Tile Roof Installation - Spanish Clay Terracotta

A clay tile roof done right will outlast every other component of the house. Original mission-tile roofs on 1920s LA homes are routinely still in service a century later. That longevity is real - but only if the install is done right.

And here's the part most homeowners don't know: the tile itself almost never fails. The underlayment underneath fails. The flashing fails. The fastening system fails. Tiles work fine for 75-100 years; the assembly around them has to be matched to that lifespan.

This was a nine-photo Spanish clay terracotta install on a Mediterranean-style home. We used authentic S-profile (the curved Spanish tile, not the flat concrete tile that some companies pass off as Spanish). The tiles came in a natural terracotta blend - primarily a warm orange-red with some color variation across the field, which is what gives a clay tile roof its hand-laid character.

Our standard tile underlayment spec is SBS-modified bitumen self-adhered membrane rated for the full lifespan of the tile - typically 40-50 years on the membrane itself. We do NOT use 30-pound felt under clay tile. Most failed tile roofs we get called to inspect have 30-lb felt underneath because the previous contractor cut the cost.

Flashing on this project: copper at all valleys, around the chimney, and at every roof-to-wall transition. Copper is the right metal under clay tile - it patinas to a complementary color and lasts as long as the tile itself.

Nine photos document the underlayment install, the copper flashing in the valleys, the tile field laid out, the hip-and-ridge detail, and the finished roof showing the warm terracotta tone in afternoon light.