My wife and I are working with an architect right now to remodel our house just south of SF. We are aiming for a Southern Mediterranean/Spanish style. I am not a huge fan of clay tiles (however I love the look) since they break are there any good alternatives?
Additionally, we would like to put some solar panels up and the clay tiles adds about $1000 to the installation.
Thanks for any help you can offer
Replies
You might consider stamped and stained concrete.
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Oops. I re-read your post, and realize you are remodeling, probably not feasible to do stained concrete.
I have actually had very few clay tiles break over the years, and usually from an impact that would have broken any tile.
The real drawback to me is the fact that the clay tiles need periodic maintainance to look good.
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there is a metal roof that is stamped that is supposed to look like tile, if you are interested you can google metile i think is the name
OK, if we are talking about roofing, then lightweight concrete is the answer._______________________________________________________________
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i've seen the samples of the stamped steel that look like the clay spanish tiles... and they look good.... almost used them on a shopping center fasade... but my budget didn't allow...
p
Are the clay tiles new to the house you are remodeling? If so, I'm sure your architect knows to check the existing roof structure capacity for the weight of the clay tiles, if that's what you end up using.
We are adding a second story to the house.
If you like the look of slate or shakes look a http://www.davinciroofscapes.com/body/slate_features.htm
Cement or clay tiles are too heavy, which is not good in the sesmic zone of San Francisco. These platic ones can be stomped on without breaking.
If you put the solar panels on the roof, it will make inspection and repairs very difficult and expensive. Are there any alternatives?
Jeff
Not really. With size of my back yard and the position of house comparative to the hill side the roof really is the best option. I thought roofs were the standard place to put solar panels, although I can see your point that maintaining them on the roof can prove to be a little more troubling. This is why I am looking for something other than real clay tiles, something that can take a little more punishment.