Tile or tile sheet – what to choose?

When building a new home, there are many questions and tough choices. One of them is choosing the right roofing material. What better – tile or metal tile?

Many people decide to choose a roofing material only for aesthetic reasons. And given the variety of types available on the market, in fact aesthetic considerations should be the last criterion when choosing. It is worth considering price, warranty period, conditions required to accept a possible complaint, protection against moisture, mold, moss, and resistance to possible dents and scratches. So let’s check – a tile or a metal sheet?

A few words about tiles

Tiles can be bought in DIY stores – both ceramic (that is fired from clay) and cement ones. Both types are very durable – ceramic tiles last 100 years, cement ones about 80 (depends on water to cement ratio in the mix)

Although they are made of brittle and breakable materials, on the roof they form a hard and durable covering. They do not bend under the weight of snow. Ceramic and cement tiles have small thermal expansion, and additionally particular elements of the roofing can move between each other – metal roof tiles do not give this possibility, because they are fixed rigidly. Admittedly, roof tiles are more expensive than tile by up to 10 PLN per m2, but the best testimony to their durability are historic buildings, in which the tile has withstood many decades with only minor defects

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A little about tile roofing

Sheet tiles, as the name suggests, are similar in shape to roof tiles, but are made of sheet metal. Their durability is estimated at 50 years, but the warranty period is usually about 15 years. The problem is that when considering any complaint, the conditions of transport, sheet cutting, etc. are important. – This problem does not exist with ceramic and cement tiles

On the market you can also buy roof tiles with sprinkles, which contain fungicides. It protects the covering from moss, mildew and fungi

It is worth remembering that the tile reacts very well to temperature changes. Proper installation is extremely important. So it is worth choosing a roofer recommended, who will do the work so that in 10 years time you will not have to repeat it

What parameters should I pay attention to when choosing a roofing material?

• Weight of the covering – 1 m2 of tiles may weigh even 70 kg, compared to 30 kg for the same number of metal tiles. More weight on the roof means better sound insulation, which can be heard especially during a heavy rain, however a stable rafter framing is necessary to support the tiles. It must support the weight of the roof for many decades;

• size of the elements – although large elements look minimalistic and modern, they only work on roofs with large, straight surfaces. If you dream of bevels and swallows, it will be much simpler to fit small element roofing;

• substrate for the roofing – no boarding is required for both types of roofing. All you need is a foil (it must be water vapor permeable) and battens – for tile roofing they can be made of galvanized steel;

• appearance – it is not without reason that appearance is the last sub-point of this list. Although it is well known that aesthetics is an integral part of decision making, in this case there is really no difference – the market abounds in a multitude of colors and textures of both tiles and sheet metal roof tiles. So you can build your dream home using both of these coverings – and both options will look just as good

main photo: Robin Kutesa/unsplash.com