Companies with TRI Certified employees are listed on the TRI Website Find a Contractor page. TRI Certification is good for 2 years. If your certification is about to expire or has expired within the past 6 months, you can renew on-line* by following the instructions on the TRI website.
*Florida High Wind certifications are not currently eligible to renew on-line. We hope to have that option added soon.
“Improve quality, you automatically improve productivity.”
– W. Edwards Deming