This is my first time posting. I am getting ready to help build our final retirement home in WV. We live 2 1/2 hrs from the Ludowicki factory in Ohio. We took a tour there 5 years ago and liked what we saw, but knew a tile roof would be expensive. Our contractor has figured that we will need 35.25 squares for our roof. Before I call companies to find out the bad news, are there any other ways to save money on this type of roofing material? I thought there might be a place to find “used” Spanish tile from a good manufacturer, but haven’t been able to find a website. We may consider renting a truck and at least save on the shipping (if we buy it from Ludowicki) but like I say, I have not called for estimates yet. In reading your forums, I see that VandeHey Raleigh also is a reputable maker of concrete tile, and I have looked at their web site. I will be calling them also. Any suggestions would be appreciated as my wife has her heart set on a Spanish tile roof for our Tuscan style house. However, she will have to decide if the cost of the roof is worth cutting back on something else like the cost of the kitchen, flooring, etc.
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Welcome to Breaktime
You might look up Stephen Hazlett in Akron, Oh. He's an experienced roofer and is familiar with slate and tile. He might be able to tip you to a source in our relative area. Mention Breaktime, might get you a return call if you don't reach him.
Best of luck.
Who's going to put this on? Flashings for non usual roofing materials are a detail you don't want to miss.
Who is going to put this on?
Thanks for your good info. A restoration architect we talked to gave us names of experienced roofers in the Charleston and Beckley, WV area that we could contact for the job. At one time we were going to restore an old house with an existing tile roof, but that fell through and we decided to build a new one, but are still looking into recycled tile.
You might want to consider metal shingles. No personal experience, but from what I've seen/read they're available in a decent immitation of tile or slate, nearly as durable, and are cheaper and lighter.
Metal Shingles
Thanks for the metal idea, but have already considered that option. to my wife, it would be like substuiting a cubic zirconium ring for a diamond.
Well, keep in mind that tile is heavy, and requires a significantly stronger roof structure.
Roof structure
Yes, I'm aware of that--and in figurings costs also, thanks.
Ludowici is the gold standard. Clay tile is less pourous than concrete and will last quite a bit longer. I've bought and installed 100+ y/o salvage.
This is where I often get salvaged tile: http://www.claytileroof.com/
Contact Eric Loema. If he doesn't have it, he can likely find it.
By Golly
WV is a neighbor of yours.
WV is a neighbor of yours.
Yeah, so's Ohio.
How was the Horse Park? We really enjoyed your visit.
The Horse Park was nice. I'd recommend as somewhere to go......
when in Lexington. Joyce enjoyed the heck out of it and so did I. The grounds are huge. The things that you do as a visitor are layed out well, it wasn't overly crowded, and we expanded from there into the training facilities and then out to the cross country obstacle course. It was nice.
We saw a young (maybe 5 if you stretch it) girl putting a horse through it's paces. Man, a little tiny girl aboard a very big horse. She was quite talented.
The day was beautiful, be a bitch if it was hot. There were more people working their horses than visitors in attendance. That is one large busy place.
Thanks to you and Cindy for a beautiful evening. It's good to be home, but we sure enjoyed the trip.
Salvaged Tile
Thanks for the tip. My wife grew up in her grandparents' 1929 built stucco house with this type of roof. The tile is still good for the most part, but the underlay and supports are rotting and the roof leaks. My wife's sister got that house when they settled the estate, or we would have restored that one with some additional Ludowicki matching tile. I thought I had read somewhere several years ago on Breaktime of the site for salvaged tile, but couldn't find it. Appreciate it. Will see how much money it saves us over the new Ludowici tile.
We often remove the tile, install new underlayment and flashings, and re-install the same tile, filling in the missing pieces with salvage. Good luck.