You may have seen many houses with concrete roof tiles. And while they are common and popular in roofing, concrete and clay tiles are not necessarily the best option to go with.
Here’s what you need to know about concrete and clay roof tiles, some of the common concrete tile problems you might encounter, and solutions that eliminate all potential problems.
If we look at the elegant houses generally use roofs of concrete tiles. Before you save the heart to install it on the roof of your house, it is better to know the cases that often occur in the consumption of house roofs from concrete tiles and clay tiles.
Why Do People Use Concrete roof and Clay Tiles?
Concrete roof tiles became more common in homes after World War II, when traditional roofing materials were scarce and concrete became available.
However, they have always been known for several reasons: the strength of concrete, the unique look that roof tiles provide, and even more so the fact that they don’t draw as much heat as other options like asphalt shingles.
While these are all great features, that doesn’t mean the concrete tile is not without its flaws.
In fact, here are 6 of the universal concrete tile problems that you should know before you decide to install concrete tile in your own home.
Concrete and Clay Roof Problems
1. Weight of concrete and clay concrete roof
One of the initial problems that comes with concrete roof tiles is their sheer weight.
When compared to other roofing materials such as asphalt, clay, composites, and metal, concrete roof tiles are significantly heavier.
Concrete tiles can weigh from 370 to 500 kilograms per 9 sq m, which is the total weight that lies on top of the house.
This means that every house with a concrete tile roof must have sufficient structural support to be able to handle it.
Otherwise, the weight of the concrete tile can be too much for the house to cope with and cause structural integrity problems.
Moreover, in some cases, a building may not be allowed to use concrete roof tiles because of their weight alone.
2. Appearance of concrete and clay roofing
If it is constantly exposed to heat and rain, the concrete and clay roof will become dirty.
Like almost all types of roofing materials, concrete roof tiles come in a variety of styles and designs. This gives homeowners the freedom to choose roof tiles for whatever type of home style they may have in mind.
However, as with most materials, these patterns, paints and designs can begin to fade over time, especially when exposed to harsh weather conditions.
Things like intense heat, heavy rain, and strong winds can also accelerate tile destruction, leaving you with a dingy and unattractive roof.
Of course, the roof can be repainted, but that brings with it another concrete tile problem: bonus maintenance and bonus payments.
3. Maintenance Level
Concrete tiles also require a certain level of maintenance.
As a result, some concrete tiles may need to be replaced. Which can be a challenge to try because of the color ratio caused by the fading of the tile and also the problem of the weight of the tile.
Because concrete is a porous material, it absorbs water quickly, which can lead to the creation of things like mildew, which are harmful to the roof as well as physically unattractive.
As a result, to prevent this water absorption, concrete roof tiles require special sealants or paints that will prevent moisture from seeping in.
4. Water absorption of concrete and clay roofs
Concrete and clay roofs will seep if repeatedly hit by rain
When it comes to home construction materials, you should ideally stay away from porous materials. These materials, such as concrete roof tiles, have a tendency to absorb moisture if not treated properly and are weather resistant.
Without this sealant or any other form of treatment, rainwater, moisture from fallen leaves, and even moisture from the air can all seep into the material.
This causes problems such as mold, mildew, and even the deterioration of concrete tiles.
Beyond this, however, water absorption can make an already heavy concrete tile much less heavy.
As a result, more stress is placed on the totality of the structure of the house and can lead to serious structural problems.
5. The basic structure of the concrete roof is damaged faster
While concrete tile is a fairly durable roofing option, underlayment is not. On average, your concrete tile will last up to 50 years, whereas the base structure will only last close to 20 years.
This means that you will have to go through the occasional replacement of this structure, which increases the maintenance and cost of the concrete tile roof.
The process of changing your roof underlayment can also be rather tedious and time-consuming and keep you from working on other projects in and near your home.
6. Paid for the roof of concrete and clay
payment for roof maintenance of concrete and clay houses
Tying up all the concrete tile problems mentioned above is a total cost.
Although the concrete tile itself is not very expensive, there are still a number of things that can increase the cost of concrete tile over time.
Beginning, beyond buying the product as well as hiring a roofing contractor. You may need to do additional work to your home in order to physically support the concrete tile roof.
After that, you can finally choose to recolor them after they fade or replace the damaged or cracked ones.