Trendsetting Style Ultra Curb Appeal!
Far Longer Lasting Than Common Asphalt Shingles.
Energy Efficient Cool Roof Properties.
Extremely Durable Can Last 50-100 Years Or More.
The right roofing material adds personality to your home and increases curb appeal. Tile roofs have been used for 100s of years and continues to be one of the longest lasting, high quality roofing materials on the market.
Clay roof tiles have been utilized for centuries as an integral, substantial piece of the building envelope and have been found on ancient structures dating back as far as 5,000 years ago. The historical Greek structures that you have seen are a testament to the durable and natural materials that comprise clay roofing tile.
Overview of Benefits
Clay tile is a premier roofing tile just like its counterpart, concrete roofing tile. Clay roofing tiles offer a variety of benefits as an aesthetic and structural component of the building. Clay roofing tiles have numerous high-performance benefits to commercial and residential properties. These performances include lasting durability, temperature control, energy efficiency, curb appeal, and long maintenance. Created using natural material from the earth, clay tiles are manufactured in a number of profiles and colors, offering seamless compatibility with countless architectural styles and trends, while satisfying the personal preferences of the owner.
Sustainability, Manufacturing and Lifecycle
Clay tile provides a suite of positive qualities that have likely influenced its widespread adoption among builders, architects and remodelers. One of the most impressive aspects of the clay roofing tiles is known as its cradle to cradle performance, starting with the minimization of environmental impact from sourcing local materials and responsible manufacturing processes. Clay roof tile is a durable product for the roof and is easily recycled at the end of its service life.
Typical Applications
Clay tile is widely used in both residential and commercial property applications. Builders, architects, remodelers and owners are driving the widespread adoption with clay tile’s exceptional curb appeal. Uses for clay tile roofs include single-family detached homes, townhomes, condominiums, apartment communities, mixed -use and office properties as well as other special use commercial types.
The wide variation in aesthetic profiles and colors available for clay tile provides a variety of roofing solutions to both residential and commercial owners. These extensive options allow for widespread use across multiple building types.
Performance Benefits
The noteworthy performance benefits of clay tiles are vast and varied, offering numerous benefits to property owners. A long-lasting solution, clay tile even outperforms alternative roofing materials. Low maintenance clay tiles are easily repaired in rare cases of damage. Only the damaged portion requires repair instead of needing to replace the entire roof, thanks to clay tiel’s unique installation. Coupled with an impressive lifespan and superb durability, this type of roof proves ideal for owners interested in a product that requires little maintenance or expense over the course of its life.
Cool Roof Energy Efficiency & Sustainability
Property installed, clay tile is designed to protect the structure. Even better, clay roofing is also known as cool roof tile because they incorporate temperature-adjusting qualities with superb energy efficiency. These qualities equate to a comfortable interior environment as well as energy savings in both residential and commercial applications. In addition, a cool roof helps control internal temperature with solar reflectance, thermal emittance, thermal mass and airflow, all of which support the building envelope’s energy efficiency. Color reflectance reduces the heat that absorbs into the structure. Clay tile, especially when installed in terracotta or light earth tone colors, boasts a high solar reflectance index a measurement for reduced heat transfer which reduces the common need for energy consumption associated with air conditioning usage.
High thermal emittance is another benefit of clay tile. A high measure of thermal emittance indicates that the tile is successfully radiating absorbed solar heat away from the structure prior to it transferring inside the building envelope. The importance of this is demonstrated on a reduced load to the structure’s HVAC, providing further energy savings. Clay tile also boasts thermal mass to reduce energy demands. Measuring the ability of a building material to store heat, a material with high thermal mass absorbs heat in time of peak temperature, rather than transferring it inside the structure to the living spaces. His keeps the interior of the structure comfortable for inhabitants and users, thus reducing peak cooling and energy demands. At night, the absorbed heat is released, helping the building maintain warmth, further decreasing the energy needed for heat.
Because clay roof tiles measure high in thermal mass, they can react to temperature fluctuations and delay heat flow through the envelope by as much as 10-12 hours. The end result of this is a structure that remains cooler by day in summer moths and warmer by night in the winter. Airflow is the fourth integral component of a cool roof. Clay tile as a cool roof solution is engineered to encourage greater airflow between the tile and the roof deck. This capability enhances the insulating qualities of the roof. Increased airflow encourages the heat absorbed by the roof to be eliminated before it can be absorbed into the building envelope. Hot air channeled above the deck and released through the ridge of the roof.
Raw Materials
Clay tile is made of naturally occuring geologic materials prevalent throughout the United States, where the tile manufactured. The clay materials used to manufacture the tile is locally sourced and extracted close to the manufacturing plants, dramatically reducing the environmental impact of transportation and fuel needed to move materials from their original source to the facility. Additionally, up to 59% of the material used to manufacture clay tile is recycled, further minimizing environmental impact. The recycled material content originates from the waste by-products of mining processes.
How do you clean a clay tile roof?
Clay tile roofing offers the longest life-expectancy of any traditional roofing material, according to the National Parks Service, and can easily last for a century or more if properly installed. Made from natural clay, these roof tiles are also chosen for their fire resistance and "old world" style. While clay roof tiles require very little maintenance, homeowners may wish to clean these tiles periodically to remove algae, mold and other contaminants that affect the appearance and performance of a roof.
Cleaning Mold, Algae & Dirt
If mold and algae are left to build up, they may interfere with the natural drainage of the roof system, which can lead to leaks or broken tiles. Before you clean your tile roof, cover the plants below the roof line with plastic to protect them from runoff. Rent or buy a pressure washer, and clean your tile roof using a solution of 1 percent household bleach to water. Operate your pressure washer at 1,200 PSI, and keep the nozzle at least one foot away from the tiles as you work. Plan to wash clay tiles roofs about every two years to keep mold and algae at bay.
Your local clay tile roofing contractor may offer a cleaning service. This is a good option to pursue since getting up on your roof can be very dangerous and they will be insured against any damages or issues that could arise.
How are the tiles attached?
The method used to attach clay roofing tiles varies according to the shape, size and style of the particular tile. For the most part, traditional and modern methods of installing clay roofing tiles are very similar, except that modern practice always includes the use of wood sheathing and roofing felt. But most of the earliest clay roofing tiles were laid without benefit of wood sheathing and hung directly on roofing laths and battens that were nailed to the roof rafters; this practice continued up into the mid-19th century in some regions. While this method of attachment allowed for plenty of ventilation, and made it easy to find leaks and make repairs, it also meant that the overall water-tightness of the roof depended entirely on the tiles themselves.
Gradually , the practice evolved of nailing roofing tiles directly onto continuous wood sheathing, or hanging them on horizontal lath that was attached to roof rafters or sheathing. Some kinds of tile, especially the later Mission or Barrel tiles were laid over vertical strips or battens nailed to the sheathing, or the tiles were fastened to wood purlins with copper wire.
Clay Tile Substitute
In addition to sheet metal "tile" roofs introduced in the middle of the 19th century, concrete roofing tile was developed as another substitute for clay tile in the latter part of the 19th century. It became quite popular by the beginning of the 20th century. Concrete tile is composed of a dense mixture of portland cement blended with aggregates, including sand, and pigment, and extruded from high-pressure machines.
Although it tends to lack the color permanence and the subtle color variations inherent in natural clay tile, concrete tile continues to be a popular roofing material today because it reproduces the general look of clay tile, if not always the exact profile or proportions of historic clay tile, at a somewhat lower cost and weight. Another modern, slightly cheaper and lighter substitute for clay tile more recently developed consists of a mixture of mineral fiber and cement with pigments added to supply color. While these aggregate tiles also replicate the shape and appearance of clay roofing tiles, they have many of the same dissimilarities to clay tiles that are found in concrete tiles. Thus, like concrete tiles, they are seldom appropriate substitutes for clay tiles.
Infinite Roofing & Construction
25 Walker Way, Ste 2A
Colonie, NY 12205
(office) 518-444-ROOF
(mobile) 518-221-1003
(email) info@infiniteroofingny.com
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