On a tile roof, the tile is the last thing that goes on and the least of what keeps water out. The layer that waterproofs the roof is the secondary water barrier beneath the tile, and the tile is the wear surface that shields it from the sun and the rain. Knowing that changes what you look for during an install. A tile roof is made waterproof and windproof by what gets installed under the tile, in a fixed sequence of steps that happen before a single tile piece is set.

PRG Roofing & Construction Inc., based in Fort Myers, installs tile roofs across Naples and the wider Southwest Florida area. The steps below follow the order a Naples crew works the job, from the bare deck to the finished field. Skipping any one of them shows up later as a leak.

First The Tear-Off And The Deck Reading

The old material comes off first, down to the bare deck. Then our crew reads the exposed deck with a pin moisture meter, and any section above 18% moisture content is cut out and replaced, because saturated wood will not hold a fastener. This step sets up everything that follows, since the barrier and the tile above are only as sound as the wood they attach to. A crew that skips the deck reading is building over a problem it cannot see, and a crew that reads it starts the roof on solid ground.

Then The Secondary Water Barrier Goes Down

With the deck sound, the secondary water barrier goes on, and this layer is the one that keeps water out of your home. It is installed per the Florida High Wind Concrete and Clay Tile Installation Manual, using either a reinforced underlayment or a self-adhered membrane rated for high wind uplift. This barrier carries the roof through any moment when wind or a cracked tile lets water past the surface. It is the layer worth watching go down, because once the tile covers it, you will not see it again for the life of the roof.

Battens And Underlayment Set The Field

Over the barrier, the crew sets the underlayment laps and, where the design calls for them, decay-resistant battens that the tiles hang on. The drip edge goes on per the same installation manual, so water leaving the field is directed into the gutter instead of behind the fascia. These pieces are unglamorous and exact, and getting the laps and the edge metal right keeps the field draining the way it was designed to. A tidy underlayment stage is a good sign the crew works to the manual.

The Tile Is Set And Fastened For The Wind Zone

Now the tile itself goes on the roof. Each piece is set and fastened to the Florida High Wind Concrete and Clay Tile Installation Manual for the local wind zone, which sets the fastening pattern the tile needs to stay put in a Naples storm. The tile you chose for its look is doing its structural job here too, shielding the barrier below from ultraviolet light and impact. Set correctly, the field sheds water to the drip edge and the barrier handles anything that gets past.

Product Approval Verified And The File Photographed

Before the job, our crew verifies the Florida Product Approval on the tile assembly, so the system installed is one tested and approved for your wind zone. Through the install, the crew photographs each stage, and it photographs the deck and the water barrier before the tile covers them. Your file shows the layer that keeps the roof dry after it sits under the tile, which is the record a wind-mitigation inspection and an insurance claim both rest on.

Schedule The Install And See The Layers For Yourself

If you are planning a tile roof in Naples, call PRG Roofing & Construction Inc. in Fort Myers at (239) 237-2906 to schedule the install assessment. Our crew reads the deck before recommending anything, so you are not paying to cover a substrate that should have been replaced, and you see the barrier and the layers in your file before the tile ever covers them.