Clay Tile Roofing in Pompano Beach, FL

Rounded terracotta is the look most people picture with clay: two-piece barrel, with pans below and caps above, or the one-piece S. Shape adds cost. In Fixr's sample job, 1,500 square feet of S-shaped clay comes to about $27,000. The difference between the two shapes, and the eave closures they need, are on barrel tile roofing.

Clay also comes flat, as slate-style and shake-style tile, and in interlocking shapes whose ribs and grooves lock each tile to the one beside it. Under the hurricane-zone code, any tile with less than half an inch of rise counts as flat, clay or concrete. Weight is the practical draw: one clay maker's slate- and shake-style lines come in under 600 pounds per 100 square feet, at or below the light end of the 600 to 950 range quoted for clay. On a roof with tight framing, that gap matters. See flat tile roofing for flat profiles in general.

Glazed clay is fired with a color coat that makers sell as colorfast. Finish affects upkeep more than people expect. One clay maker says smooth tile with a gloss glaze tends to stay clean, while matte glazes and textured faces give dirt, mildew, algae and lichen a place to grip. In a humid climate, expect a matte or textured clay roof to need washing more often; tile roof cleaning covers how. Don't plan to repaint glazed tile later: a cost guide says paint won't adhere to the glaze.

Older clay roofs need slow, careful work. Fired clay is hard but brittle underfoot, and a clay maker advises hiring someone who has experience walking on it, stepping only on the 2 to 3 inch headlap. Matching is the second problem. The tile alliance's 2026 list of discontinued tile includes a clay barrel line and a mission S line, and one clay maker says it can only identify an old profile and color by examining a piece. Florida code allows salvaged tile in a repair only if it matches in material and profile; roof tile replacement covers where that tile comes from. On mortar-set clay, check the mortar too. The tile alliance says Florida's humidity, UV and heat swings make roof mortar prone to cracking.