Minneapolis, Minnesota
Careful Brava Tile Roofing in Minneapolis, MN
Under the second and third layers of asphalt on a lot of the houses we open up in Minneapolis, there is original slate or cedar. Brava composite tile is what most owners land on when they want that look back. It weighs a fraction of real slate, so the 1920s rafters carry it, and it does not split the way old cedar did after eighty winters of freeze and thaw.
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Old city framing carries composite tile fine
A Longfellow bungalow or a Nokomis foursquare was framed for the roof it was born with. If that was slate, the structure is stout and Brava is an easy swap. If it was cedar and someone later stacked two layers of asphalt on top, we still tear everything off to the deck and look at the sheathing before we commit to a tile profile. What we find is usually the eaves: shallow soffits, ice dams every February, and rot in the last two feet of deck. That gets rebuilt, along with ice and water membrane well past the wall line, before a single tile goes down. Steep pitches, dormers and alley-only staging drive the labor here more than the field area does. Owners weighing a heavier natural product often ask us about clay tile roofing, which is the heavier original many of these houses actually started with.
Brava Tile Roofing in Minneapolis
What composite tile does for an older Minneapolis roof
Slate look without slate weight
Brava tile copies the shadow lines of quarried slate but lands nowhere near the weight, so a 1920s bungalow roof structure takes it without added rafters or a structural engineer.
No more splitting cedar
Old cedar shakes in Longfellow and Nokomis curl and split after enough freeze and thaw cycles. Composite tile moves with temperature instead of cracking, and it holds its profile through the same winters.
Eave detail built for ice dams
Shallow soffits on older city homes let meltwater work back under the shingles every February. The eave gets rebuilt where it has rotted, with membrane run well past the wall line, before any tile is set.
Steep pitches and dormers handled
Foursquares and story-and-a-halfs carry dormer cheeks, cricket flashings and pitch changes. Tile has to be cut and flashed at every one of those, which is where a careless install leaks first.
No dry cedar on a tight lot
City lots sit close together, and wood shake roofs were never comfortable with that. Composite tile does not weather into dry, curled kindling the way an aging cedar roof on a Northeast duplex does.
A roof that suits the block
Historic streets in Northeast and around Nokomis read wrong under a plain asphalt field. Tile profiles in slate or shake pattern keep the house looking like itself instead of looking re-roofed.
How we run a tile job in the city
We plan the alley before the tear-off
Dumpster placement, boom truck reach and where the pallets sit get settled on the estimate visit. On a tight Minneapolis lot that decides whether the job runs smoothly or blocks your neighbors for a week.
Deck inspection before profile selection
We do not price tile over a roof we have not opened. Layer count, sheathing type and eave condition all come out of the tear-off and all change the scope.
We will tell you no
If the sheathing is plank with wide gaps and the budget will not cover re-decking, tile is the wrong call and we will say so before you order it.
Historic character taken seriously
On a street of original slate and cedar rooflines, we help you pick a profile and color that does not fight the block. Sample pieces go up on the roof before you commit.
Family run, straight answers
We are a family run, faith based company. You get the same person on the phone from the estimate through the final walk, not a call center and a rotating rep.
What people near Minneapolis say
Fantastic guys to work with, did an excellent job of fixing our siding. You can tell it’s a high integrity company. Definitely recommend.
Carolyn MillerSiding repair The crew arrived early and spread tarps all around the house to capture every bit of debris. By 3:00 PM, my entire roof was completely finished.
Hazel JamesRoof replacement, Minneapolis, MN Orange Exteriors fixed a minor leak that involved replacing flashing and a few shingles blown off our roof. Timely, quality work. Great ideas to keep our roof going long term.
Jim ThomasStorm damage repair
Brava tile questions from Minneapolis owners
What people in Minneapolis ask us about this work. If yours is not covered, call and ask.
Will my 1920s Minneapolis roof structure hold composite tile?
Almost always yes. Brava composite weighs far less than the quarried slate many of these houses were built to carry, and it is in the same range as a heavy asphalt roof. What we check is not the tile weight but the condition: rot at the eaves, sagging ridges, and how many layers are already up there. That comes out at tear-off.
Does Brava tile help with the ice dams we get every winter?
It helps, but the tile is not the fix on its own. Ice dams on older Minneapolis homes come from heat escaping into the attic and shallow soffits with little ventilation. We rebuild the eave, run membrane back past the wall line, and talk about attic insulation and venting. Skip that part and any roof will dam.
How long does a tile roof take on a tight city lot?
Longer than asphalt, and the lot decides most of it. A Northeast duplex with alley-only access and no driveway means material gets moved by hand in stages, which adds days. A steep foursquare with dormers adds more, because every dormer is cut and flashed by hand. We give you a day count after we walk the site, not before.
Get a look at what is under your roof
Tell us the neighborhood and the age of the house and we will come look. Estimates are free with no obligation, and we will be honest if composite tile is not the right call for your bungalow.
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Tell us what is going on with your roof, siding, windows, or gutters. We will take a look and give you a straight answer, including when the answer is that you can wait.
- Phone(612) 600-8529
- Emailadmin@orange-exteriors.com
- Office6600 City West Pkwy Suite 375, Eden Prairie, MN 55344
- HoursOpen 24 hours, Sunday to Saturday
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