Composite tile
Composite roof tile gives a Los Angeles home the look of slate, cedar shake or tile without the weight of the real thing. We install DaVinci and Brava composite roofs with our own crews, and we help you decide whether composite is the right tile for your house in the first place.
Composite tile, sometimes called synthetic slate or synthetic shake, is molded from engineered polymers. Each piece is cast from patterns taken from natural slate or wood, so the texture and the edges look real from the street. Pieces come in several colors that are blended across the roof, the way a natural slate roof varies from stone to stone.
The appeal is simple. Natural slate is beautiful, but it is very heavy and expensive to install and repair. Cedar shake looks warm, but it is a poor choice in fire country. Composite tile gives you either look on a roof that is much lighter and easier to live with.
We install two composite brands, and we name them in every estimate so you know exactly what is going on your roof.
DaVinci makes composite slate and shake in a wide range of profiles and color blends. It is the composite we have installed most often on Los Angeles homes, including large traditional houses where the owners wanted a slate roof without the structural work natural slate would have needed.
Brava makes composite slate, shake and Spanish barrel tile. The barrel profile is the interesting one in Los Angeles, because it offers a Spanish style look on a home that may not be able to carry clay.
Both manufacturers publish fire, wind and impact ratings and warranty terms for their products. Ratings apply to a tested roof assembly, so we build the roof the way the manufacturer specifies and give you the documents with your estimate.
| Composite (DaVinci, Brava) | Clay | |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | Light | Heavy |
| Looks | Slate, shake, some barrel tile | Barrel, S-tile, flat |
| Breakage | Flexible, more forgiving underfoot | Can crack if stepped on wrong |
| Framing | Rarely needs reinforcement | May need an engineer when changing roof types |
| Character | Consistent blend, made to resist fading | Ages naturally, color fired through |
For a full side-by-side, read clay vs composite tile.
You want slate or shake. Composite gives you that look on a normal residential roof structure.
The house cannot carry a heavy roof. Moving from shingles to clay can mean structural work. Composite usually does not.
You expect foot traffic. Solar, skylights, chimney work and window washing all mean people on the roof. Composite handles that better than clay.
You are in a hillside or canyon neighborhood. Composite can replace a wood shake look with an assembly rated for fire zones. In the City of Los Angeles, the ZIMAS parcel map from the city shows whether an address is in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.
We would rather tell you now than after the roof is on. If you own a Spanish Colonial home with sound original clay tile, keeping that tile through a tile reset is usually the better choice for the house. If your neighborhood has design guidelines, as some historic districts do, check what they allow first. And if you simply love the way old clay weathers, composite will not give you that.
Questions about your roof? Talk it through with the people who build it.
Call (424) 377-8955A composite roof is installed much like a slate roof, but faster and with lighter equipment:
As with any reroof in the City of Los Angeles, the job generally needs a permit from LADBS, which we handle.
Color is the decision people worry about most, and it is easy to get wrong from a brochure. Composite blends look different in Los Angeles light than on a screen. We bring samples, look at them against your walls and trim, and if you are deciding between two blends, we suggest looking at both at different times of day. A blend that looks gray at noon can read blue or warm in the evening.
Want to see samples on your house? Call (424) 377-8955. For other tile choices, see tile roof replacement.
FAQ
Mostly, yes. Synthetic slate is one kind of composite tile. Composite products also come in shake and, in Brava's case, Spanish barrel tile profiles.
Neither is better for every house. They differ in profiles, colors and warranty terms. We show you both where they fit the style of your home and put the product we recommend in writing.
Yes, much lighter. That is one of the main reasons people choose it, because it gives a slate or tile look without the structural work a heavy roof can need.
DaVinci and Brava both publish fire ratings for their products, and those ratings apply to the roof assembly the manufacturer tested. We build to that assembly and give you the documents with your estimate.
Brava makes a composite barrel tile. It can work well where a house cannot carry clay. On a historic Spanish home with sound clay tile, we usually suggest keeping the clay. See clay vs composite tile.
Estimates
Tell us about the house, the roof on it now and the look you are after. We will come out, look at the tile, the underlayment where we can and the flashings, then walk you through the tile options that suit the house, in writing.
(424) 377-8955CSLB #888710 · Van Nuys shop · Our own crews, no subcontractors.
