Tile roof cost Florida
By Bud Kettering, Roof consultant and inspector. Reviewed by Hal Winstead, Editor, licensed roofing contractor. I was up in Naples on a Tuesday afternoon, sweating through my shirt in an attic that had to be pushing 130 degrees. The homeowner was a retired engineer who had already told me three times that his tile roof "looked fine from the street." I had my torch out, checking the underlayment over the sheathing, and I found a spot where the old 30-pound felt had turned to powder. I poked my finger right through it and saw daylight. He wasn't happy about the estimate that followed, but he was glad he found out before the next big storm blew through.
That is the thing about tile in Florida. It looks like it will last a hundred years, and the barrel itself might. But the stuff under the tile is what actually keeps the water out, and that stuff doesn't last forever. When you start asking around about the cost of tile roof in florida, you are really asking about a whole system, not just the pretty clay on top. If you are serious about a tile roof, do yourself a favor and check out the tile roofing companies in Florida first, just to see who is actually out there and working in your county. Then call me if you want the unvarnished truth about what is under the tiles you are looking at.
Concrete tile gets quoted by the square. I say "call it that" because a square is a unit of measure, one hundred square feet, but your actual cost is going to vary depending on the profile of the tile, the pitch of your roof, how many stories up I of to haul the bundles, and what is under there when we start ripping. The single biggest variable, and I have been wrong about this before, is the deck itself. If the plywood or OSB has rotted out from a slow leak, or if the rafters are spaced weird and we have to add framing, the price jumps. That is a conversation you have before you sign, not after the dumpster arrives.
Why you need a permit and a licensed contractor before a single tile lands
Florida roofing contractors are licensed by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which we all just call the DBPR. You will see two kinds of licenses out there. A certified contractor has a number starting with CCC and can work anywhere in the state. A registered contractor has a number starting with RC and is supposed to be working only in the local jurisdiction that licensed them. I have pulled into too many driveways where the homeowner just assumed the guy with the truck was legit. Do not assume. Look the license up on the DBPR roll and check that it is active.
And listen to me on this next part, because it is a hill I will die on. A roof replacement in Florida requires a permit pulled from your local building department. That means an inspection. It is a pain in the neck, it costs a little money, and it can slow down a job by a day or two. If a contractor offers to skip the permit so he can save you a few bucks, walk away. I mean it. An unpermitted roof can completely complicate an insurance claim later, and it will absolutely pop up on a seller's disclosure when you try to sell the house. I have seen deals fall apart over a roof put on without a permit. It is not worth it.
What I would actually do: Before I hired anyone, I would ask for their license number and verify it on the DBPR roll. Then I would call the local building department and ask if a permit has ever been pulled on the house for a roof replacement. If the answer is no, and you have tile on the roof, you have no idea what is underneath it.
The wind mitigation inspection is where tile pays you back
Here is where a tile roof can actually put money back in your pocket, if it is installed the right way. Florida insurers are required to offer premium discounts for features that make your house more resistant to wind damage. The inspection that documents those features is called a wind mitigation inspection, and it uses the standard form OIR-B1-1802. The inspector looks at the roof covering, how the roof deck is attached to the trusses, how the trusses are tied to the walls, the geometry of the roof, wether there is a secondary water barrier under the tile, and how the openings are protected.
The cost of that inspection is small, usually a couple hundred bucks depending on who you use. The annual discount it can open up is often alot bigger than that. I have done these inspections where the homeowner was eligible for a discount they had been missing for years because nobody ever told them to ask. Now, I am not a licensed adjuster and I am not an insurance agent. You need to read your own policy's declarations page to see what your specific insurer will give you. But I can tell you that the time to get this inspection is before you sign a contract, or right after the new roof goes on, not in the middle of a claim.
Ripping off old tile — what you are paying for before the first new tile goes on
If you are replacing an existing tile roof, a huge chunk of your price is labor that has nothing to do with laying new tile. We have to get the old barrel tile off the roof without breaking every piece, which is harder than it sounds. Then we have to haul it down, load it into a dumpster, and pay to dispose of it. Tile is heavy. A dumpster full of old concrete tile is a serious load. I have seen guys try to get away with dumping it on-site, which is a nightmare for your yard and probably a violation of something. Then the deck gets inspected, and we fix any rotted sheathing. That is the part that hurts the budget.
A lot of people ask me if we can just "recover," which means putting new tile over old. With tile, that is usually a bad idea. The structure wasn't designed for two layers of that kind of weight, and you are hiding whatever is going on underneath. If the underlayment is shot, and it probably is, you are just building a very expensive problem for the next guy. I always tell people it is better to bite the bullet and get it down to the deck. That way we know what we are working with. And you want to be sure the nail pattern for the new underlayment meets the current code, because that is part of what the wind inspection is looking for.
What I would actually do: I would write the contract so that the "rip-off" and deck repair is a line item seperate from the tile installation. I want to see what the price per square is for the tear-off, and I want an allowance or a stated hourly rate for any deck replacement. You don't want a blank check, but you also don't want a contractor who eats the cost and then cuts corners on the sheathing to make up for it.
Insurance on a tile roof — what I can and can't promise you
I get asked all the time if a tile roof will lower your insurance. The answer is complicated, and it depends entirely on your policy and your insurer. What I can tell you is the mechanism. Florida insurers have to offer discounts for wind mitigation features, but they don't all offer the same discount amounts, and some are pulling back from writing new policies altogether. You have probably heard of Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, which is the state-backed insurer of last resort. When a private company wants to take policies out of Citizens, that is called depopulation, and it happens all the time. Your roof's age and condition are a huge factor in whether you can even get a policy, let alone a discount.
There was a new law, SB 4-D (2022), that changed a lot about how roofs are handled in this state. I am not a lawyer, so I am not going to interpret it for you. And I cannot tell you what your specific policy covers, because I haven't read it, and coverage varies by policy. What I will tell you is to read your declarations page, and if you have questions, ask your agent to explain it in writing. Also, there is a state program called My Safe Florida Home that can help with funding for improvements that make your home stronger, if you qualify. Worth checking into, but the money goes fast, so don't sleep on it.
Questions I get asked
Is a tile roof really worth the extra cost versus shingles?
A good tile roof, installed right, can last fifty years or more, and the barrel itself is basically indestructible. But the underlayment underneath is what fails, and that has a shorter lifespan. The cost difference is significant, but so is the resale value and the wind resistance. It depends on how long you plan to live in the house, and how much you hate the idea of replacing shingles every twenty years.
How do I know if my clay tiles are cracked under the paint?
Look for hairline cracks that run along the length of the barrel, and check the edges where the tiles overlap. A lot of hairline cracks are cosmetic. The problem is when water gets through the tile and sits on the underlayment. If you have an older tile roof, you should be checking the underlayment from the attic side, not just staring at the color from the street. That is where my torch comes in.
Can I just replace a few broken tiles instead of a whole roof?
You can, if the underlayment is still in good shape and the damage is localized. The hard part is matching the tile if your color has been discontinued. Concrete tile fades over time, and a new tile can stick out like a sore thumb. You also have to worry about whether the contractor is walking on the roof correctly, because walking on tile the wrong way can crack more of it. I have seen a simple repair turn into a full replacement because of careless footsteps.
What is the most important thing to ask a tile roofing contractor?
Ask them how they handle the felt paper, or the synthetic underlayment, at the edges. Specifically, ask about the drip edge and the flashing details. That is where roofs leak. Also ask them to explain the deck inspection proccess to you. A contractor who can't tell you exactly what they are looking for on the sheathing is a contractor who isn't thinking about the long haul.
Why do I need a wind mitigation inspection anyway?
Because a roof is the biggest thing between you and a hurricane. The inspection shows the insurer exactly how your roof is attached to the house, which determines your discount. It is a cheap inspection compared to the yearly savings, and it also tells you if your roof is actually ready for the next storm. A tile roof with shoddy deck attachment is still just a pile of loose clay in a Cat 3 wind.
Should I get a permit even if my neighbor says nobody does?
Your neighbor isn't the one who will have to sell the house or file the claim. The permit protects you. It forces the work to be inspected, and it creates a record that the roof was replaced at a certain date with a certain method. If your contractor tells you to skip it, he is telling you he doesn't want his work inspected. That is all you need to know about him.