What's the difference between barrel tile and Spanish S-tile?

True barrel, also called mission tile, is two pieces: half-round pans laid in rows with caps turned over the joints. Spanish S-tile combines the pan and the cap in one S-shaped piece that interlocks with its neighbors. From the street both read as a wavy roof; up close, barrel shows a separate cap over every seam.

Is Spanish tile cheaper than barrel tile?

A little, in cost guide tables. HomeGuide puts Spanish tile at about $7 to $21 a square foot installed and barrel or mission tile at $7.50 to $23.50. Material matters more than shape, since clay costs more than concrete in every guide, and the curved pieces add labor either way.

Barrel Tile Roofing in Pompano Beach, FL

Typical cost: about $7.50 to $23.50 a square foot installed for barrel (mission) tile; the tile alone is $2.50 to $6.50.
Spanish S-tile: about $7 to $21 a square foot installed, or $10,500 to $52,500 for a typical roof.
Install time: one guide puts most tile roofs at 3 to 5 days, and another notes barrel and Spanish shapes slow the work.
Eave closure: metal bird stop is 26-gauge galvanized steel or aluminum.

Tell Pompano Tile Roofing about your barrel tile roof and an independent roofer follows up on it, whether it's two-piece clay barrel, one-piece Spanish S-tile or a concrete barrel profile. Loose caps, cracked pans, eave closures and full re-roofs all go to the same one roofer.

Barrel Tile Roof Types: Two-Piece, S-Tile and Concrete

Close view of a two-piece terracotta barrel tile roof showing concave pans in rows with rounded caps laid over each joint

Two-piece barrel (cap and pan)

The classic mission roof uses two tiles for every course: a half-round pan facing up and a cap turned over the seam between two pans. HomeGuide describes barrel tile as semi-cylindrical, slightly tapered at one end and overlapped into a wave, and call true barrel "mission" tile. The curve makes it slow to lay; This Old House says the semicircle design raises labor costs. The caps depend on mortar, adhesive or fasteners to stay put, and after Hurricane Wilma, Florida's own review said leading-edge and ridge barrel tiles continued to be a problem; tile roof storm damage repair covers what that means after a storm.

One-piece Spanish S-tile

S-tile folds the pan and the cap into one piece, so each tile hooks into the one beside it. HomeGuide calls Spanish tile "interlocking barrel or S-shaped." You get much the same wavy look with half the pieces. This Old House also warns that Spanish tile is delicate to handle. Walking it is a skill. The Tile Roofing Industry Alliance says to spread your weight with heel and toe on the high points of adjacent S-tiles.

Concrete barrel profiles

Concrete makers mold S and barrel shapes too. Miami-Dade's product approval for one "Spanish 'S' Concrete Roof Tile" describes it as high profile and interlocking. The trade-off against clay is mostly price. For a 2,000-square-foot roof, Thumbtack puts concrete at about $20,000 to $31,000 against $20,000 to $60,000 for clay. Matching is the catch with older roofs: a 2026 industry bulletin on discontinued tile names several S profiles. Concrete tile roofing covers concrete's weights and lifespan.

Eave of a barrel tile roof with a terracotta-colored metal bird stop closing the curved gaps under the first row of tiles

Eave closures and bird stop

Every curved tile leaves an open arch at the eave. The piece that fills it goes by bird stop, eave closure or eave riser. It keeps birds and other animals out from under the tile and lifts the first row to the right height. The FRSA-TRI installation manual allows several kinds:

Metal closure: fastened at least every 18 inches, or every 6 inches when the closure doubles as the drip edge. Galvanized or aluminum, plain or vented with weep holes.
Rubber closure: at least three fasteners per 36-inch strip.
Clay or concrete closure pieces, or a raised fascia or wood starter strip.
Mortar: packed under the eave tiles, with a weep hole of at least 3/8 inch for every tile so water can drain.

On a raised fascia, the tile alliance recommends anti-ponding material so water doesn't sit behind the edge.

Gloved hands setting a new clay barrel tile onto foam adhesive paddies over underlayment

Why Pompano Beach homeowners call Pompano Tile Roofing

Free to call, free to request a quote
One independent local tile roofer per request, not a bidding list
Ask for tear-off, underlayment, deck repair and permit on one written price
Your details go only to the roofer handling your request

Barrel Tile Roof Cost by Profile and Material

Fixr says tile style barely moves the installed price and the material drives most of it. Typical installed ranges from national cost guides:

Barrel or mission tile
$7.50 to $23.50 a square foot, the highest range in HomeGuide's profile table.
Spanish S-tile
$7 to $21 a square foot, or $10,500 to $52,500 for a whole roof.
Clay against concrete
clay runs higher in every guide; see clay tile roofing for clay's own figures.

Questions for a Barrel Tile Repair

Which closure is at the eave?
If it's mortar, ask whether the weep holes are open.
How are the caps set?
Mortar, foam adhesive or fasteners; tile roof ridge cap repair covers the ridge.
Can the profile be matched?
Send a photo of a loose tile, front and back.
What's under the broken tile?
Ask for a photo of the underlayment before the piece goes back.

See clay tile roofing if your barrel roof is the clay kind.