“Maintenance is definitely higher, and you’ve got to be ready to replace a tile here or there after a rough winter.”
Yeah, I hear you. I went through the same thing—those tiles look awesome at first, but the upkeep caught me off guard too. After a couple of winters up north, I was patching more than I expected. Metal’s not perfect either (the noise in heavy rain surprised me), but it’s definitely less hassle for our climate. Don’t beat yourself up over it... live and learn, right?
- Totally get what you mean about the maintenance.
- I picked tile for my first house mostly because it looked cool and everyone said it’d last forever. Didn’t really think about what happens when ice dams form or when snow slides off in big chunks.
- First winter, a couple tiles cracked—no idea if it was from the freeze/thaw or just bad luck. Ended up on the roof with a buddy trying to swap them out in March. Not fun.
- Metal roofs are loud, yeah, but I’ve heard some people put insulation under them to help with that? Not sure how much that actually works though.
- One thing I noticed: tile seems to handle hail better than asphalt, but not as well as metal. At least in my area (northern Michigan), hail’s not super common, but when it hits, it hits hard.
- Cost-wise, tile was more upfront and then there’s the random repairs. Metal was more expensive here too, but people say it’s “set it and forget it” for decades... unless you hate the noise or get a bad install.
- I do wonder if some of the tile issues are just from older installs or maybe not enough slope? My neighbor has a steeper roof and hasn’t had nearly as many problems as me.
- If I had to do it again, I’d probably go metal or maybe even those composite shingles that look like slate? Anyone tried those?
- Anyway, definitely learned more about roofs than I ever wanted to... but at least now I know what to look for next time.
That sounds rough, having to swap out tiles in the middle of winter. I’ve always thought tile looked great too, but yeah, the freeze/thaw up north is brutal on them. You’re right about slope making a difference—steeper roofs seem to shed snow and ice way better. Composite shingles are interesting; I’ve seen a few installs and they look sharp, plus they’re lighter than real slate or tile. Honestly, it’s a learning curve with any roof type in these climates... you’re definitely not alone in picking up more roofing knowledge than you bargained for.
“the freeze/thaw up north is brutal on them”
That’s been my experience too. I loved the look of tile, but after seeing a neighbor deal with cracked tiles every spring, I went with composite shingles. They’re not cheap, but repairs are way less frequent and the weight savings meant I didn’t need to reinforce the rafters. The slope really does matter—my old low-pitch roof was a magnet for ice dams, no matter what material I tried.
I’ve seen the same thing with tile around here—looks great until that first rough winter. My uncle tried concrete tiles on his cabin, and by year three, half of them had hairline cracks. Did anyone try metal before settling on composite? I’ve heard it sheds snow better, but the noise worries me a bit.
