Concrete Tile Showrooms:

Concrete Roof Tiles provide the home builder with the best architectural look, the thickest textures, the longest lasting affordable roof system, and good effective value.

The choices in profiles of concrete tiles range from the popular West Coast look of cedar shakes, simulations of uniform or rustic real slate, as well as the widely used concrete tile profiles that mimic clay tiles with their Mediterranean influence.

Monier offers an 'ultimate shake replacement' with "Madera",  two flat tile profiles called "Saxony Shake" and "Saxony Slate", the Old Country Manor looks of "Split Slate" and "Country Slate", as well as the Mediterranean style or Southwest character of Spanish Tiles with "Espana", and the medium profile and European influence of "Villa" tiles.

Eagle has a fabulous Mediterranean themed concrete roof tile called "Capistrano" with colour blends that look just like real clay tiles, but cost a lot less. These tiles truly can help make your project look like the rich estates found in Las Vegas, Scottsdale Arizona, Newport Beach California, Tuscany Italy, or the Riveria. Another exquisite profile is the "Golden Eagle" which delivers the English Manor or Old Slate look with a great blend of natural colours in each tile.

Our current opinion is that the "Shake" profile, by all manufacturers including Monier, is overdone and over used in our region. It is no longer a unique architecture, and is used so often (especially in the "getting boring Charcoal Black colour) that the homes that include these tiles actually look less appealing and lack curb appeal. If every house on a street or in a subdivision uses "Shake" profile tiles in Charcoal, the area begins to look like row-houses and your home has no extra "curb appeal".

We highly suggest looking at "Madera" shake look tiles, to keep in the West-coast shake-look design style. Its an awe inspiring depiction of real hand-split shakes. Also of great interest is Monier's "Split-Slate" and "Country Slate", or Eagle Roofing's "Golden Eagle" in the lower profile flat tile styles for a more unique look and presentation of your homes, especially if you are going for a Tudor, French Manor, or English Estate style.

To really stand out with elegance, especially in Southwest BC and the Pacific Northwest, consider using the elegant and high definition look of Eagle Capistrano, Monier Espana, or Monier Villa tiles. The Mediterranean, Southwest, or Tuscany architectural flair in your finished project will be eye-catching. noticeable, and enriching.

MonierLifetile is owned by Lafarge and Boral, two of the largest concrete product manufacturers in the world. MonierLifetile is the largest roof tile manufacturer in North America with many manufacturing facilities located from the East coast to the West coast.

Eagle Roofing two extremely efficient and great quality concrete roof tile plants, both located in California. Eagle's specialty is their wonderful colour blends that mimic real clay tile roofs in their Capistrano profile, and unique profiles such as Golden Eagle which simulates rustic slates, wood shakes, and other natural materials.  Eagle Roofing is owned by Burlingame Industries, another of the world's largest brick and concrete companies.

Both Monierlifetile and Eagle Roofing  provide you the assurance and strength of large companies to back up the warranties of their concrete roofing tiles.

If you're looking at a concrete tiled roof in Vancouver, on Westwood Plateau,  in Parksville, Kelowna, Seattle, Las Vegas, Scottsdale, Boca Ratan, or Laguna Beach, odds are you're probably looking at either an Eagle Roofing tile or a  MonierLifetile product.

Colour through concrete tile roofs, which is now how all leading tile manufacturers produce concrete roof tile,  have proven their longevity in similar European climate, and have shown to last in excess of 60 years.

Knowing this, MonierLifetile now offers a "lifetime" warranty on all their concrete roof tiles. They used to offer a 50 year warranty, but have increased their coverage to warrant their tiles performance based on the life of the structure (it also marked the merger event between Monier and Lifetile with an interesting word play for their marketing department). This is good back up protection showing the confidence that MonierLifetile and Lafarge have in their products.

Eagle Roofing offers a 50 year Limited Warranty on their concrete tiles, much like most other tile manufacturers.

Monierlifetile is not the cheapest concrete roof tile in the Southwest BC region. It will cost around $200 to $500 more for a typical size home to install this tile versus the "Columbia Concrete" brand tile, which we do not believe to be of the same quality as the Eagle or MonierLifetile brand tiles.

 We believe this is a worthwhile investment in quality for your home that will deliver its benefits for years to come. Please be aware that the roofers in our region normally recommend Columbia Concrete brand tiles as a general rule because its the "roofer" who saves the $200 per roof and puts it in his pocket. But it is you, the homeowner, or the builder, who can select a higher quality tile such as Monierlifetile or Eagle tile, and invest in the small difference to get the better tiles.

In the case of "Eagle" Roofing tiles it will require a couple thousand more for this concrete roof tile because their plant is down in California and the freight is greater.  But if you want unique profiles and unique colour blends Eagle Roofing www.eagleroofing.com  offers unmatched variety and elegant style that in our opinion is worth every penny.  This is especially true if the alternative is Clay Tiles, synthetic slates, or real slates whereby the Eagle Roofing tiles will probably be tens of thousands of dollars less installed than the alternatives, yet still offer wonderful architectural value.

For similar or less cost than a typical cedar shake installation in Southwest B.C., you can have the pleasure of adding most concrete tiles to your new home. A minor structural upgrade, normally in the trusses, is all it takes to have your home ready for tiles. Usually costing about $2000 to $4000 for the average new home change to its framing and plywood roof sheathing, this upgrade still has the budget at (normally) less than installed cedar shakes in our region.

And of course, the homeowner will not have to worry about replacing a cedar shake roof in 14 to 19 years as is the norm for our region, if concrete tile is used (and installed correctly).

We firmly believe that if your are going to use concrete roof tiles you must ensure that the installation quality and underlayment / flashings quality must be improved in our region if you are going to achieve your expectations in performance from a concrete roof tile. In Southwest BC concrete roof tile installation procedures are too often sub-par and will yield problems inside of ten years. So IF you decide to use concrete roof tiles on your next project in this region, we highly suggest you contact us for information on how to construct a better tile roof SYSTEM, and we can refer you to quality oriented installers as well.

Quality costs money, especially the installation labour, but the problems from poor installations and materials will cost far more (perhaps within 10 years). It normally costs one to two thousand dollars more for a better installed concrete tile system, but that is a great investment for a roof that could last more than 50 years. Repairs can cost in the thousands and sometimes the whole roof needs to be replaced when poor practices are used.

Eagle Roofing currently has the best and largest colour selection palette in the business. Unique blends, theme blends such as "Camino Real" and "American Heirloom" are simply extraordinary. Eagle Roofing is a newer product offering for us up in this region, but so far we have been very impressed with their products and the final installations beauty and architectural splendor.

MonierLifetile has a good selection of colours, profiles, and classic styles to complement and add value to any design. One of MonierLifetile's best advantages... it has the history of being the least fading tile with the best colour retention  characteristics in the business for Pacific Northwest tile roofs.

But aesthetics aside, Eagle Roofing and MonierLifetile's durable tiles resist fire, rain, and the extremes of weather better than many other roofing materials available (other than real hand-quarried New England or European slate).

In terms of weather-ability, concrete roof tiles will show signs of aging such as surface wear, algae growth in Southwest B.C. region and the Pacific Northwest, as well as colour fading. The warranty from the tile manufacturer covers "strength and product quality" at the time of manufacturing, and does not cover for breakage, surface wear, fading, algae growth, or water resistance of the "roof system". It is up to the "roofer" to specify and install good roofing materials, underlayments, vents, and flashings to prevent water ingress in a tile roof system. Also, most tiles could use some periodic cleaning and maintenance. One routine is to add another clear sealer coat every 5 to ten years to reduce the surface wear, keep the original colour longer, and reduce the algae staining and discoloration in our climate. Contact Insulmastic-Websen and ask about "Clear Glaze" or Clear-Coat acrylic or Xylene based sealers.

In terms of walk-ability, roof tiles may crack when walked upon. It is best to stay off an installed concrete roof, but when needing access to clean or paint please contact a roofing professional for advice. It is very important to stay away from fragile details such as valleys and hips and ridge caps.