I totally get where you’re coming from. I had a friend who put tile on his place thinking it’d be the last roof he’d ever need, but after two winters up here, he was patching leaks and cursing every time he saw an icicle. My own house has a green roof (sedum and all that), which sounds crazy for our climate, but honestly, it’s handled snow better than I expected—plus, no worries about heavy tiles cracking. I do think people forget how much weight that snow adds on top of already heavy materials. Sometimes the “pretty” options just aren’t worth the stress (literally).
I’ve seen a few tile roofs up here, and honestly, most of them haven’t fared too well after a few rough winters. One of the buildings I look after had concrete tiles, and the first year was fine, but by the second winter, we started seeing cracked tiles and some shifting. The snow load just seemed to be too much, especially after a couple of freeze-thaw cycles. I get why people like the look, but it’s a headache when you’re dealing with repairs every spring.
Funny enough, we had a flat roof with a membrane on another property, and I was sure it’d be a nightmare with ice dams. Turns out, as long as we kept up with clearing the drains, it held up better than the tile roof did. I’m curious—has anyone tried those synthetic “slate” tiles? I’ve heard they’re lighter, but I wonder if they actually hold up to the cold and snow or if it’s just another marketing thing...
I’ve actually seen a few synthetic slate roofs up here, and they’ve held up better than concrete tile in most cases. The lighter weight definitely helps with shifting and cracking. That said, some brands get brittle in extreme cold—depends a lot on the specific product and install. I’d still take a good metal roof over either if snow’s a big issue, but the synthetics aren’t just hype.
The lighter weight definitely helps with shifting and cracking.
I hear you on the weight thing. My neighbor’s concrete tile roof looked great until our first real cold snap—then it sounded like popcorn up there with all the cracking. I went with asphalt because my wallet cried at the thought of slate, synthetic or not... but now I’m eyeing metal too. Snow just slides right off, which means less shoveling for me (and my back).
- Totally get the wallet pain—slate and even synthetic are $$$.
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That’s a big plus for metal. I’ve seen neighbors up there with snow rakes all winter.“Snow just slides right off, which means less shoveling for me (and my back).”
- Asphalt’s lighter, but I’ve noticed it doesn’t always hold up to ice dams—had to patch a few spots last year.
- Metal’s noisy in hail, but honestly, I’d take that over cracked tiles or leaks any day.
- Tile looks great but up here, the freeze/thaw cycle just wrecks it unless you’re really careful with install and underlayment.
