Shake-Style Concrete Tile Roof Replacement In San Marino, CA

A tile roof replacement in San Marino means a new roof from the wood up: new underlayment, metal valleys and flashing, then new tile. On this home we installed shake-style concrete tile in a warm cedar tone. Every part of the roof got it, including several wings, an eight-sided bay over the back windows and a small porch roof.

What Does A Tile Roof Replacement In San Marino Involve?

A concrete tile roof installation is built in layers, and most of the work happens before the first tile goes down. The order matters, because each layer protects the one under it.

1. New underlayment over the whole roof. The entire roof was sealed in new underlayment first. In the photos, the house sits under a smooth dark layer before any tile arrives, which means it stayed watertight through the whole install.
2. Layout lines. We snapped chalk lines across every slope. Tile looks right only when every row runs straight and evenly spaced, and on a roof with this many angles, that starts with the layout.
3. Hip nailers. Wood strips went up along each hip. The hip tiles get fastened to these, so the angled edges of the roof end up straight and solid.
4. Metal valleys and flashing. Each valley was lined with metal, and the brick chimney got new metal flashing at its base.
5. Load the tile. The new tile went up in stacks spread across each slope, ready to lay.
6. Lay the tile, then the hips and ridges. Rows of tile went on from the bottom up, followed by the hip and ridge tiles that cap every peak.

Why Shake-Style Concrete Tile?

Shake-style tile is concrete made to look like split cedar shakes. You get the rough, layered look of a wood roof, with heavy concrete instead of wood. The tile on this job is a warm, multi-tone brown, called "Cedar Light" in the job notes. From the street, it reads like weathered cedar.

That look suits an older home like this one. Concrete doesn't rot, split or curl the way wood shakes do as they age, and it doesn't feed a fire the way wood can.

The tile also comes with matching hip and ridge pieces. That's what makes the finished roof look like one piece instead of new tile with mismatched trim.

Why Is The Tile Spread Across The Roof Before It's Laid?

Because concrete tile is heavy, and the roof should carry that weight evenly. If all the tile sat in one pile, that part of the roof would carry far more than it was built for. Spreading the stacks across each slope keeps the load even, and it also puts the tile right where the crew will lay it.

You can see this in the photos: rows of small stacks running up every slope, each one beside the chalk lines where it will go.

The Hardest Parts Of This Roof

On a simple roof, laying tile is mostly repetition. This one had a few spots that take real care.

• The eight-sided bay. The bay roof over the back windows has eight hips meeting at one peak. Every tile on it has to be cut to fit the angle, and the hip tiles have to meet cleanly at the top.
• Valleys. Valleys carry rain from two slopes at once, so they're where a tile roof is most likely to leak. Each valley here got metal underneath, with tile cut neatly along both sides so water runs straight down the middle.
• The chimney. Where a roof meets a brick chimney is one of the most common leak points on any house. New metal flashing at the base seals that joint.
• The porch roof. The small porch roof got the same tile as the main roof, so the whole house matches.

Does A Concrete Tile Roof Need Maintenance?

Not much, but some. Concrete tile can last for decades, and a single cracked tile can usually be swapped out without touching the rest of the roof. The catch is color. Concrete tile fades slowly in the sun, so a brand-new replacement tile can stand out next to tile that has been up for years.

Our tip: keep a few spare tiles from the original job, stored flat in the garage. If a tile ever cracks, the spare comes from the same color batch. It will look closer to the rest of the roof than tile bought years later.

It's also worth keeping leaves out of the valleys and gutters. Debris that piles up in a valley holds water against the roof. We found the same problem under the old battens on a Burbank tile roof.

New Tile Roof Or Tile Re-Felt?

Not every tile roof needs new tile. If your tile is solid and still matches, you can often keep it. A re-felt replaces only the layers under the tile.

We did re-felts on concrete tile roofs in Burbank and Agoura Hills, where the original tile went back on. Here the owners wanted new tile, so the whole roof is new from the wood up.

Do You Need A Permit For A New Roof In San Marino?

Yes. The City of San Marino's Building Division lists reroofs among the work that needs a permit, and it requires inspections for all permits. The same page says roofing permits can be applied for online. If a project has been through the city's Design Review Committee or Planning Commission, the approval letter has to go on the plans. Rules can change, so check with the city before you start.

San Marino Homes And Tile Roofs

San Marino is almost entirely single-family homes, and most of them are old. Census data puts the median year built for the city's homes at 1943, and about four in five were built before 1960 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024). Many of those houses are now on their second or third roof. A tile that fits the age and style of the house keeps it looking right.

Thinking About A Tile Roof?

Most of our work is in the San Fernando Valley, and this San Marino job was an exception. We install and re-felt tile roofs across the Valley, including Encino and Burbank. See our roof replacement service or book a free estimate. We'll tell you whether new tile or a re-felt makes more sense for your home.