# Fired Clay Tile

> French, Spanish-S, flat shingle, and Ludowici barrel. The roofs whose original tile is still doing its job on the south slope.

Canonical: https://donovanrc.com/slate-and-tile/tile/

![Two craftsmen working green clay tile on scaffolding](/wp-content/uploads/donovan/photos/slate/clay-tile-craftsmen.webp)

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Slate & Tile · 02

# Fired clay
tile.

French, Spanish-S, flat shingle, and Ludowici barrel. Tile that fired its color in the kiln and will keep it for a century. We lift the tile, replace the underlayment, re-flash, and let the tile keep doing its job.

What it is

## Tile is a hundred-year roof that asks for one good flashing job.

Most tile failures are not tile failures. They are flashing failures, underlayment failures, or substrate failures. We lift the tile, replace the underlayment beneath it, re-solder the valley pans in fresh copper, and let the original clay continue the job it started in 1923. Restorations outnumber full installs in this part of the business.

ProfileFrench · Spanish-S · Flat shingle · Barrel

MakerLudowici · Boral · custom kiln

FastenersCopper nails + mortar bed

Flashing16-20 oz copper, soldered

Service life75-100+ years

RestorationMatch-in with salvage stock

![Green clay tile install in progress](/wp-content/uploads/donovan/photos/slate/clay-tile-1.webp)

![Clay tile work on scaffolding](/wp-content/uploads/donovan/photos/slate/clay-tile-scaffolding.webp)

![Close aerial of glazed green barrel clay tiles being set course by course](/wp-content/uploads/donovan/photos/slate/clay-tile-green-glazed.webp)

Stock

### Salvage tile in the warehouse.

When a centennial home loses a course of tile, we usually have a match. We buy out tile salvage when a building comes down, and we keep the right pallets dry. We have matched 1908 Ludowici on a 2024 restoration.

Restoration

### We don't replace what can be restored.

If your original tile is sound on three of four slopes, we will tell you. We lift the sound tile, replace the underlayment beneath it, re-flash the valleys, replace the broken few from salvage, and add forty years to a roof whose owner thought they needed a full tear-off.

Detail

### Copper everywhere the tile turns.

Valleys, ridge bedding, chimney pans, and step flashing are all 16-20 oz copper, soldered on a wooden bench in our shop or on site. The tile is half the story. The flashing is the other half. Both have to be right.

The composite alternative

## For a new build or a slope the original clay cannot fill, we install Brava.

### Brava Spanish Barrel Tile

[Manufacturer](https://www.bravarooftile.com/roof-tiles/)

The barrel-tile silhouette without the weight of fired clay.

Brava's composite Spanish barrel is the only synthetic barrel profile that is third-party tested and Miami-Dade County approved, which is the toughest coastal code in the country. We reach for it on a new build that wants the barrel look without the dead load of clay, or when a clay slope is too far gone to restore and salvage stock cannot fill it. The color is molded through the tile, so it never needs a coating and never weathers to a different shade.

Fire ratingClass A (with the rated assembly)

Impact ratingClass 4, the highest hail class

WindWarranted to 130 mph, tested past 188 mph

CodeMiami-Dade approved barrel profile

Warranty50-year limited, transferable

WeightFar lighter than fired clay

### If your tile is loose, do not let a roofer tell you it is done.

Most tile roofs we are called to look at need a flashing crew, not a tear-off. We will tell you which one yours needs.

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What homeowners are saying

- > “Justin did a great job of communicating and was on the job site a lot.”

Gerald K. · Google
- > “Nick Mirth did an excellent job throughout the process our insurance claim!”

Tim C. · Google
- > “Great experience, very knowledgeable and customer friendly. I would highly Recommend.”

Kathy O. · Google

[See all reviews](/reviews)