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Replacing shingles with tile. Support needed?

10556 Views 4 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  meltdowndave
Hey there.

I'm trying my darndest to research tile roofing on the web, but am limited by my what little knowledge I have. So, I'm posting here to get a better idea of what I can and can't do.

Anyway, I have 1950's constructed stucco house with a hip roof. Exterior walls are block and there is a new addition to one side of the house and a garage on the opposite side.

Currently, we have asphalt shingles. But they are growing long in the tooth and need replaced. We'd like to continue with the villa feel and go with clay or cement tile. If weight will be a factor, then we may look in to metal tile as well. Hence, my post here.

I measured today and, using some long forgotten Geometry formulas, calculated the total area of the roof at 3,300 sq ft.

So far, tile's looking pretty attractive.

However, I poked my head into the attic and here's what I saw:

http://www.bipolardave.com/images/roof1.jpg
http://www.bipolardave.com/images/roof2.jpg

As you can see, I've this large open space beneath the center beam. I don't know the proper term, so apologies in advance. At a hunch (it's difficult and dirty to crawl around with a tape measure up there) I'd say it runs 20 ft x 20ft.

However, if you look at the second pic you can see some pretty good trusses supporting the bottom of the roof.

I understand that ultimately it will come down to a certified contractor checking things out before we make the final decision. I'm just trying to get some rough ideas from people with more experience than me so that I can work on a Plan B as well.

But based on the pictures above what, if any, additional supports would I need to re-roof with tile? Any brave attempts at guessing the cost (WV)?

Thanks.
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you probably dont need any added structure with these

http://www.decra.com/
That's very nice, thanks.

The problem with metal roofs is that there are so many out there (and most don't look convincing at all) that the good ones get lost in the clutter.

This is one that certainly warrants more investigating.
Sorry to bump this old thread, but I didn't want to start another.

I've checked on the Decra Villa Tile, even driving 2 hours each way to look at the nearest installation. It's a bit faux looking, but still nice. It comes in at $283 per square before taxes and installation.

Concrete tile, on the other hand, I can get for $150/square. The downside is that it weighs about 1,000 pounds/square and installation could be tough unless I find the right crew.

I've gotten better measurements and did more homework.

It turns out that I have 2" x 6" cedar or reddish pine rafters on 16" centers on the longest sides of the house and it opens up to 24" centers on the short sides (hip roof) . The open area that I mentioned above is about 19' long and 12' wide between supports as measured from the roof. Along the "floor" of the attic it's about 8' wide between roof supports. The braces are angled. The latheing for the roof, itself, is 1" x 5" cedar and in darn good shape.

No one's been able to point to a building code *statewide* that tells me what's needed. And an engineering report isn't required by law to upgrade to tile...assuming that I could even find an engineer who returned calls.

Anyway, I'm sure the outside areas of the roof will be fine to support the added weight. But I'm again turning to this center area. I've researched live and dead weights and spans and other engineering charts, but still can't figure it out.

Any best guesses on what kinds of supports would be needed to shore it up. Even if none are needed, I'd still like to support it. Overengineering isn't a concern :)

TY very much for any pointers.

And to answer your question, Ed. $20k is tops.
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