theRaisingRoof

Cullen Hagerty, son of Dan Hagerty, the founder of Old World Roofing LLC., takes us into the world of tile roofing and his family’s efforts to “preserve a dying art.”

Edited by Maya Brenningmeyer

A Timeless Transformation

Homeowners should consider a tile roof for many reasons: durability, aesthetics, historic preservation, personal preference, environmentally friendly, the list goes on. Most importantly, serviceability. St. Louis, especially, experiences extreme weather conditions in all four seasons—hot summers, cold winters, rainy springs and unpredictable falls—in addition to freeze-thaw cycles and drastic temperature changes within hours. Clay tile roofs are timeless and stand up to extreme weather unlike any other.

Picture Perfect

A roof can be the architectural focal point of a home and can draw attention like no other exterior feature. We have had the honor of installing pictureperfect roofs on some of the finest, most elegant homes in St. Louis. They add beauty, charm, character, emotion and fascination. Tile roofs relate to a number of different architectural styles and can create impressions of an old English village, an Italian countryside or a Mediterranean seaside villa. A tile roof can be the finishing touch on a masterpiece.

Dirt, Heat and Love!

We install natural slate and clay tile roofs. While each style differs in several ways—installation details, colors, profiles, components, etc.—hard surface roof systems are similar in the sense that they last a lifetime. In addition, both natural slate and clay tile come from the earth. Natural slate is quarried stone, continuously trimmed to ultimately create roofing slate. Clay tile is created from a process of combining natural clay, dirt, heat and love!

Breaking Tradition

Ludowici, the premier clay tile manufacturer in the world, offers more than 40 different types of barrel, interlocking and shingle tile along with various slate and shake options. Coupled with more than 50 different standard colors and textures, tile options are nearly unlimited. Additionally, they have the ability to recreate historical and obsolete clay tile and custom develop almost any color in the spectrum. Clay tile roofs cover some of the most iconic homes, buildings, campuses and places of worship in St. Louis and around the world.

Strong Foundation

Unfortunately, tile roofs do not work on every home. Tile roofs range anywhere from 600 lbs to 2,000 lbs per square (6 lbs to 20 lbs per square foot). The rafter and sheathing components must be built to withstand the additional weight. For comparison, standard three-tab shingles weigh approximately 200 lbs per square.

Built to Last

Clay tile roofs can easily exceed 100 years. That said, many factors determine life expectancy of a tile roof: geographic location, roof pitch, underlayment and flashing, to name a few. However, the two most critical details of any roof are proper installation and general maintenance. I recommend annual or biennial inspections, which we offer free of charge.

Eco-friendly Longevity

Slate and tile roofs have many advantages. Longevity, aesthetics, cost and environmentally friendly materials are all benefits to these types of roofs. Natural slate and clay tile roofs are green, fire resistant and free of harmful and synthetic ingredients. Coming in countless combinations of size, profile and color, these roofs provide homeowners a multitude of design options while also acting as natural insulators. These roofs also commonly last five times longer than asphalt shingles which translates to less waste in landfills than most other roofing materials. Natural slate has been used as a roof covering for more than 700 years and its investment will continue to pay off over the lifetime of the product. See stlouishomesmag.com for resources.